Sure, I Could Go Get A Masters, But Is It Worth It?

BTW, I was a poli sci major and wouldn't change a thing (mommas, you can defintely let your kids grow up to be poli sci majors). If you want to write about video games, why don't you just do it? Blog about it? I know there's a girl here on BC that has a blog site called Ms. Pixel (she writes about video games and marketing). Her name is Bukola and she rocks. Check her out and contact her to get some ideas.

Hell, I even wrote about The Sims once on my blog. You don't necessarily need a degree to do what you love (or think you might love). Besides, MSJ degrees are like any other degree - it's a crap shoot. We're getting to the poing we're such things are becoming marginalized and experience will matter just as much (if not more) than an advanced degree.
Ok, I'm done - interesting post and I enjoyed reading it.

I don't see why you offhandedly state that you need to go full time. There are part time Master's programs where you can receive a perfectly suitable education attending a day or two a week, or on nights and still finish within 2 years (At least I hope they are suitable, as I am starting one next week).

Couldn't you still blog to satisfy your writing aspirations, while attending school part time, and paying the bills part time? (You do mention your wife . . . so I can see how the financial implications of having a family could effect this.)

Also, I think you underestimate the networking avenues that a Master's could open. Obviously, this is no reason alone to pursue the degree, but increasing the relationships you have with professors, other students in you classes, and professionals you will meet along the way would certainly be a boon to your network.

Whatever you decide, though, Good Luck!

Experience and talent trump degrees in most situations, and this is coming from someone with a graduate degree. The difference is that I got my degree mainly to teach college - I had a reason that I needed the degree, because you can't teach without it. Otherwise, what do you hope to gain from the degree? Will you get paid more for having one in your profession? Will it get you access to things that would make you a truly better worker that you couldn't get on your own? As far as connections go, it helps for me because I do teach on the side so its good having lots of professors to help out when I need it, but the majority of them are in the education system so their outside pull isn't as great as someone who works with them on a regular basis.

Secondly, not to be down on journalism, as that was the department that I used to teach for at my old college, but what's it going to do for you? The amount of journalism jobs opening anywhere is low and to specify what you want to write about and hope to get paid a normal salary is very unlikely these days. EGM just folded, magazines are closing or shrinking everywhere, and there's probably more sites on videogames than most subjects on the net with people writing as hobbies.

You know yourself it's going to be an uphill battle trying to make money doing this. You know what the competition is. Is there any way to enter the market in a new and different way? What makes your writing/skill sets better than other people doing this?

Brad, one of my fave EE bloggers! Good to see you back.

As for this post I feel your pain. I'm a fellow poli sci major. For me it's a JD not MBA that chronically rears its head. Notably, it ALWAYS happens when I get laid off, a contract ends, etc. Something about all that free time that comes with unemployment...

Anyway...if a MBA won't get you where you want to be why rack up the debt?

Last spring I took a long look at what I had, what I wanted & what would best bridge the gap. Instead of an advanced degree I chose tech school.

On the verge of starting my 3rd semester I can say it was a great decision. It's affordable, easy to schedule around a job & the payoff seems almost instantaneous.

I like the 'real world' experience the teachers bring. There is a ton of emphasis on practical things: Building a portfolio of work, gaining contacts via the teachers & fellow students, even what to charge as a freelancer.

"...help in dealing with the guts of websites, all the lovely behind-the-scenes HTML and CSS stuff that makes all those pretty pictures and neat articles..."
I happen to be working towards a web design diploma, but I think this might apply for you as well: I took one XHTML/CSS class (hand coding, no dreamweaver allowed). I ended up with a site for a local client who in turn covered the cost of the class AND I've got my 1st portfolio piece done.
In comparison, a writer friend of mine has been looking into Masters of Creative Writing programs. As of December he was still wrestling with the paperwork, admissions processes & financing issues that go along with just getting IN to grad school...

Narrowing my focus has made a world of difference for me. Hope this helps & let us know what you decide.

