Learnt from another topic, many of you suggest to have master degree as personal advancement.
Usually, you prefer to finish it before 30(at top learning age) or after 30 (more experience built up)? Saving Changes...
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Justus NScrum Master| BCBSTXArlington, Tx, United States
Age doesn't matter. It depends where you are in your career (entry, mid level etc.) Another consideration is the ROI for getting the Masters degree this should be the first thing you do. Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
As Justus pointed out, it's about what the MBA will give you. Usually, an MBA is about opening doors for employment, projects or responsibilities. (As opposed to certifications that vouch you have a certain skillset.) Saving Changes...
Wade HarshmanScrum Master| GDITIndianapolis, In, United States
Justus is correct that age doesn't matter, but Alex asks a good question about experience. That is a risk inherent to some professions with standardized hiring expectations. Students who go straight from undergraduate to graduate degree compete at a higher pay bracket with no experience to balance the cost to their potential employer, and this makes it more difficult to get a job. Many career counselors will advise that students get their first job before finishing or accepting their masters degree.
I don't believe this is the case with project managers, but it could vary by industry. I believe it's more important to retain some humility when you're ready to apply your formal education in that first job. If you don't yet have the experience, you may have to accept a position below that which your education implies. The good news is that experience doesn't charge tuition, it only demands your time. Saving Changes...
Muaaz KhalidSenior Project Engineer| Fulton HoganNewcastle, Nsw, Australia
Hi Alex
I think the response to your question vary from person to person. I started my first job immediately after my undergraduate degree. After having spent about 5 years in the industry I thought it was the right time for me to proceed for my masters degree which I completed in Project Management.
From my personal experience I would say that my time in industry did help me in grasping the management concepts which were taught to me in masters degree. On top of that it was really helpful in learning and implementing the concepts at the same time.
So from my personal experience in construction industry, I would prefer to spend some time knowing the pragmatic aspects of theoretical knowledge and verify the relevance before I keep augmenting my knowledge base which may end up being of no use.
Thanks Saving Changes...
If you think you have an easy 2+ years of your life when you can fit another 20 hours +/- of work into your schedule each week, by all means use that time. I got mine after 20 years experience, and when I took a Six Sigma black belt course, I realized that after 20 years of not doing any math you start to forget it. Tough semester.
From my own experience hiring PMs, I would not care if you had a masters until after about 5 years experience unless you brought in some rare skill we don't have and really want.
PM is a tough job to transfer into without much experience. I would prefer you had any kind of relevant work history contributing to project teams, than a piece of paper saying you can lead them. Where the masters starts to become more relevant is if you want to:
A) Work more on the management or PM leadership level or
B) Have credentials that help you switch gigs. Saving Changes...
