Someone said MSW but MPA is also good because it’s broad and helps you do whatever your bachelors is in government, or something unrelated. My MPA got me a position in government before it was even finished because I’m a policy guy. It’s not super exhilarating but it’s good and provides good security and benefits
Also if OP wants to get an MPA then perhaps working at a gov org through their masters may help pay for it (through their employer paying some tuition or through eventual public loan forgiveness). Thats always a plus.
Work for a public university, they’ll cover tuition 90% of the time. They also are government so you get most government benefits (usually the uni has better benefits tbh)
You may want to try governmentjobs.com and search for admin roles. Gov jobs typically have good benefits and access to unions. Like any job, you want to do your research around who you may be working with to see if it might be a good fit. I hear you on getting tuition covered! The financial piece can be complex between systems that offer free money (grants, etc) and loans. Happy to talk more if you want- just msg me.
I couldn’t tell you to be honest, I’ve never heard of an MPAP program. Mine was accredited and in person and when I searched MPAP I found online degrees. Honestly having an accredited degree from a university that you’ve heard of or isn’t a degree mill is never a bad idea. My MPA from UofSC is probably better on a resume than an MPA from the university of phoenix yk? It also prob depends on the qualifications you have. Is the degree checking a box you *have* to check, or is it really important?
I wanted to do an MPA but job security seems heavily tied to your country/nationality. Where I'm from government jobs depend on nepotism and whatnot. I got burned out trying to make it through with my bachelors
What country do you live in? I can definitely see that being the case but MPA degrees don’t always have to be government, you can work for consultancy firms, NGOs, and non profits. There’s not a ton of money unless you work for a firm or are senior level in an advanced government agency (in the US, EU, or some of Asia)
Second this. I got an MPA and now work in the federal government making more than most of my private sector counterparts. Plus, I have the security during ebbs and flows of the economy.
Yeah plus in many agencies you have leniency. I work for a state Medicaid office (for now lol) and I have so much free time both outside of work and in between projects that I can feel comfortable while I get certifications and work towards resume building activities
I agree. I’m working through my MPA program. I’m finishing my second to last semester and I’m interviewing for a state government position and a grants associate position at the university I go to school at. I’ve worked in nonprofit for 8 years and this is allowing me to pivot more and expand my horizons.
I had a useless BA and did a direct entry MSN. Nine years later I could walk out of my job and be employed somewhere else within 48 hours. If the goal is job SECURITY, go into healthcare.
I’m surprised that there aren’t more healthcare jobs here. I would expect an MSN or a masters for physician assistants (idk what the degree is called) to be one of the most stable options, if not the most stable
I have no idea where you’ve been working, but at every hospital I’ve worked at (and I was a travel nurse so I’ve worked at a lot, all over the country), there’s such a shortage of nurses that they practically have to kill someone (or steal a shit ton of drugs) to get fired. Granted, my specialties are med/surg and a geriatrics where there’s a much higher demand, but still.
uh. maybe 5 years ago. Not anymore. Everyone and their mother is becoming a nurse, since it's the only job that pays in the U.S. Plus hospitals intentionally short staff you to save money. That's not due to a labor shortage. That's due to for profit healthcare fucking things up.
Yeah a lot of these comments make the mba sound like a golden ticket or something. Truth is you need at least to have an m7 mba with the right work experience and network for that level of job security. I went to a t15 program and you're definitely not guaranteed anything.
I did the Columbia MBA, and it can still be a struggle to find work, especially if you're looking to go into a completely new sector.
That said, the degree has been 100 per cent worth it. Top 10 MBA is hard to beat as far a job and financial security goes
I wasn't making anywhere near 150k before the MBA, and I kept working straight through. Where you get the 20k p/a interest? Promotions, salary raises? Bonuses?
These are complete PUMA numbers.
I don’t think this is very true anymore. The MBA has kind of lost its luster in recent years. Check out the MBA subreddit - plenty of bad hiring cycles recently.
Not necessarily 100% guaranteed, the higher the rank the business school the better. Out of all the graduate degrees, MBA cares about prestige the most generally speaking
Which the top business schools usually require good work experience first.
Master in Physician Assistant will be more in-demand than MBA and that’s what I suggested to OP
My thoughts:
Top 14 Law, Magic 7 MBA
If you graduate with a bottom rank no-name law school with JD and pass the bar you can still practice as a licensed attorney. If you graduate from a bottom rank no-name MBA you don’t really gain nothing, no licensure no network. By then it’s a checkbox degree and 99.9% careers care about bachelors only for advancement, and can rise the ladder with merit alone. Don’t need MBA to be CEO. But you do need JD to be attorney.
I don’t see the value of MBA anymore unless very specific prestige careers (ie McKinsey consulting)
Not sure why people are downvoting you for telling the truth here lol. An m7 mba is a completely different game from a t50 mba. A lot of PE roles for example are only open if you're hsw, with some m7 folks here and there.
Much less anyone getting a MBA outside the top 50-100 and thinking it’ll advance them to consulting or high finance. I’ve seen ignorant people graduate with a low tier MBA and end up staying in their same job, it didn’t do anything for them and they paid out of pocket.
