Summary

The article argues that a master's degree in IT may not be worth the investment due to its lack of practical hardware and coding skills, gender imbalance, and questionable job prospects post-graduation.

Abstract

The author of the article expresses significant disappointment with their master's degree in IT, highlighting that the program fails to deliver practical knowledge in hardware maintenance and repair, as well as advanced coding skills. Despite initial expectations of learning to program and manage IT infrastructure, the curriculum is found to be heavily theory-based, lacking real-world application. The author also points out the underrepresentation of women in the program, which is a missed opportunity given the unique perspectives they could bring to technology development, as exemplified by the TikTok silhouette challenge issue. Furthermore, the article suggests that the degree may not lead to the promised high-paying jobs, with anecdotal evidence of graduates working in unrelated fields or for lower salaries than expected. The author concludes by recommending alternative learning paths, such as free online resources like freecodecamp.org and certifications from Google through Coursera, which are more cost-effective and skill-focused.

Opinions

The IT master's program is criticized for not teaching practical hardware skills, such as diagnosing and repairing computers and servers.
The coding education provided is deemed insufficient, with a steep increase in difficulty between courses that leaves students unprepared.
The gender imbalance in IT classes is seen as a detriment to the field, emphasizing the need for diverse perspectives in technology.
The author feels that the master's degree program is a waste of time, as it does not fulfill the expectation of learning valuable, practical IT skills.
The article suggests that the job market for IT master's degree holders may not be as robust as advertised, with graduates struggling to find relevant employment.
Alternative educational resources are highly recommended, as they offer practical skills and better value for money compared to a traditional master's degree.

Why You Should Reconsider Your Master’s Degree in IT

It’s not worth spending thousands of dollars on this degree.

After enrolling in a master’s degree in IT, the first question I asked myself was:

What did I get myself into?

I had an expectation when I enrolled in the program. I expected to learn how to program, maintain and repair computers, servers, and networks, and be excited about what I would learn. However, I realized I wouldn’t be learning that. Here’s why you should reconsider enrolling for a master’s degree in IT.

You won’t learn about hardware

Possibly the biggest disappointment is realizing the program won’t teach you anything about how to diagnose, maintain, and repair a computer, a network, or a server.

I’ve enrolled in eight classes. None of them showed students how to replace a hard drive, upgrade the specs, or install a new server. Considering the degree is in IT, one would assume it’s a skill students would learn.

Instead, we learned about what connections a server has, but never how to connect them. We learned about the different parts of a computer, like RAM, the hard drive, and the CPU. We never learned how to maximize their efficiency or how to upgrade them on a computer.

While you will learn the basics, I never learned how they function in real-world scenarios. It’s like learning what a battery does in a car, but not how to tell if it needs to be replaced, or even how to replace it. It’s very theory-driven, which doesn’t benefit you once you graduate.

You won’t learn to code

The first course I enrolled in was an introduction to Java programming. In that class, the professor expected his students to learn basic programs, such as recursion, if/else statements, while and for loops, and try/except statements.

After passing the class, I found myself overwhelmed the next semester. One professor expected me to create a whole database of customers and be able to pull up their contact information. Another professor expected us to create an online store and integrate Paypal to sell products.

Even though I had learned the basics of coding my first semester, was not I prepared for what came after. I spent hours during my free time learning the basics of code while trying to create the programs. However, many YouTube tutorials did not teach the specific thing I was looking for. I spent too much time on tutorials than I did creating the code. The transition between the courses was too great to expect students to succeed.

You’ll rarely see women in the program

Despite more women going to college than ever before, rarely will you see a woman in your class. In all of my classes, I only saw two or three women in a class of thirty.

Why does this matter? Women play a huge role in technology.

Earlier this year, TikTok created the silhouette challenge. However, women went to Twitter and urged other women not to do the challenge. Videos surfaced on YouTube on how a person could edit the video and remove the red filter so you’d see the person instead of their silhouette.

Many women said this was a direct violation of their consent. However, as most computer science majors are men, these situations can’t be addressed before a product’s release. Had more women been involved in the production of the red filter and the silhouette challenge, this filter never would’ve launched at all.

You will feel it’s a waste of time

Several professors said during a lecture that many of their students, after graduation, applied and were hired at well-paying jobs, like Google.

However, I always had my suspicions about it. I watched as others graduated before I did. A semester or two later, I asked them if they had any luck finding a job.

They said no.

A few friends worked where their degree wasn’t needed. Some of them worked at the university for the graduate office. One of them worked at an internet cable company installing and upgrading people’s internet services and hardware. However, that person earned less than I do as a high school teacher.

I told those people I no longer felt like finishing my master’s degree. They all said the same thing:

“Do it for the diploma.”

To me, that doesn’t feel right. Why enroll in a program where I’m not learning what I expected to learn in the first place?

To me, the courses I’ve completed felt similar to a med student studying to be a doctor but never dissecting a human body. How would they learn to perform surgery?

It’s the equivalent of an art major learning about different styles of paintings, art, and brushes, but never actually lifting a brush, marker, or colored pencil and setting it on paper.

There is no use in only learning the theory or mathematical aspect of computers if that’s not what you’re interested in learning.

What you should do instead

One source I enjoyed using while learning was freecodecamp.org. They have introduction courses, as well as more rigorous material. You could learn everything there is to know about programming just from using their website, instead of enrolling in a master’s program. From what I’ve used everything on their website is free.

Another alternative to getting your master’s degree is getting a certification in IT directly from Google. Google offers courses through Coursera where you can learn everything you need to learn about IT. They don’t focus on theory, but the skills needed to succeed at the job. It’s also much more cost-efficient, since the Google certification is only a few hundred dollars, compared to the tens of thousands you’d spend at a university.

Conclusion

If you decide to pursue a master’s degree in computer science or information & technology, go on YouTube and begin learning what is necessary for the class. However, to enter the field of computer science and IT, you don’t need a degree. You can learn everything you need to learn and start your own business just by learning through YouTube and any other free or low-cost courses found online.

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