Masters Or Doctorate Degree - Which is Better For You?

By David Cassell

In order to answer the question "which is better for you?", you will have to understand your own motivations, priorities, capabilities and expectations. Your expectations should be based on a thorough knowledge of the pros and cons of both degrees.

Your Career Motivations and Goals

First off, you need to ascertain what your career goals are. For most careers, having a masters degree is a sufficient pre-requisite for entering into the top tier positions in your field. It is a very solid education and demonstrates that you want to deepen your knowledge in your chosen field.

If you decide to pursue a doctorate degree (PhD), it also demonstrates that you are serious about career advancement. However, unless you want a career in academia or research, it probably wouldn't be necessary to do one.

Nonetheless, several businesses headhunt highly qualified candidates to run their operations. Having a doctoral degree would place you way ahead of those you have a masters degree or lower.

There are those who do a PhD because it is a powerful status symbol. If you are going to be doing one on this basis, make sure you consider the costs involved, both in terms of time and money.

Understanding Your Capabilities

If you are not ready to give you a large part of your social life and get down to some serious studying then doing a postgraduate or doctorate degree is not for you. These two programs are very vigorous and time consuming. Be prepared for sleepless nights.

Also, if you barely scraped through your bachelors degree, think twice about pursuing a postgraduate degree. A much higher level of written work and analysis is required to successfully complete one.

Generally, to fulfill the masters degree requirements, one has to successfully complete exams, coursework and a dissertation.

A doctorate normally includes completing the masters program plus doing exams and a thesis based on original research. Most doctoral students work as teaching or research assistants which add to the overall feeling of overwhelm they experience.

You have to be brutally honest with yourself as to whether you're capable of handling postgraduate work.

Evaluating the Time and Money Issues

Doing a masters or doctoral degree can be costly. If you are still paying off for you bachelors degree it may be impossible for you to afford any more studying even though your earning potential would increase markedly.

That said, more financial aid is available for PhD students than masters students. This adds an interesting twist to your post graduate application.

You could apply to a PhD program initially even if you're not sure whether you'll complete it. If the program doesn't suit you, there is no penalty for changing your mind later and leaving with just a masters degree. You'd have still benefited from the financial aid. Of course, this all depends on whether you're accepted into the PhD program in the first place.

Then there is the time issue. If you have a job, a family or even a business, taking time off to study for another 2-6 years may not be feasible.

Age

Age may just be a number but it is a very important one. There is no age limit on the pursuit of a postgraduate degree. If time and money issues are unimportant to you, by all means pursue your masters or PhD.

However, if these issues are important, you need to think about how close you are to retirement and if you'll be working long enough to enjoy the benefits of a postgraduate qualification.

Then there is the matter of energy. Finding the motivation to study late in life is not impossible but difficult. The older you are, the less likely you are to have the motivation to complete postgraduate study or any degree for that matter.

Seek Help

On a final note, don't hesitate to seek the advice of professionals who can help you to think objectively about this decision. Talk to your boss, your academic adviser or even people who have already obtained a postgraduate degree in your field.

Don't enroll into a masters or PhD program unless you are sufficiently convinced it is right for your personal circumstances.

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