Having a master's degree can help you advance in your career.
After finishing a bachelor's or associate's program of higher education (post-secondary), additional degrees may be required by some corporations offering full-time positions. These include master's and doctorate programs. Choosing a master's program can be quite a daunting task because future employers will view the field of study in which you receive your master's degree to be your area of expertise, thereby defining your future work.
Instructions
1. Decide on your field of study for your master's degree. This may be the same field as your undergraduate degree. Decide whether you want to continue this field of study. Ask yourself if you could see yourself working in this field for the rest of your life. If the answer is "yes," this may be an avenue you wish to pursue. Make a list of all possible fields of study you wish to research. The benefit of pursuing a higher degree is the ability to expand your interests from the work you've been doing, in order to make yourself more marketable. Consider branching out and learning about a new category of academia. Some examples are: business, law, accounting, engineering, research science, interior design and more.
2. Analyze your personal life to determine the type of program that would work best for your current needs. If you have a family, or need to financially support yourself by working long hours, or are disinterested in classroom learning, perhaps an online program is more your speed. Make sure to also consider financial means during this step. Ask yourself whether you can afford to work at your master's degree full-time, part-time or in the evenings. Write these down to reference in future steps.
3. Research programs on the Internet. A good starting point is looking at the school you attended for your bachelor's degree. While you may want to attend another school to get a wider variety on your resume, checking out the programs at a school you are already familiar with will give you a good idea of what programs are offered in your chosen field of study. Search for other master's programs, too, on the Internet. This step is not about pinning down a program right away (although you may come across one). It is meant to introduce you to the possibilities that exist.
4. Get one-on-one advice from a mentor or counselor. Contacting the department heads at a university that offers programs in which you are interested is a great way to find experienced guidance in the area of choosing a master's program. Also, if you are in contact with a career professional who has a job in the industry you are interested in, contact her to see if she would talk to you about the academic path she took.
5. Make sure the programs you found that may be of interest to you suit your needs. Take the list of qualifications you need a program to have (that you created in Step 3), and measure them against your own research. Make sure to ask a lot of questions before committing yourself to a program.
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