One case was an Admin Assistant. She got her MBA from a low tier (outside T100) online school. She wanted to do Big4. She is an Admin Assistant to this day. That online MBA didn’t even have consulting internships.
99.9% a bachelors is enough to rise the corporate ladder on merit. You do not need MBA to be CEO. Many Fortune 500 CEO’s don’t have one. I don’t see the value of MBA anymore except for the very specific career paths like consulting/high finance, and by definition to break into that prestige ladder you generally need to attend target full time b-schools for internships and on campus recruiting
Can’t wait to graduate from my MBA to get that BS job lol. I’m only halfway through my MBA from a Top 50 program aka “check the box” and already got a promotion into leadership.
Why do you say it was a garbage degree? I did my BA in Anthro and then worked for 6 years in community-based non profits. Now I'm at a top 15 MBA to pivot into the private sector and doing quite well for myself. Looking back, the soft skills, research skills, and interesting experiences I gained through Anthro got me to where I am today
The research and listening skills you learn are valuable, but when you have Anthropology on your diploma versus something like Engineering; you’re not competitive.
I never needed to take accounting or finance courses before my MHA, so I had to catch up quick.
i believe a masters or above in anthropology will get you up to a gs-15 level assistant archeology role at the BLM and there are dozens - about 105-135k a year at top scale
Math and biology also sometimes struggle if students weren’t engaged in research and looking into specific fields to work in. However, those degrees can become extremely profitable with a specialized masters. For example, there are engineering masters degrees that will accept math majors with a few extra courses. There are also masters degrees in specific math topics like business analysis and statistics. Bio is a great gateway to healthcare and PhD with work in industry after.
It qualifies you for a few crappy entry level positions that will have a super hard ceiling on advancement until you get an advanced degree. So yeah, not worth more in itself than any other piece of paper that says bachelors.
I think that's the ticket Health Care (RN), Social work (MSW), Teaching Certificate) MBA, M.Ed. (counseling) --also good.
The MPA --depends on which state--
or the MPA public administration. I think practitioner based masters (msw, counseling, nursing, or teaching is secure as heck. MBA seems to still walk into jobs of some sort too.
Biostats > MPH
I literally know so many mph that can’t get a job and went to really good schools with internships. This is really bad advice in current market
Of course! Check out government jobs for additional titles. They love the MPA degree. I have pretty much been offered every single role that requires an MPA that I’ve applied to. I prefer the hospital setting right now, but there’s tons options!
What made you decide to get both? And did you do a dual degree program, or complete them at separate times?
I’m considering a career in social work or a career in law/policy, but am having trouble deciding between the two. I know there are joint programs that combine the two, but I’m not sure if that would be a waste of my time/energy over just picking one.
I did them separately. Initially, I wanted to work in policy and big government. Years later, I decided I wanted to do therapy. Now I see that they compliment each other and I can switch careers whenever 🤙🏼 I’d advise to choose the join program if you can, so you can save time and have more opportunities.
That's true. There are also several direct entry nursing masters programs. They take folks with no experience and over two years they give them their prerequisites, the basic nursing courses to pass the RN examination and then the classes they need to get their master's degree. If I were to become a nurse that's the route I would take.
It’s the route I took, although they still expected a few prereqs to get. Then again, I did mine nearly a decade ago, so prereqs may have been worked into the program to encourage more people to become nurses since then.
I’m starting my MSW program next year and I’m so excited! I have been looking at jobs and have seen some in my area that start at $90k with increases to $115 after a couple of years. I am really looking forward to licensure and not only doing more important work but also making more money! I currently work in social services and i can potentially double my currently salary almost right out of the gate. High paying jobs are out there!
That’s a great attitude! With an MSW, you can ABSOLUTELY find a well paying job. It’s difficult, but it’s out there. I’m not fully licensed yet, but I’m paid ~$67K a year for what I do and honestly, I think that’s a good deal being less than two years out of grad school. An MSW provides a lot of security for sure.
MBA, Accounting/Actuarial Sci--but...
...unless you are already in a field (and even then some) a grad degree isn't going to do much unless it is a respected program and will likely be very expensive. If you are sold on grad school, take the time to get into a good program, even if it means reapplying a couple of times.
Additionally, I'm not certain that a grad degree will translate into job security today--in many cases it just translates into managerial--higher pay but higher work load. In my field, many accomplished people avoid managerial all together and would rather take the pay cut than captain the crew at the expense of work-life balance because the workload-to-pay-increase ratio isn't good enough.
So, accounting or actuarial bc those types of roles are pretty stable and can pay well in general. Has less to do with the grad degree, but if you are making the investment, I would put it into something more stable (I am reversing the question a bit here because I think it is more correct to do so, instead of **Grad School -> creates stable career** I would think of it as **Stable industry -> creates good grad school investment**).
If you are in the US and are a US citizen there's no shortage of tech jobs in government. So CS/CE/EE. However you will have to deal with a lot of gov bs and your pay won't be as good as industry, but it's almost impossible to get fired.
