My master's is a joke
- Name: Jen Smialek, 31
- Place: Boston, Mass.
I work in such a completely different industry, it's a joke amongst co-workers that I have a master's in education.
I completed that degree -- which was my second master's -- in 2010, and taught for a year in Boston. It was the hardest work I've ever done, but I loved it.
A year later, it was last in, first out in terms of layoffs. I didn't have any seniority and I was unfortunately laid off.
I couldn't find another teaching job, so I returned to marketing. I had about $26,000 in student debt from that master's, and I've since paid off most of it (I completed my first master's for less than $500).
If I could go back, I wouldn't earn the education degree again. It was a good personal enrichment activity, but for someone like me who does Internet marketing, my career would benefit more from an MBA.
