Is graduate school worth it?

My two cents……if you are finding it difficult to get a job these days perhaps graduate school is a good alternative.  However, I would not recommend an MLA.  You will spend money for at least two more years of school and your job prospects may not be any better.  You will be competing for positions similar to what you would be applying for today. Plus becaue you have a Masters you might be assuming you can demand more in salary and firms might shy away from you if they think they need to pay more for that Masters degree.  After all this is not an MBA…..the world of business and high finance works much differently then Landscape Architeture.

If you do decide to go back for a Masters I would suggest something in a related discipline so that you are actually expanding and diversifying your knowledge and background.  Perhaps Planning, Environmental Sciences, GIS  etc.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

For the State of  California, a Master’s degree earns you an additional $30,000, right off the bat. If you then get certified, you garner another $20,000. Who knows when they will next be hiring, however, and I have not found this kind of deal anywhere else in the country except the land of fruits and nuts..

If you want to teach, you need a Master’s degree at least – I personally think these are some of the most satisfying and best paid jobs – nothing stops professors from running firms, in fact they are encouraged to, and professors work hours give  you a lot of time to run a  business.

And the Master’s degree, depending on where you go, can be really inspirational and fun, especially if  you are not a newbie – i.e., if you can draft already..

If you want to run your own firm, stop now and get to work! don’t even bother getting certified – they are reducing the requirements every year..

good luck!

If you are working…stay working, you are getting practical experience. I don’t know if you were looking to go back to Penn State, but since you already have a 5 year BLA (Make sure the 5 yr part is on your resume), you essentially already have an MLA, minus a thesis. Since PSU now has MS degrees in LA, if you are interested in either of those topics, that would be a better fit than a generic MLA. It really focuses your interest the way a standard MLA cannot. I found when researching an article that at many schools, the MLA is not much more than a repeat of your BLA.

Please refer to my LAM article from Decmber of 2010 regarding this very subject.

I went back to grad school for a number of reasons. First, there were topics that I had not had an opportunity to explore in undergrad, like urban ecology, that I knew I would only have the time and resources to explore if I went back to college. Secondly, I wanted to explore planning, and there was a graduate certificate in planning at U of I. Finally, I was unemployed and felt I was wasting time doing nothing.
If you get a masters it should not only be about getting a better job when you graduate. It should be about you. Is there something you want to learn more about? There are ways to reduce the cost if its really something you want. Live for a year in the state where you want to get your masters, so you get in-state tuition. Find a job and save. Beg your parents. Use Tuition Management Systems, so you don’t have to pay all at once.

Nothing more than a part-time interest. And its soooo boring.

Still want to get an MSLA…but on my terms, and what I want to study. I’m thinking about other degrees, an MBA for one, or possibly a psychology/human behavior degree. I just don’t want to pay to play the BS college games anymore. I have certain things I want to study for particular reasons and thats it, nothing more. Until then, I guess i’ll just continue being autodidactic.

LOL….you’re right!

From all the reading, that is!