Value of an MA in the work world

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Can anyone tell me what the value of a master's in social sciences is in the work world? I am 99.9% sure I will not go get one, but I thought I would ask. I am in political science.

You could teach with it, I presume. There seem to be some job openings if you want to teach. Just a thought.

I know you can use it to teach etc. But I am wondering if you can actually get something well paying outside of government and teaching. I have a BA honors in political science, but the only way I would get a master's is if I knew I could get a good (IE lucrative) private sector job. I don't know anyone and have no experience so that won't help.

An MA in the "work world" could vary from being completely without value to having tremendous value. It depends on what you're looking to do and if the degree imparts any skills, abilities, or knowledge that can be related to the industry you want to work in.

The fiberous vegetable has a point. I was told "come to college little freshly sober person, you will make more money than if you do not!" and now I am saddled with a debt that I couldn't pay off if I did get a job like they said. (bitter? naw. . . not much)

Merle

Are you in debt with school already? If so, I'd say don't do it.

I have a BA in Political Science and Mass Communications. I can't get a job doing jack with really either of those jobs. Okay, I could be a journalist, but time pressures and ethical issues would pose a problem for me.

The majority of college graduates don't have jobs in their chosen fields. Anything more than a BA/BS degree is unneeded for most any job that isn't highly specialized.

A MA in social work can open doors, but I'd suggest interning at a place that does social work with the stated purpose of determining if you would want to make a career of that line of work before going for the degree. Graduate degrees are very expensive pieces of paper...especially if you discover at the end that you don't want to pursue a job in that field (or you can't get one).

ASDasdf

What about press officer or information officer for a political/social organisation think tank? Or policy researcher or press officer for a charity?

What are the ethical issues that would pose a problem in relation to being a journalist? You don't have to be the kind of journalist who works for a tabloid and publishes celebrity gossip and goes through people's trash cans and stuff. You can be an ethical journalist and highlight injustice and social issues.

There is pretty much no ethics in either of those jobs. Press officer means "propaganda artist" for most any place. Easy to do if you actually believe passionately in what the organization does, but I'm pretty apathetic about most any cause.

Press jobs are even worse. There are still a few places where journalistic integrity and the pursuit of "truth" matters, but they are very rare. The local rags cover the "news" and tell the "truth" but it's small potatoes. Try and tackle any serious issue and the story is never printed. Again....more propaganda for the masses.

It depends on the field of study and the work environment.

Well, if you're so apathetic about causes, then what you do use as your ethical framework?

I mean, if you don't care about the environment, or civil rights, or social injustice or whatever, then how do you decide what's ethical or unethical?

I mean, if you care about the environment or inequalities and multinational corporations exploiting developing countries resources, then you'd probably find it unethical to work for an oil company. If you're apathetic about all those issues, then surely you wouldn't have a problem with the ethics of, say, working as a press officer for an oil company?

If you care about women's or children's rights, then you'd probably think it was ethical to work for a charity that worked to prevent human trafficking, the sex trade, and to help victims of it?

I find it hard to understand how you can be apathetic and yet still judge such jobs to be unethical. If there aren't any issues you particularly care about, then why do you consider jobs unethical, what makes them unethical? What's unethical about, say, highlighting the problems caused by human trafficking, writing press releases, launching campaigns to crackdown on it, lobbying governments to pass laws that provide for extraditions and international cooperation in relation to such an issue?

I just get the feeling you're just apathetic and can't be arsed full stop.

And if you think that a lot of journalism is unethical, but concede that some journalism is ethical, then why can't you set out to be the ethical kind?

Oh, and p.s., if you're just consuming your local rag, and maybe Hello and the National Inquirer or whatever, then of course you're going to find journalistic standards wanting. There is decent journalism out there, you just have to seek it out and be a more discerning consumer.

Apparently they forgot to mention the drop in income needed prior to attendance so you wouldn't incur any fees and/or community college.

My apathy is more recent. I've had people lie to me my whole life, so I despise dishonesty in people and situations. Jobs that would require me to provide disinformation would not be good for me. When I was naive about how journalism worked, I was excited about being a journalist. Once I saw how things were really done, I lost interest in the profession as a whole. Local "rags" are not things like the National Enquirer. My local papers publish news that's days to weeks old. National magazines and TV/Cable cover only certain topics while ignoring others. Coverage of political campaigns is all governed by the agenda of the media outlet's owner(s). The only people I see working to discover and report the real news as it happens are largely in the alternative press, but most all of them do it as a hobby.

There are things that are really important and other things that just are not important. The suffering in Darfur really isn't important. Human suffering is never ending, and we NEVER confront those behind it. The media makes people find sad about the poor people being slaughtered, but is there an outcry to punish the people behind it and the political powers that helped those people rise to power in the first place? No.

As I like to joke, I've gotten to the point where my "Give A Damn-O-Meter" is broken. I'm tired of caring over things that will never change while living a delusion that I can change it. Take away the "crusading to keep government honest" angle and all a reporter does is work in a paper mill with never ending time deadlines.

47

Don't most people with a BA in Political Science (which so happens bot to be associated with any science department) go for a law degree? At least that is the usual course of action. But, I gave someone advice a few years ago that had a BA in Political Science.

I told them that if they did not want to go into law then go back to school and get a degree in Human Resources. Nearly all companies need HR people and the HR people usually know ahead of time if the company is in trouble and can find another job before the ship sinks. And, with a solid legal basis along with some Spanish speaking ability you'll have a job for a long time.

Good Luck

I think it is more a "door opener": The most I know with an MA in the humanities (widest sense), including a lady with PhD in philosophy, do not make any work related to their study. wouldn't get their jobs with those academic credentials.

Call it madness, but it is the case.