Spending money on further education when one already has a good job... Thoughts?

Would love to hear thoughts / opinions about spending money on further education when one already has a good job.

For myself: I'm at the higher range of what people in their mid 30s earn in Belgium.
I'm 26.

I often get criticism for pursuing further education, when I already have a decent job with steady career growth potential.

Personally I believe that education nowadays has become so accessible that one needs to stand out with a broader variety of formal training than your counterparts have, should you want to have that leg up over others. That can make the difference between an employer opting for candidate A or candidate B.

I have spent around 11k$ on further education over the last 3 years.

In Belgium education normally comes at an enrollment price of +- Euro 900 per year. So most finish their undergraduate degree for around 2700 enrollment / tuition fees (excluding text books) and then a master's for another Euro 1800 (excluding text books) and they stop right there.

Personally I have always had a more international vision, so I kept studying and plan to do so.

Today I informed a colleague who is also a great friend, that I am intending to enroll in a new master's or Ph.D. program.
I got a reaction of : "Why? When are you going to stop studying? You will spend more money than you can earn back. It's only a piece of paper in the end."

That made me wonder if perhaps I put too much stock into higher education.
I like to study and to enrich my mind on a continuous basis but sometimes it makes you wonder... Other people spend their $10k on a nice vacation and you are the person who spends them on a degree.

What's your stance on pursuing further higher education after you already have a good job?

Do you weigh the opportunity cost against the potential ROI or do you just do it because it enriches your personal development an sich?

 

For some of those in progress I have 3-5 years of time to complete them, so the time is there.
However, it's mostly the money that I'm concerned about.
At which point you need to stop, you know?
Would you mind elaborating on : "and I strongly question whether that looks as good as you think it does", please?

 

There are different ways to look at it. If you can afford it and enjoy studying then why not.

If you end up with too many in progress and you burn out then you may have unnecessarily wasted money you could have used for a nice vacation and no credential for it.

A wide variety of interests is great. Problem one is that you can end up a mile (kilometer) wide and an inch (centimeter) deep. A generalist with no depth.

Finally, others sometimes look at that diversity to indicate that you are not really interested in what they are offering (career or opportunity) and aren't focused. I had someone say that to me once when I told the person that I was working on an unrelated credential (because I qualified). The woman saw it as if I were talking to her about positions but really had other aspirations. Thinking I wouldn't be committed and would be moving soon. So, you might want to be selective about what you list.

 

Hmmm in a time where employers want employees to be everywhere at any given time, I thought being very polyvalent / multi-faceted would be a good thing.
I do see where you are coming from though.
Although having to be obsessed with only 1 field would bore me.
I love being a universal employee.

But I do get where you are coming from and partially agree with your take on it.

 

I am similar to you. I have wide interests and given time and money would keep on earning degrees and licenses and so on. A military guy once told me that he would ALWAYS be enrolled in a degree program.

You could do it but tailor what you hand to someone to the position (what makes you look like a valuable asset). Not a 25 page resume (have seen a few of those) with every degree, license and certificate you have earned on it (unless disclosure is somehow mandatory).

 

I have spent 11k$ on average on education over the last 3 years and it brought me a salary raise of +- 27k$ in the last two years.
My eventual goal is senior management.
I would say that the education gathered over the last 3 years has given me a broad network.
Personally I feel like it's going to shed its fruits in the years to come.
Problem is that tax rate is very high where I live.
Up to 50% income tax + social wellfare taxes on top of that.
A good social security system in exchange for that, and nearly free education.
Still though, I feel because the tax rates are so high here it demotivates people from wanting to climb up the ladder.
We have a progressive tax system where you pay a certain tax rate over a certain portion of your income, rather than a fixed rate over the total, to protect the poor and to maximally tax the rich.
So that demotivates people here from wanting to climb up in their careers.
Because someone who makes 3000$ before taxes, would get 2000$ after taxes take-home pay, but someone who earns 4700$ would only take home 2800$ which is a bit ridiculous.
That's why most people don't invest too much more into their education than they have to, here.
That's the depressing thing about a lot of European countries.
Belgium is horrible in that regard.
Take-home pay is way lower here than in the US, while the gross income could be the same.

 

There’s always another level and it’s critical to find contentment… but I just, personally, fail to grasp the logic of not wanting an approximately 40% increase in take home earnings… because of a higher tax rate… Net income is effectively all that matters (at least until one’s in the upper middle class brackets) and you’re still increasing it…

 

I was going to say something similar. Get all the degrees/credentials you want, but don't actually share them unless absolutely necessary. For something like LinkedIn, pick the "best" 2 or 3 and don't mention the rest.

 

I did my last degree while gainfully employed. It had zero impact on it, as I knew it would not.

 

I think there comes the point where it is way too much. It is best to get degrees in what you need for the career you wish to pursue. After that, continuing education (if applicable), IT certifications, boot camps, Coursera, etc., are good options but don't need to be on a resume, LinkedIn, etc., unless they are pertinent to your job. Going overboard will make it seem like you have no clue what you want to do. And I say this as someone who sees a lot of programs that interest me.