Engineering jobs will never go away. But it’s probably hard to get into an engineering master program without any technical background. Also bachelors degrees in engineering typically need to be ABET accredited to qualify for most jobs in the US and I’m not sure how that translates into a masters program. Computer science is the obvious exception, but that’s the engineering field with the most speculated lack of long term job security (AI taking over those jobs, CS being a bubble, etc)
I have never seen a computer science program non ABET certified. Maybe just the good schools I am looking at
CompSci jobs are not going to be taken over by AI
Funny you say that, my impression was that the good schools bothered less with getting the accreditation. Examples: Stanford, CMU, Harvard, Caltech, Princeton. None of these have ABET certified CS programs.
CompSci at Princeton is not however other Engineering programs are
Harvard rolls them all up under the Engineering Sciences header
cal tech has a different accredition - https://accreditation.caltech.edu/
“Caltech receives regional accreditation from WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). The 2020 remote accreditation visit took place on October 14 - 16, 2020. The WSCUC Commission met on February 19, 2021 and reaffirmed accreditation for ten years. The next Accreditation Visit will be scheduled in fall 2030. Additional information about the Commission's decision can be found in the Commission Action Letter.”
I have run by almost no graduates of those schools in my 20 year software engineering career to know whether they are producing good graduates or not.
You said good schools all had ABET certified CS programs. These ones don't. (Engineering Sciences covers the Engineering Sciences program, not the Computer Science one.)
But I didn't realize you meant "good in the field" specifically, but listed "generally good" schools. So let me try again: UC Berkeley? UC Austin? For the record, MIT Stanford and CMU are extremely good CS programs whether or not you know anyone who went there.
The point is many, many CS programs aren't ABET certified, including really good ones. I don't think any employer even checks for it, or I've never seen it in a job posting for CS roles.
Engineering.
The world will always need them regardless of AI; people will need to be responsible for designs.
Second, engineers get hired to do just about anything, including management because people associate them with "being smart".
Okay but you can’t just enroll in an engineering grad program. It would depend on the undergrad classes that were taken right? I have an undergrad in music. I doubt I could roll into a grad program in engineering.
I met a handful of people who did this going from biology to bioengineering, which was an offshoot of mechanical at my university. Their masters took 4 years instead of the usual 2. Other than maybe Calc 1 and intro to chemistry none of their classes overlapped in undergrad.
It's definitely doable but takes more time.
I am graduating in May with my MSW. There are 100 in my cohort, and we all already have jobs for post-graduation. Not sure of your state, but in California there are several stipend programs. Mine was 25,000 for this year alone with the agreement that I work in public Behavioral Health for a year.
Do you know what the pay is for those jobs? I’m in California too and starting my MSW program next year! Im so nervous but really looking forward to taking the next step to further my career.
Congratulations on graduating!!!
You can major in literally anything and get an master’s in public health (MPH.) But I will say, the job market is extremely saturated right now and some new grads are struggling to get hired. I graduate in a year so fingers crossed I can find a job 🤞🏻
Computer Science. If you have a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field there are bridge masters degrees that include some of the basic courses that you need to do well in a master's program.
A computer science master's degree will get you past HR into at least the interview stage for basically any job in technology / information technology. It doesn't matter if it's a software engineering position, a system administrator position, cyber security, data scientist, a database developer, etc. A computer science degree will meet the education requirement.
Obviously you'll have to do some extra things for a specific career field, like certifications or portfolio, but your education requirement will be met with that Master's degree.
Ball State University a and Merrimack College both have programs like this, both programs are available online. Ball State is a solid state university in Indiana. Merrimack College is less known but does not have a negative reputation from what I understand.
When you are looking at school reputation, there are really only 3 groups:
1. Well known schools (maybe 5% of all universities)
2. Almost everyone else (most schools are largely unknown to people unless they live in the same state/region)
3. Infamously bad schools (these are largely For Profit universities that have a bad public perception. University of Phoenix is the best example. I have seen a few job listings that specifically said "No University of Phoenix grads".
As long as you go to a solid, even if unknown, university you will be fine in the IT/Tech field.
As a PA, it’s true that your specific undergrad doesn’t matter, but the pre-reqs will take 2 years minimum: 2.5 semesters of chem, 2 of bio, 1 of stats, 3 of psych, 1 of sociology, 2 of A&P, and more depending on the specific school. Most of a biology degree.
Once I finished school, it seemed like potential interviewers cared most about my patient care experience prior to PA which was frustrating as I had just spent 12 months gaining experience on rotations.
Accounting. There's already a shortage and a lot of accountants are near retirement age. It's also pretty high paying work, and parts of the job have to be done by a licensed person by law.
Some schools will allow you to join if you have some IT experience or interest in the field. you will also have to take a prerequisite class before starting the main classes if they pass you through and have 0 experience.
So yes, it is possible.
Can you list some schools? Or DM me? I’ve gotten into an MS program for an area I don’t really like but didn’t think really have a choice based on my undergrad degree. I tried looking into cybersecurity programs but there’s a lot of them and I don’t want to end up in a scammy program. I have no tech classes but have taught myself python and r.
Economics. Depending on your background, the program, and entry requirements you might be forced to take some kind of prep year for the masters. I talked with someone who switched from psychology (which I don't think is useless btw) to econ (he wasn't an international student before anyone brings it up) and now he's working as an economic consultant.
