Consider me as your virtual mentor. I have been working for almost 20 years in both local and multinational companies. Became an expat before I was 30 and now working for a multinational fmcg as a senior leader. I did not graduate from the big 4, no latin honors but I am an outlier from the same batch of graduates financial wise.

This is intended for the young, starting out, and has no direction with their careers. If you're from IT, this doesnt apply to you, you have a world diff from the rest.

In this post, lets talk about if its worth it getting a Master's degree.

MBA and other Post Graduate Degrees:

If youre in a private company and you dont intend to move to government, then you dont really need a Masters degree.

Its a good to have but it will not be the consideration for any promotion, salary upgrade, or seen as an advantage in the private corpo setting. In fact, having a certification is seen more relevant than a masters degree.

Not all Post Graduate programs are created equal:

Based on my limited experience with these masters degree holders, some really know how to apply their degree and most are what I would consider as college plus or college premium types. Just some additional knowledge, usually indistinguishable from pure college degree holders.

The real players of masters degree are graduates of AIM and UA&P. These guys know their stuff and understand how to apply it in the business setting. The rest of the big boy and big girl schools in UAAP and NCAA are not that relevant. Yes, they may share the same professors with AIM and UAP but how the knowledge is acquired and how the curriculum is designed is far from how those two schools produce their graduates.

Then who should take Masters?

If you plan to teach or you will do it for personal fulfilment, go for it. If you plan to use it as an additional credibility for your future consulting work or you plan to write a book, go for it.

Just have in mind that your degree doesnt automatically translate into big money, promotions, and a big career. At the end of the day, its who you are and how you play your cards will make all the difference.

All the best. See you in the next series.

Disclaimer: this is based on my limited knowledge of the PH market with the companies I worked for and people I met along the way. Take this with a grain of salt