Thinking of ways to kick-start your career, get into a new area of IT, or differentiate yourself when competing for jobs? A graduate degree might be just what you need. But make sure you think through your goals before you enroll. In some cases, grad school could prevent you from getting your ideal IT job.
Moreover, you should take into account all aspects of the application process, from collecting required documents to passing exams. So some students need help writing a paper to simplify their lives and make the whole process smoother. However, it is not the case as it is easy to get help with a paper from special writers.
However, let’s proceed with some necessary information you should know before applying.
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Grad School and IT Skills Upgrades
IT is an ever-changing field, and it can be tough to keep up with the latest developments. In some instances, grad school can help you brush up on your skills and zero in on a particular area of interest.
For example, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, Ont., Canada offers a Master of Information Technology Security program, where students can delve into business and IT security issues while testing and improving their security know-how in a Hacker Research Lab environment.
In cases such as this, students come out of grad school with a specialization that makes them more employable.
How Grad School Differentiates You from Other Applicants
Since grad school is still fairly academically focused, it is also designed to help you develop your communication and teamwork skills, which could set you apart from other job applicants, especially if you’re applying for engineering or architecture positions within an IT organization.
An advanced degree can give you a distinct advantage when you’re applying for jobs with employers who have strong research and development or academic cultures.
When Getting a Graduate Degree Can Backfire
You need to ensure your graduate degree will meet your goals. Ask yourself what kind of IT work you want to do.
If you’re more interested in jobs that place less emphasis on analytical or critical thinking – such as operations or production support – an advanced degree could make you look overqualified. In that case, just get the education you need to get the job.
Also, if you have a graduate degree in an unrelated field – say, Greek Studies – and you’re applying for an IT infrastructure management position, it might raise some questions about your professional focus, even if you have the required experience.
The Issue of Cost
Keep in mind that grad school can be very costly. If you are supporting a family or you have a heavy student loan burden to deal with after graduating from a four-year college program, pursuing another degree could put a lot of financial pressure on you. These situations will require a lot of planning, and perhaps some sacrifices. You may have to work for a while to save some money before you continue your studies, or you might only be able to take courses part-time. So you can work the rest of the time – which means it’ll take you longer to reach your intended goal.
Examples of Useful Graduate Degrees
A business administration/analysis or project management background can be a huge asset when trying to get your foot in the door with consulting firms or services divisions within software companies.
A graduate degree, particularly one with a concentration in instructional design, can also be a major advantage when looking for a job in curriculum development and training.
Graduate Degrees and Technical Careers
While most technical jobs are experiencing growth rates above the average for other jobs, it can be a toss-up whether or not it is worth investing the time and money required to obtain a graduate degree. For example, there should be nearly 364,000 positions for Information Systems Managers by 2022, representing an 18 percent growth from 2010 levels.
However, most of the people holding these positions — 55 percent — have just a bachelor’s or associate’s degree. Only 22 percent have a master’s degree, and 2 percent have a doctorate or other professional degree. The remaining 21 percent do not have a degree.
Among database administrators (DBAs), education levels are about the same, and numbers are about the same. According to the research of the best essay writing service reddit 2022, only 20 percent of DBAs have a master’s degree, and 2 percent have a doctoral or professional degree. Fifty-six percent have a bachelor’s or associate’s degree. Twenty-two percent do not have a degree.
Acceptance Rates
The highest acceptance rate in graduate programs was in education, where the acceptance rate for master’s programs was 71 percent, and the rate for doctoral programs was 41 percent.
Engineering master’s programs had an acceptance rate of 43 percent and a rate of 41 percent for doctoral programs.
Math and computer science had an acceptance rate of 44 percent for master’s programs and 22 percent for doctoral programs.
Business doctoral programs had the lowest acceptance rate — 12 percent. Master’s programs in business had a 48 percent acceptance rate.
Gender and Enrolment
In first-time graduate program enrolment, men continue to outnumber women in math and computer science, engineering, and business.
In math and computer sciences master’s programs, of those beginning a degree in 2011, 68 percent were men, and 32 percent were women. In doctoral programs, 73 percent are men, and 27 percent are women.
In engineering, approximately the same ratio of men and women were enrolled for the first time in both master’s and doctoral programs: 76 percent being male and 24 percent being female.
In business programs, the ratios were closer. Fifty-eight percent of those enrolled in master’s programs were male, while 42 percent were women. In doctoral programs, 55 percent were male, and 45 percent were women.
Women do outnumber men in some other fields. In education, 59 percent of new master’s program students were women, as were 52 percent in doctoral programs.
Eighty percent of new health sciences master’s programs were women, as were 70 percent of doctoral programs. Women accounted for 78 percent of new master’s program enrolments in public administration and 62 percent of doctoral programs.
Women also slightly outnumbered men in arts and humanities, biological and agricultural sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and those programs classified as “other fields.”
The Final Word
Bottom line: a graduate degree can be a big career booster. But make sure you do your research, think through your goals, and come up with a plan before you decide to take the plunge.
Besides that, do your homework and research some statistics to estimate your chances of entering a particular school.
