Advice on Masters vs BSc

masterofnowt

Any advice on doing a Masters -- aka, was it worth the money, lead to advancement in your field, higher pay, etc?
Currently halfway through a BSc in Pharmacology, but I want to be a Clinical/Medical Laboratory Scientist. My degree isn't accredited for this unfortunately, so I'd have to either drop out and start another 4 year BSc that is accredited, or continue with this degree then do a 2 year Masters which would give me a slightly higher accreditation. Any advice?

Zoinks

Not in your discipline, but it strikes me that it would make more sense to complete your current degree if you are happy and capable, and later specialize (and achieve the accreditation) rather than start fresh with a new BSc. You have 2 qualifications in that scenario, instead of just one, with roughly the same time and (presumably) financial investment.

I'm sure someone with more expertise in your area will chime in--more broadly speaking, my Masters was definitely a solid investment. And as many graduates progress to the Masters level, in many cases (but certainly not all) I would say that it might be necessary to keep up with the competition.

masterofnowt

Yes, I see your logic there. It's the same time and probably same financial investment, so maybe that's the route I should put more consideration into.
True! It was mentioned to me recently that in some sectors, it's nearly better to not have a Masters as people with Bachelors get hired more often as they can be paid less...do you have any knowledge regarding the veracity of this, by any chance?
Thanks a million, by the way!

Zoinks

It was mentioned to me recently that in some sectors, it's nearly better to not have a Masters as people with Bachelors get hired more often as they can be paid less...do you have any knowledge regarding the veracity of this, by any chance?

In my opinion this would not be true in most cases, recent graduates at any level (8, 9 or maybe even up) will not be too picky about salary. In the humanities (broadly) for instance (though not an especially relevant to you), many are happy to do internships that pay less than minimum wage. So my belief is that, as far as entry-level positions go, hiring companies could be reasonably confident that their offer will be accepted by someone regardless of qualification level. I am open to correction, mind you.

I would also presume that having a higher qualification makes it easier to progress vertically within a company, at least if you have the proven skill and talent to go with it--someone a little more experienced than me can comment on this!

GalwayGrrrrrl

A lot of people in that sector would have a PhD so it would be good to continue with your current course then do your MSc. Starting salaries are never great anyway so I wouldn't worry about that side of things.

Martina1991

I did one of the accredited courses and am currently working in a hospital lab.

I completed my Masters last December. In order to gain promotion as a Medical Scientist you need a Masters degree that is also accredited by the AMLS.

I did the Masters on line, 2 years part time so I was able to work and study at the same time.

If you truly want to pursue Medical Science you can do a Grad Cert course to gain accreditation. These courses were set up when there was a shortage of lab staff and graduates from accredited courses. These course have known to be suspended and are expensive but it would be shorter than starting back in 1st year.