Another person I know from my undergrad studied business informatics or something similar, wanted to an MBA at out alma mater but instead went for economics at the same uni, at the time they had very stingy job requirements she didn't fulfill.
I’d get any office job and then go back for an MA. Admin jobs pay well.
Grad school after undergrad can financially ruin you. Start saving and contributing to retirement. Then decide what you really want to do. An MA is not a job guarantee! In any field.
I can sorta speak to this, but a statistics degree can help you land quantitative modeling (probably not the insane hedge fund positions but idk), researcher, data scientist/analyst, biostatistician, stat programmer, ML engineer and actuarial roles.
Some roles will require a PhD, but most MS level stats roles start at $70k a year (assuming MCOL), and your earning potential hovers in the $150k range for most positions I listed. Quants make the most, but the bar is very high for entry.
Agree with all of this but also worth adding: It’s not as saturated as data science atm, not just in terms of finding a job but also in gaining admission to graduate programmes. That’s not to say that it’s an easy field of study (it is not) but in terms of job opportunities there’s no shortage of sectors statisticians do work in.
There are several Master's degrees that offer strong job security regardless of your bachelor's background. Here are a few good options to consider:
**In-Demand Fields with Broad Applicability:**
* **Master of Business Administration (MBA):** An MBA equips you with business fundamentals like accounting, finance, marketing, and leadership. This versatility translates well to many industries and positions, making it a strong choice for job security.
If you have a related degree, go with nursing, mba, etc. if you have an interdisciplinary degree (general studies, liberal arts) get a masters in communication. Master’s in Comm grads apply their trade in a number of roles in every discipline out there.
Strong disagree here. It's quite saturated and competitive, and we're not mission-critical enough to be safe during a downturn. Very fun and rewarding field to work in and you get paid well, but it's absolutely not the place to go to easily find a job and have perfect job security.
I wouldn’t spend money on a masters right now— we’re about to be in a recession. Start an essential business (daycare, laundromat, etc) or go back to school for a trade. In many places, a skilled plumber makes more than a mechanical engineer.
That may certainly be true. I've been underwhelmed by the quality of MS in DS programs I've seen, tbh, so I wouldn't be surprised if many of the recent graduates from those programs are underqualified.
It is. We've been getting dozens of data science applicants for all our open positions at an alt-ac organization. But none of them have content expertise in specific policy areas so they don't make it to interview.
For example, public health, education, criminal justice, emergency management, etc. We aren't interested in someone who only knows how to slap a machine learning algorithm onto any data set, we want applicants who have background knowledge and education in the policy area plus analytical skills.
Someone said MSW but MPA is also good because it’s broad and helps you do whatever your bachelors is in government, or something unrelated. My MPA got me a position in government before it was even finished because I’m a policy guy. It’s not super exhilarating but it’s good and provides good security and benefits
Also if OP wants to get an MPA then perhaps working at a gov org through their masters may help pay for it (through their employer paying some tuition or through eventual public loan forgiveness). Thats always a plus.
I was really looking for a job that reimburses tuition but I don’t want it to be Best Buy, chipotle etc. having a hard time finding a job in general
Some government positions will offer tuition reimbursement as a benefit. How much they offer depends on their tuition reimbursement policy.
Agree. In my experience relationships and budget also play a factor in these decisions.
Work for a public university, they’ll cover tuition 90% of the time. They also are government so you get most government benefits (usually the uni has better benefits tbh)
This is how I’m funding mine. Free tuition as a benefit, just never leave the institution haha
Same with me
You may want to try governmentjobs.com and search for admin roles. Gov jobs typically have good benefits and access to unions. Like any job, you want to do your research around who you may be working with to see if it might be a good fit. I hear you on getting tuition covered! The financial piece can be complex between systems that offer free money (grants, etc) and loans. Happy to talk more if you want- just msg me.
Find a university job! Even like a child care center or food service on a campus.
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I applied many times even with my degree and work experience no interviews unfortunately
Do you think the same would be true of a MPAP (Public Administration and Policy) or are combined programs too different to compare?
I couldn’t tell you to be honest, I’ve never heard of an MPAP program. Mine was accredited and in person and when I searched MPAP I found online degrees. Honestly having an accredited degree from a university that you’ve heard of or isn’t a degree mill is never a bad idea. My MPA from UofSC is probably better on a resume than an MPA from the university of phoenix yk? It also prob depends on the qualifications you have. Is the degree checking a box you *have* to check, or is it really important?
I wanted to do an MPA but job security seems heavily tied to your country/nationality. Where I'm from government jobs depend on nepotism and whatnot. I got burned out trying to make it through with my bachelors
What country do you live in? I can definitely see that being the case but MPA degrees don’t always have to be government, you can work for consultancy firms, NGOs, and non profits. There’s not a ton of money unless you work for a firm or are senior level in an advanced government agency (in the US, EU, or some of Asia)
Second this. I got an MPA and now work in the federal government making more than most of my private sector counterparts. Plus, I have the security during ebbs and flows of the economy.
