Do I really need a Master's Degree in Project Management??

Question

I started off with a degree in Graphic Design and was hired to join an accelerated program where they trained me for 3 months in all things industry standard IT Project Management, placing me in my first corporate job as a project coordinator. Since then, I've been moving up in the ranks with only 3 years of experience.

Now that I have time has passed, I've decided to continue in IT Project Management and work on possibly getting a Master's in Project Management. However, I'm questioning whether it's really necessary. Though it's always a great idea to expand your education and become more marketable, I also don't see many job listings requiring anything more than a Bachelor's Degree, PMP certification (which I'm working on now), and experience.


Is getting this degree a good idea? Is there a better Masters degree that I should pursue instead? TBH - I don't think I really need it, but I could be wrong. I just don't want to waste my time and money pursuing a degree for a career that I would have gotten anyway from experience.



Thanks in advance! ^_^

Answer 1

Absolutely not. The only thing you need to be qualified as a project manager (from an HR perspective) is the PMP certification. A Bachelors degree helps get your foot in the door for companies who require it, but anything above and beyond that will likely harm you. There are many people who are performing the role of project manager without the PMP certification... but nearly all job postings will request that applicant possess it.

Answer 2

I'd suggest you ask people where you work and who are in jobs that you want to have what degree they have. Also, look on job posting sites at job titles you'd like to have and see what types of education are required or preferred.



Often a company will promote an employee who doesn't have a specific degree because they know and trust that employee to be able to do the job but that same person could not get a similar job when applying at a new company that doesn't know them. So do some research and think about where you want to be in ten years not just two or three. Can you get to that point at a new company without a Masters? If so, then you don't need it, right? If it looks like other companies favor applicants for those jobs that do have a Masters, you might want to pursue it so that you have options down the road.

Answer 3

depends on the work you want to do, but probably not. You might be 'over qualified' for most jobs .............................................