Higher Learning

I guess I technically finished this list item a while ago, but it wasn't until fairly recently that I finally came to a decision about it. List item number 14, Investigate a Masters Degree is something I've been struggling with for quite a while, and this is what I've come up with.

I was one of those lucky (but not really) kids who always did well in school, without very much effort. I retain things pretty well, and I have good comprehension and problem solving skills, so consequently studying was never really something I had to do. This was great in high school, since it left me lots of time for extracurricular activities and friends, but when I hit university I was in big trouble. High school does nothing to prepare you for university. After a disastrous first year (including getting an F in a course because I got the exam time mixed up and didn't think to talk to the professor about it), I managed to pull out a decent GPA by graduation, but I've never been happy with it. It also led to a dismal conversation with a guidance counselor about my options for continuing on with my education. So I kind of stopped planning for my Masters and decided to be content with my BA. 

My mother has had different plans for me. She wants me to be happy and knows that I do have an interest in continuing my education and doesn't want to see me give up. She's the reason I put this item on the list. So, for her sake as well as my own I did some investigation. 

I started out trying to nail down an area to study. My BA is in Psychology, which I loved to

study, but Masters degrees are more specified, and I couldn't find one area that felt right. I thought about Education, but again, I would need to find a specific focus. Given how much I love my job, I started to think about looking into Masters programs in autism related fields. This is where I would head if I did someday decide to go ahead with it. But once I looked at availability of courses, it looked like mostly online was the way I'd have to go. And then there was the price. It costs roughly $20,000 to get a Masters degree, and once you sign up, you pay, even if you don't take any classes for a semester. This was what it looked like in most of the courses I looked at anyway. And since I have no immediate plans of leaving my job, I had to think about whether having the degree would benefit me at work, which, at this point I don't think it would. It doesn't appear that there will be any positions opening up soon in which a MA would improve my chances of advancement.

So, although it is something that I would like to have, at this point in my life, I just don't think it's something I want. I am hoping to be starting a family within the next 3-5 years (if all goes well), and it will be hard to do that if I'm spending $20,000 or more to get a degree that, right now, will not benefit me immediately. I can't afford to take a risk on this. If I don't know for sure that it will improve my situation financially to have the Masters degree, I'm not going to worry about it. It will remain one of my future goals, but there are other things I'd rather do first.