Recruiters undervalue master's degrees for job offers
18 posts across 7 communities in the last 60 days; 39% from r/cscareerquestions.
“Agree with this. A PhD is so highly specialized you can't easily maneuver in the job market. A bachelor's isn't bad, a master's isn't bad but companies really won't be hiring PhDs unless you're exactly what they want. Both of my bosses have master's degrees. Mine is completely…”
“Smh man, know your worth. It’s a problem because people like you drag the rest of us Master’s holders down with you because they know they can get away with underpaying. Bring on the downvotes.”
“I'm currently considering doing a masters in computer science, but a lot of people are telling me it's useless if I don't go for a PhD too. I don't seriously consider a PhD ,but if life allows for it I would go for it later in my career but not immediately after the masters. So…”
Several users express frustration with recruiters offering low salaries despite candidates holding advanced degrees, specifically a Master's degree. They feel their qualifications are being disregarded and that the offers are insulting, especially given broader layoffs in tech and science.
SOURCES (32)
“I'm currently considering doing a masters in computer science, but a lot of people are telling me it's useless if I don't go for a PhD too. I don't seriously consider a PhD ,but if life allows for it I would go for it later…”
“Keep pushing hard in grad school, this is the world that awaits! submitted by /u/LateCheckIn [link] [comments]”
“If anybody here has experience with the way degrees from 3rd world countries are kinda invalid both for actual productivity in the country and for how it translates in better countries, i'd like to vent submitted by /u/FullEntertainer54 [link] [comments]”
“If you can keep your job go in person and form study groups that meet in the evenings. Watch the pre recorded lectures but you need to network and go to office hours. A free to you MS is worth it. But what you get in person is building out relationships. If you don’t care to put in that work then online is fine. I will say that GA Tech OMSCS is brutal difficult program. Many get in few make it out. So you know yourself can you actually put in the hours to succeed there. Like I’ve said I know man”
“I worked during those years and it was super competitive and people worked really hard. When I graduated college many couldn't find a job so they stayed behind and do a Master's. Then 2008 happened and the news was full of people holding up signs saying things like "will code Java for food". Maybe it was different in the 80s or 90s, I'm not sure, but the early 2000s didn't feel drastically different than now.”
“Anything that isn’t med school, dental school or law school? submitted by /u/SadHuman247 [link] [comments]”
“The question isn't there cause master degree is required, it is there to reject people with masters degrees.”
“Requiring a Masters degree won't work either. Went back to school 10 years after graduation to get a MSCS for the sheer joy of it and I was apalled at the number of Masters students who could not program and this was at a University that was ranked in the top 50 for CS.”
“What jobs actually need a masters degree? Outside of research, health or general sciences?”
“Yes because it gives you a chance to do another internship possibly, also my recommendation is you shop around on price because masters are expensive and also TRY to do a thesis based masters if you can because it’s seen as more serious than a non thesis masters.”
“Agree with this. A PhD is so highly specialized you can't easily maneuver in the job market. A bachelor's isn't bad, a master's isn't bad but companies really won't be hiring PhDs unless you're exactly what they want. Both of my bosses have master's degrees. Mine is completely unrelated to this field but they liked it. If I had a PhD they probably would have passed on me. People need to be very careful with getting a PhD. It doesn't signal to employers what th”
“You have a degree which is much more than what many of your peers have going. I don't understand why people say this. Almost all decently paying jobs require specialization, there is no generic "just requires a college degree" job anymore. And people will say "oh but your degree opens up doors for you to get promoted and make more money!!1!1" but that only applies to careers that you have as much of a moonshot of getting as any CS job. No single person can tell any undere”
“Love when i applied for 2 positions that were advertised with "for newly graduated masters students" and " for MSc and BSc" and in both cases, because i kept track with the companies, i would see the job going to a PhD... and that is just randomly the two times it happned to be places i kept track of and the new job announcement from whoever got the job randomly showed up on my page”
“Base salary is minimum 100k. Bonuses are what gives them sub 7 figure salaries.”
I'm assuming it depends on where you do it from. Not every phd is useless
“How can I do my masters funded if I don't have a job? Scholarships, rich relatives, teaching assistanting”
“Those who didn't got a job after a bachelor's and did a masters degree how are u doing now? submitted by /u/VariationLivid3193 [link] [comments]”
“Yeah, the requirements are just getting higher and higher. Master is the new bachelor. Said it for a long time”
“And in Greece it is significantly cheaper to get that master's, and the cost of living is lower.”
“Smh man, know your worth. It’s a problem because people like you drag the rest of us Master’s holders down with you because they know they can get away with underpaying. Bring on the downvotes.”
“Nah man, know your worth. Also, the problem with people like you is you drag the rest of us Master’s holders down with you because they know they can get away with underpaying.”
“I was sourced for a contract role at Meta that paid $18/hr shortly after completing my MSc. In Los Angeles, that doesn't really go far. Sounded like a cool job, but I had to decline.”
“Many fields will still give consideration to having masters degree that isn’t specific to the job. Advanced degrees can imply that a candidate has worked with critical thinking skills, met deadlines, and applied themselves long enough to finish a challenging initiative. That’s valuable across many disciplines. Not true for all fields, but plenty. I have a masters in design and im a senior strategist for a large corporation and it still adds value to my resume.”
“Oh, I see. Yeah, I would agree. Not having it is not an impediment. Still, I always think education is a great idea - whether that be through Udemy courses, certifications, or a full degree program. If you really want to learn more, you’ll get out of it what you put in. Standing out, even marginally, is a side benefit.”
“Honestly, a business management degree teaches you frameworks and vocabulary, but it doesn't teach you how to actually run a business, that mostly comes from doing it, or from being close to someone who has. What tends to matter way more for owning a successful business is either 1) deep skill in something specific (a trade, a craft, a technical skill) that you can build a service or product around, or 2) direct experience working inside a business, ideally a small one where you see the whol”
“There has always been employers who claim they value higher education, but won't actually bring those talents into the organization. It has to do with the employers' attitude, which they can change.”
“Just take low paying or no paying internships then bail ship after 3 months. That's how it's been for 50 years. Dude 17 years ago after the 2008 financial crisis, I I had 2 stems degrees, and a telecom company offered me $15 an hour to do data cleaning using Excel for 8hrs a day. I worked there 6 months before I got my next job. Couldn't even rent an apartment I wast earning enough. Lived in an extended stay for 6 months.”
“Does it require a master's degree or do you just want a 100%+ increase because you have one?”
“insulting shmulting. the reality: they won't correct/change shit. buddy, research scientists are getting laid off. faang devs are getting laid off. nobody gives one quantized, singular flip about your master's degree. good friend of mine who is developing cancer drugs right now was about to sling hash at the diner a few years back - and the sitch only got worse. and my right shoe got a master's nowadays.”