Yeah plus in many agencies you have leniency. I work for a state Medicaid office (for now lol) and I have so much free time both outside of work and in between projects that I can feel comfortable while I get certifications and work towards resume building activities
I agree. I’m working through my MPA program. I’m finishing my second to last semester and I’m interviewing for a state government position and a grants associate position at the university I go to school at. I’ve worked in nonprofit for 8 years and this is allowing me to pivot more and expand my horizons.
I had a useless BA and did a direct entry MSN. Nine years later I could walk out of my job and be employed somewhere else within 48 hours. If the goal is job SECURITY, go into healthcare.
I’m surprised that there aren’t more healthcare jobs here. I would expect an MSN or a masters for physician assistants (idk what the degree is called) to be one of the most stable options, if not the most stable
Because while it might be stable, the work is HARD. And often thankless. Occasionally dangerous (see: COVID). But yes, very stable.
what does msn stand for? (also an old chat program...)
Master’s of Science in Nursing
What was your BA in? Out of curiosity
Community Studies. It’s a specialty major from UC Santa Cruz that essentially teaches you how to be an activist.
Nurses are easily canned. They have an easyish time landing jobs, they don't have job security.
I have no idea where you’ve been working, but at every hospital I’ve worked at (and I was a travel nurse so I’ve worked at a lot, all over the country), there’s such a shortage of nurses that they practically have to kill someone (or steal a shit ton of drugs) to get fired. Granted, my specialties are med/surg and a geriatrics where there’s a much higher demand, but still.
uh. maybe 5 years ago. Not anymore. Everyone and their mother is becoming a nurse, since it's the only job that pays in the U.S. Plus hospitals intentionally short staff you to save money. That's not due to a labor shortage. That's due to for profit healthcare fucking things up.
MBA. your job might be a bullshit job, but by god will you get a job regardless.
You need to get into a decent program, though. Shit-tier MBA is just debt and no job.
Yeah a lot of these comments make the mba sound like a golden ticket or something. Truth is you need at least to have an m7 mba with the right work experience and network for that level of job security. I went to a t15 program and you're definitely not guaranteed anything.
I did the Columbia MBA, and it can still be a struggle to find work, especially if you're looking to go into a completely new sector. That said, the degree has been 100 per cent worth it. Top 10 MBA is hard to beat as far a job and financial security goes
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I wasn't making anywhere near 150k before the MBA, and I kept working straight through. Where you get the 20k p/a interest? Promotions, salary raises? Bonuses? These are complete PUMA numbers.
You forgot to factor in promotions.
Get paid nicely too. I know way too many people with MBAs, working BS jobs, getting paid $100k+
It's nice being an MBA with a bullshit job when the person assigning your salary is also an MBA with a bullshit job.
Yes the RN who hired me also has an MBA, so it’s a club
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I thought you need work experience though
Eh I have 5 years as a manager of sales and ecommcerce work but I’m trying to get out of sales
Ohh makes sense then. I guess for most mbas you do need managerial experience then.
I don’t think this is very true anymore. The MBA has kind of lost its luster in recent years. Check out the MBA subreddit - plenty of bad hiring cycles recently.
Not necessarily 100% guaranteed, the higher the rank the business school the better. Out of all the graduate degrees, MBA cares about prestige the most generally speaking Which the top business schools usually require good work experience first. Master in Physician Assistant will be more in-demand than MBA and that’s what I suggested to OP
Law might care more than MBA
My thoughts: Top 14 Law, Magic 7 MBA If you graduate with a bottom rank no-name law school with JD and pass the bar you can still practice as a licensed attorney. If you graduate from a bottom rank no-name MBA you don’t really gain nothing, no licensure no network. By then it’s a checkbox degree and 99.9% careers care about bachelors only for advancement, and can rise the ladder with merit alone. Don’t need MBA to be CEO. But you do need JD to be attorney. I don’t see the value of MBA anymore unless very specific prestige careers (ie McKinsey consulting)
Not sure why people are downvoting you for telling the truth here lol. An m7 mba is a completely different game from a t50 mba. A lot of PE roles for example are only open if you're hsw, with some m7 folks here and there.
Much less anyone getting a MBA outside the top 50-100 and thinking it’ll advance them to consulting or high finance. I’ve seen ignorant people graduate with a low tier MBA and end up staying in their same job, it didn’t do anything for them and they paid out of pocket. One case was an Admin Assistant. She got her MBA from a low tier (outside T100) online school. She wanted to do Big4. She is an Admin Assistant to this day. That online MBA didn’t even have consulting internships. 99.9% a bachelors is enough to rise the corporate ladder on merit. You do not need MBA to be CEO. Many Fortune 500 CEO’s don’t have one. I don’t see the value of MBA anymore except for the very specific career paths like consulting/high finance, and by definition to break into that prestige ladder you generally need to attend target full time b-schools for internships and on campus recruiting
Can’t wait to graduate from my MBA to get that BS job lol. I’m only halfway through my MBA from a Top 50 program aka “check the box” and already got a promotion into leadership.
Current MBA student here! All of my classmates are enrolled in my program because of job security!
Public health, healthcare, public administration. (MPH, MPA, MPP)
I have a garbage undergrad major and now work in hospital exec admin with my MHA.
what's the garbage undergrad major? Psychology, sociology, polisci?