I think you should get an advanced degree, but not in journalism. You already know how to be a journalist/writer. I would get the graduate degree in the topic you are most interested in writing about. For instance, my husband is a journalist (as was I at one point). He is working on his master's in environmental science. He currently is an environmental journalist at a local newspaper and he wants to take it to the next level. The more he knows about the environment, the better he can cover it, the more opportunities he will have.

I realize that there is probably not a degree in gaming. But there are aspects of gaming that probably do have degrees (i.e. the technical aspect (computer science?) or the learning-by-gaming aspect (education). I don't know really know a lot about gaming, frankly, but you do. I bet you could find a masters program where you'd actually learn something you don't already know.

Even more great stuff, you folks are a font of helpful knowledge! Amanda, the technical degree you mentioned is intriguing and something I hadn't really thought about before. I suppose it would be the more cost-effective option since it would teach me the practical skills I'm lacking at a fraction of the cost of a masters program. I am going to have to seriously look into that.

I definitely need to work on my network, that is my biggest weakness by far. I live far away from most of the gaming companies (and therefore most of the outlets covering them), but moving isn't in the cards right now. So I'm going to have to find other ways to get in contact, like email, instant messenger and even Xbox Live/PlayStation Network. I may get ignored a lot, but if I can get through to even a couple major players that will help tremendously.

For the past couple years I thought that I could just rely on my work to speak for itself, I realize now that's definitely not enough to get ahead.

I say take your own advice, because you've got it dead on - if where you want to be is journalism, a master's degree isn't going to mean squat. I heard this verbatim back in 2001, when as a shiny new college graduate I asked the editor of a major travel magazine how she chose her junior staff. She said, "I never choose someone with a graduate degree in journalism. What is that? A deadline is a deadline, and homework is homework. I want someone who can work on a deadline."

People get that mid-life, need-to-go-back-to-school feeling for many different reasons, not all of them that academically-minded. Maybe you want some kind of structure to test your own confidence in your ability to stick with it full-time; maybe you worry about writing your interests into the ground; maybe you're just curious about improving your writing, or finding new outlets for exposure, or... anyway, myriad reasons.

It sounds like you have a good sense of keeping your time in balance (work, family, etc). If you can think about what's really drawing you to go back to school - and find that it's not a nagging keeping-up-with-the-Joneses feeling - start with a couple of classes (a class, one class) that interest you that's level 500+ at an accredited university. Apply as a non-matriculating student but make sure you don't take the class as an Audit. If or when you decide to go gonzo on grad school, the classes you've taken will provide you with credit / partial credit / qualification to take higher level, more interesting classes. Meanwhile, you're still learning, keeping quality time with the family, and not breaking the bank til you're 100% sure this is a goal you want to follow through.

I also suggest conferences and gamecons. They might be about as pricy as a single class, but you'll meet lots of people in the world you want to move in converged on a single location and you'll (hopefully) find lots of stories to cover.

I took one undergrad newspaper journalism class at Penn State and it was the most useful class I've ever taken.

Journalism is the art of finding stuff out. You hit the published canon, figure out what's important, who you need to talk to and what you want to know. Then you write it up. AP style is all about clear, concise communication.

My prof said at the end of the semester, an A means you could get an entry level job in a traditional newsroom and not get fired.

I'm doing computer consulting now; never went near that newsroom. My superpower is that I can read the manual, make the system work, and explain to you how to maintain it. If something goes really wrong and it's not in the book, somewhere on the web I can find the guy who's fixed that problem before.

You don't need a master's degree. You just need one good class.

You do not need an MA in journalism. You are better off getting experience. That's what getting the MA simulates. I was a J-school MA student and transferred majors and am now a PhD student in Communication, so I've a fairly informed opinion on this matter. Best.

If you decide to go back for the master's, and you don't do an MBA or something that will bring you big bucks afterward (like Computer Science or Engineering), consider working at the school you'll be attending---then you'll be making money while in school, and will most likely be given a hefty break on tuition and fees.

With $56,000 in student loan debt hanging over my head, I'm in school---again---but this time I'm working full time at the university and paying for everything with cash. I have little to no interest in the higher-value degrees (translation: those with which I'll substantially increase my income), so my focus is on not adding any more school debt to that which I already have.

Good luck!