Master's degree?

[Tyler]

I would go the other way. If you are one of the very few who can actually afford to stop working and go back to school, I would think you'd have to ask what your expectations are. Are you expecting two great years at school for a lifetime of miserable work, or is it two years of misery in school for a lifetime of great work?

If your present situation is so good, what is it that this new change would get you? You haven't really said what it is that matters most, what you want, where you are going vs. where you want to be going.

If your current situation is miserable, but this new choice will make you more miserable (but with more money) do you really need the money? I did this, and surprisingly, the money makes a big difference. As Imelda Marcos once put it, "Better nouveau riche, than no riche at all".

djm

It's the advancement opportunity of my current situation that would bother me more than anything. We'd like to have more children, I'd like a bigger spot o' land to build a nice garage on, etc. I'd rather be able to do that without continuing the 12-16 hour days. I'm not going to be able to do that on our current income, and I certainly don't want to be pulling these bloody hours the rest of my life, soooooo, the alternative is get through school in a field that I already have experience in (and a penchent for)and run for the masters degree.

I'd be going at it part time, and my wife would be taking on other hours at her job to be able to afford my return.
What I'd really like to be able to do is to make more than I make now, and get away with working 8-9 hours instead of 12-16 hours a day.
Does that make sense?

I'm starting to lean more in the direction of throwing caution to the wind and going for it. I have always loved the CJ studies, it's just that when I graduated there were fewer opportunities for a BSCJ to make more than what I'm making now at comparable hours.

[Flyingcursor]

I don't think you should ever go to school for a job or money. You should go to learn and experience.

Unfortunately, grown-ups seldom have this freedom until they retire. For those who have to pay for it, education is a significant investment, one that had better produce some returns.

How I wish that weren't so true.

[Joseph E. Smith]

As we've all recently seen, punctuation matters highly on C&F?

Let's not drag that up. Please remain on topic Cran.

[djm]

I'd be going at it part time, and my wife would be taking on other hours at her job to be able to afford my return. What I'd really like to be able to do is to make more than I make now, and get away with working 8-9 hours instead of 12-16 hours a day.
Does that make sense?

Absolutely. If you are young enough to be considering having more kids, you must be young enough to go for the MA, the better job, the better pay. Having bucks when you're older really helps, as well.

djm

[jim stone]

Also it's not so bad having some prestige.

[Tyler]

Also it's not so bad having some prestige.

In which case, what the hell, I'll go for the PhD while I'm at it....
Hmm, Doctor Morris.....has kind of a ring to it...
I'd legally change my last name to House, tho!!

[Nanohedron]

Also it's not so bad having some prestige.

Absolutely. Opportunity for leverage goes with it, and if you want to get things done, it counts.

[Innocent Bystander]

As we've all recently seen, punctuation matters highly on C&F?

Let's not drag that up. Please remain on topic Cran.

On topic??? In the Pub????

[Joseph E. Smith]

As we've all recently seen, punctuation matters highly on C&F?

Let's not drag that up. Please remain on topic Cran.

On topic??? In the Pub????

... you're right, I knew better than that.

[gonzo914]

Let's not drag that up. Please remain on topic Cran.

On topic??? In the Pub????

... you're right, I knew better than that.

So does this mean that the topic of punctuation is back on the table in this thread, because I was going to give it a pass, but if it's OK, I might want to comment.

[Nanohedron]

On topic??? In the Pub????

... you're right, I knew better than that.

So does this mean that the topic of punctuation is back on the table in this thread, because I was going to give it a pass, but if it's OK, I might want to comment.

I would think the subject of punctuation in regard to one's thesis holds.

[jim stone]

Also it's not so bad having some prestige.

Absolutely. Opportunity for leverage goes with it, and if you want to get things done, it counts.

Yeah, and you're somebody, a contendah. You know, there
are all these things we're supposed to want, truth, beauty, virtue,
and other things we're not supposed to want--money,
prestige, social standing.

I've seen lots of people who wanted the latter make themselves
unhappy because they thought they weren't supposed to
want it. I had a colleague who thought she should want
truth and beauty, but what she really wanted was money.
She was a wizard at probability theory and finally she
quit her academic post (she was bitter that she was
underpaid), and made a bundle on the stock
market. Good for her.

Money, prestige and so on are good things. Prestige is good
for its leverage, as you say, and also it's nice to be looked
up to a bit, especially when you're an old f*rt. You
get some respect.

The Ph. D. gets you more respect, but the MA gets you some,
no question. Also the MA strikes the right balance between
getting respect and being viewed as a (highly respected) weirdo.

[Tyler]

...the MA strikes the right balance between getting respect and being viewed as a (highly respected) weirdo.

Like Dale and amar!











j/k

[jim stone]

I've known people who wouldn't finish their dissertation
because they thought they would die if they did.
It went like this--if I finish this I'll be a grown up for sure.
Peter Pan never got an MA! It'll be official.
Well, what happens to grown ups sooner or later?
They die. No way am I going to finish this!

At the University of Chicago, back in the days of
papyrus, they used to tell math students finishing their
dissertation to remove ink bottles from the room
where they had the typewritten copy.
Ink bottles suspiciously often spilled and spoiled it.

Well, obviously everybody who finishes their degree
dies sooner or later, as do those who don't. But
it sure improves the quality of life in between
to be a success.

It's really good to be a success.

[Cynth]

It's the advancement opportunity of my current situation that would bother me more than anything. We'd like to have more children, I'd like a bigger spot o' land to build a nice garage on, etc. I'd rather be able to do that without continuing the 12-16 hour days. I'm not going to be able to do that on our current income, and I certainly don't want to be pulling these bloody hours the rest of my life, soooooo, the alternative is get through school in a field that I already have experience in (and a penchent for)and run for the masters degree.

I'd be going at it part time, and my wife would be taking on other hours at her job to be able to afford my return.
What I'd really like to be able to do is to make more than I make now, and get away with working 8-9 hours instead of 12-16 hours a day.
Does that make sense?

I'm starting to lean more in the direction of throwing caution to the wind and going for it. I have always loved the CJ studies, it's just that when I graduated there were fewer opportunities for a BSCJ to make more than what I'm making now at comparable hours.

If you have a child, it seems like working 12-16 hours a day would mean you aren't able to spend much time with her. On that basis alone, I would say that anything that would enable you to have time to be with your family would be a worthwhile thing to do. If you love criminal justice and you've got some experience in it, and if you can earn more without working the long hours which keep you away from your family, then I can't see where the problem is.