Going For The Masters

Deciding where you want to go in life can be difficult at times. Really difficult. Like, you have two doors with one reading MONEY and the other reading DEATH ... and you are blindfolded, turned around, and then asked to pick what door you want to go through.


Well ... maybe it isn't that bad, but it can feel like it! For many, a Masters Degree is the path to success.

People decide on degree field choices for a variety of reasons including income expectations, career longevity, personal interest, and advancement opportunities. All of these pursuits have merit and all of these pursuits are not the only desired outcomes. Some people select many of these options.

In my private experience I think it wise to cultivate a path to a career based on 1) standards of excellence and 2) personal growth potential.

1 - Standards of Excellence 

A Masters Degree is a pursuit of more than the average, standard knowledge base in a subject. By deciding to pursue a Masters you are promoting the idea that you desire a greater understanding of your field. One of the key components of this idea is that YOU ( the student ) are held to a higher standard of education, chiefly that you are granted a greater of autonomy in your pursuit of knowledge.

If you decide to pursue a Masters you must become the judge of your own standard for education. Your limit on education becomes how far you're willing to go to dig up research and how deep into the rabbit hole of knowledge you're OK going down.

2 - Personal Growth Potential 

When you decide to go in for a Masters you are basically investing in yourself. What this means is that you're advocating your own ideas, ones that you're given then freedom to develop with assistance from other faculty. You declare with a Masters that you have the power to grow as an academic, an innovator, and as a professional.

The power of personal growth means that you also learn how to work within the confines of a challenging program. With Masters programs you are required to work smarter ( and sometimes harder ) in how you achieve results, something vital to any degree field.

If you decide to pursue a Masters make sure you're aware of the obligations it places on you, as well as be aware of the great opportunity it gives you to invest in your own future.