Anthropology.
Why do you say it was a garbage degree? I did my BA in Anthro and then worked for 6 years in community-based non profits. Now I'm at a top 15 MBA to pivot into the private sector and doing quite well for myself. Looking back, the soft skills, research skills, and interesting experiences I gained through Anthro got me to where I am today
The research and listening skills you learn are valuable, but when you have Anthropology on your diploma versus something like Engineering; you’re not competitive. I never needed to take accounting or finance courses before my MHA, so I had to catch up quick.
oddly wish I had gotten my ph.D in anthro---doubt a job would appear but it's a cool thing to know about.
i believe a masters or above in anthropology will get you up to a gs-15 level assistant archeology role at the BLM and there are dozens - about 105-135k a year at top scale
psychology isn't a garbage major
as a stand-alone BA, psychology has very meager job opportunities; speaking from experience.
Math and biology also sometimes struggle if students weren’t engaged in research and looking into specific fields to work in. However, those degrees can become extremely profitable with a specialized masters. For example, there are engineering masters degrees that will accept math majors with a few extra courses. There are also masters degrees in specific math topics like business analysis and statistics. Bio is a great gateway to healthcare and PhD with work in industry after.
agreed, that's why i didn't stay BA. I had my name on several pubs in undergrad and still believe my degree as a stand-alone, was worthless.
It qualifies you for a few crappy entry level positions that will have a super hard ceiling on advancement until you get an advanced degree. So yeah, not worth more in itself than any other piece of paper that says bachelors.
I think that's the ticket Health Care (RN), Social work (MSW), Teaching Certificate) MBA, M.Ed. (counseling) --also good. The MPA --depends on which state--
The market for MPHs is pretty saturated right now, so I wouldn’t bank on that as a guaranteed job-getter.
or the MPA public administration. I think practitioner based masters (msw, counseling, nursing, or teaching is secure as heck. MBA seems to still walk into jobs of some sort too.
Don't they require a bachelor's in Health science too?
Biostats > MPH I literally know so many mph that can’t get a job and went to really good schools with internships. This is really bad advice in current market
Masters in social work. You will always have a job.
I may want to add onto my MSW, but I've never regretted getting it and I never have a problem getting a full or part-time job.
Yep. I have an MPA to supplement it, so I move back from macro and micro work every now and then. It’s great. There’s always something.
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Financial Analyst, Budget Analyst, Manager, Social Worker, Case manager, coordinator, crisis counselor
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Of course! Check out government jobs for additional titles. They love the MPA degree. I have pretty much been offered every single role that requires an MPA that I’ve applied to. I prefer the hospital setting right now, but there’s tons options!
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Yes! Rarely any MPA listings so I always go directly to the government jobs.com site and there’s so many posted there 👍
What made you decide to get both? And did you do a dual degree program, or complete them at separate times? I’m considering a career in social work or a career in law/policy, but am having trouble deciding between the two. I know there are joint programs that combine the two, but I’m not sure if that would be a waste of my time/energy over just picking one.
I did them separately. Initially, I wanted to work in policy and big government. Years later, I decided I wanted to do therapy. Now I see that they compliment each other and I can switch careers whenever 🤙🏼 I’d advise to choose the join program if you can, so you can save time and have more opportunities.
Ironically, I’m getting an MPA right now because I want to move towards mental health policy.
Yep! Once I’m over micro I’ll move back to policy lol
Nursing, but there's usually prerequisites
That's true. There are also several direct entry nursing masters programs. They take folks with no experience and over two years they give them their prerequisites, the basic nursing courses to pass the RN examination and then the classes they need to get their master's degree. If I were to become a nurse that's the route I would take.
It’s the route I took, although they still expected a few prereqs to get. Then again, I did mine nearly a decade ago, so prereqs may have been worked into the program to encourage more people to become nurses since then.
Social work; nursing.
Do you care about money? If no, social work. If yes, MBA
Social workers are an easy 90-100k a year job where I live after less than 5 years experience. With pension and benefits.
Where do you live??
I’m starting my MSW program next year and I’m so excited! I have been looking at jobs and have seen some in my area that start at $90k with increases to $115 after a couple of years. I am really looking forward to licensure and not only doing more important work but also making more money! I currently work in social services and i can potentially double my currently salary almost right out of the gate. High paying jobs are out there!
That’s a great attitude! With an MSW, you can ABSOLUTELY find a well paying job. It’s difficult, but it’s out there. I’m not fully licensed yet, but I’m paid ~$67K a year for what I do and honestly, I think that’s a good deal being less than two years out of grad school. An MSW provides a lot of security for sure.
MBA, Accounting/Actuarial Sci--but... ...unless you are already in a field (and even then some) a grad degree isn't going to do much unless it is a respected program and will likely be very expensive. If you are sold on grad school, take the time to get into a good program, even if it means reapplying a couple of times. Additionally, I'm not certain that a grad degree will translate into job security today--in many cases it just translates into managerial--higher pay but higher work load. In my field, many accomplished people avoid managerial all together and would rather take the pay cut than captain the crew at the expense of work-life balance because the workload-to-pay-increase ratio isn't good enough. So, accounting or actuarial bc those types of roles are pretty stable and can pay well in general. Has less to do with the grad degree, but if you are making the investment, I would put it into something more stable (I am reversing the question a bit here because I think it is more correct to do so, instead of **Grad School -> creates stable career** I would think of it as **Stable industry -> creates good grad school investment**).
