Over the weekend I commented on the New York Times blog, Room for Debate, specifically on the issue of a Master's degree, it's cost and whether it is worth it. Surprised at the volume of hits from readers, I've decided to publish my comment here.
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Forty years of coaching managers and execs tells me that the conventional wisdom of figuring out the financial worth and cost of a master’s degree is an inadequate framing of the issue.
Graduate work teaches people how to better think about their discipline and other discipines. In spite of the recession, people who get jobs bring some experience to the party, but fundamentally they understand that their customer is the firm they want to work for. Their thinking skills make it possible for them to analyze the needs of that customer/firm, analyze their own talent, figure out the relationships and position themselves in ways that are very enticing.
Most people who succeed have mentors coaching them, they’ve built a useful network that is regularly updated and they know how to position themselves.
A caveat: Never draw serious conclusions from a single example, but I’ve never had a business course in my entire life, have a graduate theology degree and a PhD in rhetorical studies. That enables me to keep busy in the worst of settings, charge immoral fees, and line up the next year (yeah, 2010 is about in place).
The developmental smarts that are often missing have to do with people skills, personal marketing skills, networking skills and corporate intelligence development skills. Most of these can’t be learned in college, but you can certainly learn how to think about various disciplines that will provide you with ways to think about job opportunities and your own personal needs. Oh yeah, talent is grown, not born.
I don’t know how to teach this to the general public other than to say it’s imperative in the new world that we build a network of mentors, learn how to use it and learn how to pay off those mentors.
I discuss this in some detail in a blog: http://danerwin.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/06/why-a-mentor-is-no-longer-the-way-to-go.html
— Dan Erwin