 

One thing that's important to ask yourself is what is the narrative of your education? What is the story you tell employers about how these different credentials fit together with your experience to meet the needs of the job you applied for?

More credentials don't mean more money intrinsically. It's the value that training provides for your employer that justifies the higher salary.

There's also the personal development angle and if you're getting education for personal reasons it doesn't matter how impractical it is. For everyone else, start at the end (your desired job, career, title, salary, etc.) and work backwards.

 

My first doctorate propelled my career. I used the process for my second one to dive into the scholarship of my field and to create real, academic theory in it. My third....oh, wait a minute. I'm not doing that....

I think degree programs can be an excellent way to build structure around something you want to learn.

I agree with Chris that too much can make you look distracted. That's why I almost never list my associate degrees and my second bachelor's, and I often omit the "DSocSci" post-nominal. No one cares anyway.

 

Education is not always only for career advancement.
Indeed good advice and opinions in this tread.
If the purpose of listing education and training to attract employment opportunities or advancement all valid needs but how happy was the 80 year young lady that completed her degree.
Or my good friend who at age 60 enrolled in to chiropractic school and at 65 became Doctor of Chiropractic. He opened practice in CO and doing OK.
He often says that his Enginnering degree and career gave him special perspective.
I think spending money on further education not always have to be financially rewarding, If it is then good but if not it has it rewards.
One may always recognize those.
Obviously each person's financial situation is different so spend wisely.

 

That's why I would love to earn a master's or Ph.D. from a high quality university with strong brand-name.
I have several degrees but they are from lower-ranked schools, nothing fancy. They are just thick the box degrees that have the necessary accreditation / recognition but no standing / prestige.
I feel like a prestigious degree does get you that bit further in your career due to the assumption that selection to get in will be much tougher.
That's why UI Kelley Business School remains my top favorite despite it being the most expensive of the schools I applied to.
2nd choice would be HAU.
3rd choice would be UCN/AZT.
Tomorrow is the moment of truth where I will get closure on the outcome of my applications with HAU and UI.
Last resort is AZT/UCN.
I debated whether it's worth the money to me or not but I feel that it will give me that extra leg up in future job selections etc.

 

No one cares.

I’m serious about this. Unless you’re among the few situations where such distinctions are made, no one cares. They can’t tell the difference between an outstanding school, a good school, a questionable degree from a school, or a diploma mill. They can’t and they won’t.

I have a doctorate from a whoever-heard-of-this? US university. (Union) I also have a doctorate from a top-200-in-the-world uni—Leicester. No one cares. Ever. Every once in a while I’ll run into someone who’s been to Leicester. The town, not the university. THAT is something we get to talk about. (I’ve been there a half-dozen times.) In the UK, Leicester is considered “up there” in terms of prestige. In the US, Leicester is just some school no one ever heard of and even fewer can pronounce.

Unless you (a) must get a foreign credential evaluation and (b) your degree will not pass, it really doesn’t matter to others if the degree is recognized as within the university’s degree-granting scope, is proprio (or something like that), or whatever.

It might matter to you, though, so think about that.

 

Yes, but many, many people don't generally think that way. They see a person making less - and taking home a considerably greater proportion of their salary. They don't like it. They feel they've worked harder and better to get where they are - and the biggest change is an increased tax bite. They feel penalized for being high earners - and so they are, according to just the raw math. They get a somewhat increased take-home but not by nearly as much as they feel they've earned.

It's a fast-track way to make the smartest and hardest-working ....EMIGRATE. I remember the UK "brain drain" in my youth. That was about money -- and taxation. At one time, tax rates for the highest earners reached 95%. The Beatles were "tax exiles" from UK for some time, until the tax laws changed.

A smaller number of people say "Yeah, I keep less than I'd like, but what I give up ensures everybody is OK." In the US they're commonly termed socialists - almost a profanity, in America today. It's only natural to resent getting less than you figure is your share. It's a hard tendency to fight - and most people don't even try fighting it. Resentment is a precious thing -- almost as precious as hatred. Most people who resent or hate - are NOT anxious to stop. It's deep. It's what keeps them alive.

 

I will take a different approach than @Rich Douglas, even though he is pretty well correct that most will not care about the prestige.

That said, pursuing a degree through Duke, I can say it has opened up connections for me that I never would have had the opportunity to gain were it not for having "Duke" on my resume and on my LinkedIn profile. The network one is subjected to at a top tier university is far beyond anything I could have gained through Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

So while I will say that 99% of your potential employers will not care where you earned a degree, you'll always have the network to tap into for introductions, referrals, etc.

Now, onto the giant list of credentials you show. I do think life long learning is essential, especially in a tech driven world where tech will change. When applying to jobs, I'd probably only list things that pertain to that job...not everything you show in your signature.

As for me, I finish my 2nd masters in May and I will be done with formal education. I turn 30 on Saturday and I cannot remember a time where I have not been in school. I'm going to take time off, enjoy my wife and kids without scheduling school around things, and will keep my programming sharpened through DataCamp.