Did having a masters noticeably change your job prospects? Was it a good career move?

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Got my master right after BS so unsure the direct impact. However, I noticed I’ve gotten recruiting hits much much more than my peers who didn’t (my MS was in stat). Also recruiters seem to appreciate the master since BS is too standard nowadays.

With good experience, perhaps it may not matter as much. It depends on how you train through it and sell yourself

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It literally got me my job. Had zero recruiter/interview interest before getting my MSBA. Got a looooot more interest after.

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EY1 and MC1 where you did you both obtain your MSBAs?

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I completely owe my interviews to my MSBA. Had a minimal coding background and no CS undergrad, only unpaid research and a drive to apply for positions my resume was underqualified for 😁 Ended up at the job through the consulting-ish work we did for the capstone.

Irony here is that SWE jobs where you need more developer skills will interview just about anyone, while DS is all picky...

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I am a manager with just Bachelors. Sure advanced degrees help, but you need experience too.

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Absolutely. I recommend a master's to anyone. Bachelor's is enough but a master's degree helps moving jobs as well.

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More interest, get plugged into stretch roles more often, zero difference in salary (other than coming in at the top band)

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Would push to make sure the outcomes of the stretch are clear. Don't get sold on extra work without clear outcomes

100%, just having the credential opens up many more job opportunities and it’s a good thing to talk about in interviews

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It did. Jumped from D to K for a sizable bump. Lots of recruiter interest and a great network. Very happy with my choice.

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UVA MSBA

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It has opened all of my doors for the last decade. My graduate degrees are technical (aero, systems eng.) and showing deep expertise and ability to drive a research project with a good brand name establishes instant credibility and confidence that I can produce results in unexplored arenas.

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Has helped in justifying salaries and promotions. I prefer experience, but I’m glad I went for the masters.

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I have my bachelors in math & stats and so far I’ve had no problem progressing in terms of promos / salary bumps.

All of my experience has been data science work, so I may look into it fairly later if I notice a plateau. So far I feel like I’m good without one though

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What did y'all do that helped get recruiter interest after your M.S? Finished my Masters in Data Science plus had 3-4 years prior work experience in advisory but not getting much recruiter interest

Northeastern DS

100%. Got masters right after BS (finance), IB was a no go. Masters opened me to consulting. Masters also transitioned me from risk consulting to tech consulting.

Absolutely. Started part time MS in DS during first job right after BS. Started as a marketing analyst, finished as a data science manager three years later, completely changed trajectory. 25 now and up for DS Manager in mid years

I went back to get a masters in IT(DS concentration) because my BS was irrelevant to my job. Most of my colleagues have CS degrees. I feel more confident working in my field in d&a as I have gained more CS knowledge to back me up.

I did an MBA and it literally opened the door to this industry for me. I had zero experience... My previous experience was in operations management. The move effectively doubled my salary.

Which is more valuable: an MSBA or an MBA?

They have totally different aims. An MBA might have a class for networking, while an MSBA will have you doing risk analysis with Bayesian statistics. There is still some overlap in that you might do a common class on something fluffy like marketing theory, but that's almost an afterthought.

An MBA is a mid career degree that makes it easier to make it into the management club. It will not automagically make you a tech VP at any notable company, nor a director at an investment bank. But if you want to network into low or middle management, or to get promoted -specifically- in consulting, it's a viable option.

By contrast, the MSBA will give you the skills needed to be a "data person," someone who knows how to discern BS from what's actually happening using things people around you don't understand. It'll open doors into SME positions across the board, in just about any industry. The trade-off, of course, is that it isn't a management degree. But a lot of techy individual contributors out-earn their functional managers who never get promoted into exec roles, so do with that what you will... And who knows, maybe data literacy will prove a way to the top yet--too early to tell.

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Similar to AC2, what would be more valuable: an MSBA, or a more data science/advanced analytics focused masters

Way different experience with MSBA. Like I said, nearly identical curriculum to MSDS I looked at. Over the past few years I've also done some work on the other side of the table with several programs, and curriculums have expanded technically, so not sure if there's any gap at all now. Stuff like Bayesian stats and copulas now covered for those students interested, as is cloud and whatnot. The extent of cases in the programs I've seen start and end at the capstone too, it's not like an MBA. The capstone itself is the same as MSDS, hands on making something useful from donated industry data.

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