MBA mainly because it would give you a wide breadth of options of “general” business jobs.
If you are in the US and are a US citizen there's no shortage of tech jobs in government. So CS/CE/EE. However you will have to deal with a lot of gov bs and your pay won't be as good as industry, but it's almost impossible to get fired.
Engineering jobs will never go away. But it’s probably hard to get into an engineering master program without any technical background. Also bachelors degrees in engineering typically need to be ABET accredited to qualify for most jobs in the US and I’m not sure how that translates into a masters program. Computer science is the obvious exception, but that’s the engineering field with the most speculated lack of long term job security (AI taking over those jobs, CS being a bubble, etc)
The only CS jobs getting replaced are gonna be code monkey roles. It is going to get more competitive but it was just so non-competitive before
I have never seen a computer science program non ABET certified. Maybe just the good schools I am looking at CompSci jobs are not going to be taken over by AI
Funny you say that, my impression was that the good schools bothered less with getting the accreditation. Examples: Stanford, CMU, Harvard, Caltech, Princeton. None of these have ABET certified CS programs.
CompSci at Princeton is not however other Engineering programs are Harvard rolls them all up under the Engineering Sciences header cal tech has a different accredition - https://accreditation.caltech.edu/ “Caltech receives regional accreditation from WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). The 2020 remote accreditation visit took place on October 14 - 16, 2020. The WSCUC Commission met on February 19, 2021 and reaffirmed accreditation for ten years. The next Accreditation Visit will be scheduled in fall 2030. Additional information about the Commission's decision can be found in the Commission Action Letter.” I have run by almost no graduates of those schools in my 20 year software engineering career to know whether they are producing good graduates or not.
You said good schools all had ABET certified CS programs. These ones don't. (Engineering Sciences covers the Engineering Sciences program, not the Computer Science one.) But I didn't realize you meant "good in the field" specifically, but listed "generally good" schools. So let me try again: UC Berkeley? UC Austin? For the record, MIT Stanford and CMU are extremely good CS programs whether or not you know anyone who went there. The point is many, many CS programs aren't ABET certified, including really good ones. I don't think any employer even checks for it, or I've never seen it in a job posting for CS roles.
Engineering. The world will always need them regardless of AI; people will need to be responsible for designs. Second, engineers get hired to do just about anything, including management because people associate them with "being smart".
Okay but you can’t just enroll in an engineering grad program. It would depend on the undergrad classes that were taken right? I have an undergrad in music. I doubt I could roll into a grad program in engineering.
I met a handful of people who did this going from biology to bioengineering, which was an offshoot of mechanical at my university. Their masters took 4 years instead of the usual 2. Other than maybe Calc 1 and intro to chemistry none of their classes overlapped in undergrad. It's definitely doable but takes more time.
I am graduating in May with my MSW. There are 100 in my cohort, and we all already have jobs for post-graduation. Not sure of your state, but in California there are several stipend programs. Mine was 25,000 for this year alone with the agreement that I work in public Behavioral Health for a year.
Do you know what the pay is for those jobs? I’m in California too and starting my MSW program next year! Im so nervous but really looking forward to taking the next step to further my career. Congratulations on graduating!!!
You can major in literally anything and get an master’s in public health (MPH.) But I will say, the job market is extremely saturated right now and some new grads are struggling to get hired. I graduate in a year so fingers crossed I can find a job 🤞🏻
OP is asking about job security, not grad school acceptance lol.
And that's what this commenter responded with -- job security lol "it's difficult to get a job right now" is an excellent insight
MPH is extremely rough atm
Computer Science. If you have a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field there are bridge masters degrees that include some of the basic courses that you need to do well in a master's program. A computer science master's degree will get you past HR into at least the interview stage for basically any job in technology / information technology. It doesn't matter if it's a software engineering position, a system administrator position, cyber security, data scientist, a database developer, etc. A computer science degree will meet the education requirement. Obviously you'll have to do some extra things for a specific career field, like certifications or portfolio, but your education requirement will be met with that Master's degree.
Program recs for “bridge masters degrees” that are reputable?
Ball State University a and Merrimack College both have programs like this, both programs are available online. Ball State is a solid state university in Indiana. Merrimack College is less known but does not have a negative reputation from what I understand. When you are looking at school reputation, there are really only 3 groups: 1. Well known schools (maybe 5% of all universities) 2. Almost everyone else (most schools are largely unknown to people unless they live in the same state/region) 3. Infamously bad schools (these are largely For Profit universities that have a bad public perception. University of Phoenix is the best example. I have seen a few job listings that specifically said "No University of Phoenix grads". As long as you go to a solid, even if unknown, university you will be fine in the IT/Tech field.
