Should I start a new Master's program?

Question

I started a Master's in Public Administration. I dropped out because I didn't like it and didn't feel I gained much, but then I started again because I had finished most of it. I tried to finish my last course, a thesis, but my thesis committee basically screwed me over and was never around.

I was fed up, so I applied to another school and was accepted. It's a program that's really different and I think I will gain many skills from, unlike my public admin program.

I have now been given the opportunity to complete my Public Admin degree with an internship (a new dept in my job). I could complete it this semester, but I will again have to pay for 6 credit hours, $1400.

Pros: I will have my degree this fall, my work won't go to waste

Cons: I will have to pay $1400 for soemthing I don't know if I can use, I will have to divert time away from my new program

Answer 1

If it were me, I'd complete the MPA, then work in the field while working on another degree. This way you have a win-win-win.

You have a completed degree.

You have a job.

You can work on getting into something you really want to do.

Answer 2

A Master's degree is most likely never a waste of time- your resume will always look better with that education level and it will always give you more bargaining power- even if it doesn't do anything for you at your current job.

$1400 is alot of money but given the opportunity at your current job it sounds almost too good to pass up.

Answer 3

$1400 is chump change for this kind of thing.  Complete the program so you can earn the degree.  You'll regret the decision, otherwise, ten years from now when you realize that degree could've bumped you up further for advancement but by then it's too late to do anything about it as the coursework you already did will be too old to go back to.  In contrast, that $1400 is going to seem like insignificant peanuts to you well into the future.  You may very well recoup that amount in the long-run just from a salary increase in a single month from a promotion you wouldn't otherwise have gotten.  As for the time commitments, it will be tight but I'm sure you've gotten this far by being able to handle this type of situation, and it's only one semester too so not that bad.