“Why do graduate schools keep churning out counselors when there are so few jobs or opportunities for certification? I funded my masters degree with $20,000 in student loans. I’m still looking forward to being able to use my degree, but I’m just wondering if that’s ever going to happen.”
Be careful what you study. Going to grad school isn’t always worth the time, effort and money.
MBAs: A dime a dozen?
Aaron Fraser
Name: Aaron Fraser, 42
Place: Virgin Islands
I once looked at the MBA as the crème de la crème of business degrees, but now I realize I’m a dime a dozen.
I have an MBA in media management from Metropolitan College of New York and a master’s in organizational leadership from Mercy College. I am in debt to the tune of $120,000, and for me, it just wasn’t worth it.
After graduating, I applied for jobs in New York for at least a year. In interviews, I was either overqualified, or high risk.
I am high risk, so I’m told, because I have multiple degrees, which means it’s more likely that I would pursue other means of employment if I am offered a higher salary.
I’m 42 years old, and I’m competing with 25-year-olds who have MBAs from Harvard. There are so many young people with MBAs from exclusive schools, it’s very difficult for somebody like me to compete. Employers don’t expect middle aged people to be innovators.
My master’s is a joke
Jen Smialek
Name: Jen Smialek, 31
Place: Boston, Mass.
I work in such a completely different industry, it’s a joke amongst co-workers that I have a master’s in education.
I completed that degree — which was my second master’s — in 2010, and taught for a year in Boston. It was the hardest work I’ve ever done, but I loved it.
A year later, it was first in, first out in terms of layoffs. I didn’t have any seniority and I was unfortunately laid off.
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