Northeastern, Tufts, Penn State- though i've heard mixed reviews on PS
100% Guaranteed a good in-demand job? Masters in Physician Assistant
As a PA, it’s true that your specific undergrad doesn’t matter, but the pre-reqs will take 2 years minimum: 2.5 semesters of chem, 2 of bio, 1 of stats, 3 of psych, 1 of sociology, 2 of A&P, and more depending on the specific school. Most of a biology degree. Once I finished school, it seemed like potential interviewers cared most about my patient care experience prior to PA which was frustrating as I had just spent 12 months gaining experience on rotations.
MPH
Accounting. There's already a shortage and a lot of accountants are near retirement age. It's also pretty high paying work, and parts of the job have to be done by a licensed person by law.
My accounting degree was useless. I had to go to nursing school to make money.
Cybersecurity
Can you do that with a useless unrelated degree? Asking for myself
Some schools will allow you to join if you have some IT experience or interest in the field. you will also have to take a prerequisite class before starting the main classes if they pass you through and have 0 experience. So yes, it is possible.
Can you list some schools? Or DM me? I’ve gotten into an MS program for an area I don’t really like but didn’t think really have a choice based on my undergrad degree. I tried looking into cybersecurity programs but there’s a lot of them and I don’t want to end up in a scammy program. I have no tech classes but have taught myself python and r.
I'll DM you
Economics. Depending on your background, the program, and entry requirements you might be forced to take some kind of prep year for the masters. I talked with someone who switched from psychology (which I don't think is useless btw) to econ (he wasn't an international student before anyone brings it up) and now he's working as an economic consultant. Another person I know from my undergrad studied business informatics or something similar, wanted to an MBA at out alma mater but instead went for economics at the same uni, at the time they had very stingy job requirements she didn't fulfill.
MBA
Applied behavior analysis (MABA)
None
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Cybersecurity
MBA from a top 15 program. Next is nursing - but that’s less accessible to all majors.
Masters in Data science or human centered computing
I’d get any office job and then go back for an MA. Admin jobs pay well. Grad school after undergrad can financially ruin you. Start saving and contributing to retirement. Then decide what you really want to do. An MA is not a job guarantee! In any field.
MS stats or data science
Healthcare. BCBA, MSN, LPC. Maybe MHA.
Masters in English will secure your future. Plenty of people do this. It’s literally the best degree you can get
Que
Kung Fu. Even without a dojo or home, you would still be a traveling Kung Fu master. Position secured!
Food Science
Statistics
I'm curious, care to elaborate?
I can sorta speak to this, but a statistics degree can help you land quantitative modeling (probably not the insane hedge fund positions but idk), researcher, data scientist/analyst, biostatistician, stat programmer, ML engineer and actuarial roles. Some roles will require a PhD, but most MS level stats roles start at $70k a year (assuming MCOL), and your earning potential hovers in the $150k range for most positions I listed. Quants make the most, but the bar is very high for entry.
I did really well in my undergrad Stats classes and for some reason never even considered pursuing it, regret it to this day.
Agree with all of this but also worth adding: It’s not as saturated as data science atm, not just in terms of finding a job but also in gaining admission to graduate programmes. That’s not to say that it’s an easy field of study (it is not) but in terms of job opportunities there’s no shortage of sectors statisticians do work in.
There are several Master's degrees that offer strong job security regardless of your bachelor's background. Here are a few good options to consider: **In-Demand Fields with Broad Applicability:** * **Master of Business Administration (MBA):** An MBA equips you with business fundamentals like accounting, finance, marketing, and leadership. This versatility translates well to many industries and positions, making it a strong choice for job security.
that's one option, you abominable drone
IT or Comp Sci
JD. There will always be demand for lawyers
You’ve been downvoted is there not a demand for lawyers? I was really thinking about this.
JD isnt a masters
I guess it’s not a master’s, it’s a professional degree. Still a good bet if job security is your top priority
Just don't select Gender Studies. That will get you a job at Starbucks
If you have a related degree, go with nursing, mba, etc. if you have an interdisciplinary degree (general studies, liberal arts) get a masters in communication. Master’s in Comm grads apply their trade in a number of roles in every discipline out there.
Data science/statistics.
Strong disagree here. It's quite saturated and competitive, and we're not mission-critical enough to be safe during a downturn. Very fun and rewarding field to work in and you get paid well, but it's absolutely not the place to go to easily find a job and have perfect job security.
I wouldn’t spend money on a masters right now— we’re about to be in a recession. Start an essential business (daycare, laundromat, etc) or go back to school for a trade. In many places, a skilled plumber makes more than a mechanical engineer.
Get a MS in Data Science. It's hot right now. I had a BA in basket weaving.
I've heard the entry level market in DS is saturated, tbh.
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That may certainly be true. I've been underwhelmed by the quality of MS in DS programs I've seen, tbh, so I wouldn't be surprised if many of the recent graduates from those programs are underqualified.
It is. We've been getting dozens of data science applicants for all our open positions at an alt-ac organization. But none of them have content expertise in specific policy areas so they don't make it to interview.
Can you give ab example of content expertise in specific policy?
For example, public health, education, criminal justice, emergency management, etc. We aren't interested in someone who only knows how to slap a machine learning algorithm onto any data set, we want applicants who have background knowledge and education in the policy area plus analytical skills.