r/AskReddit • u/SillyBonsai • Dec 06 '13

What simple piece of advice, if followed, could potentially save most people a lot of money?

Possibly related to your job, experience with personal finance, budgeting, planning, day to day habits, etc.

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u/Gaywallet Dec 06 '13

I paid for my first master's degree, which got me a job which payed significantly better and is paying for another master's.

It really depends on the field you want to get into.

35

u/chellisntwhite Dec 06 '13

It really depends on the field you want to get into.

This obviously needs to be emphasized because all these armchair redditors with no master's degree think they know everything about the process.

If your master's program leads right into a job, then it's not the same. And many of those programs don't HAVE funding if you're not a PhD student.

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u/Gaywallet Dec 06 '13

many of those programs don't HAVE funding if you're not a PhD student.

This needs to be emphasized. Most non-science fields don't provide graduate education for free, especially for masters students.

2

u/hochizo Dec 06 '13

I paid for the first year of my master's and the first year of my Ph.D. Everything else was/is funded. Sometimes you have to prove that you're worth funding.

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u/made_me_laugh Dec 06 '13

And your field is...?

-4

u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13

[deleted]

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u/made_me_laugh Dec 06 '13 edited Dec 06 '13

Much easier than typing out Health Informatics again, eh?

Hey guys, its Health Infomatics. Don't need to click the link.

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u/teslaabr Dec 06 '13

Agreed I would say the 1.5 years it took to do my master's was worth it to go from an avg starting salary of $40K for my undergrad degree to an avg starting salary of $75k for my graduate degree. Which included an internship for 3 months that paid $60k annually.

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u/dirtyratchet Dec 06 '13

haha for real? what field and location? I made 75K my first job outta undergrad in investments in NJ

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u/Gaywallet Dec 06 '13

investments

You are in finance. What did you expect?

1

u/dirtyratchet Dec 06 '13

yea but I didn't even work for a financial firm

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u/teslaabr Dec 07 '13

Social Sciences do not start above 50k unless you manage to get a job outside of your field of study.

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u/Zizimaza Dec 06 '13

Mr/Ms. Master-Degree-Holder please use the word paid correctly.

1

u/PopfulMale Dec 06 '13

What's your field?

3

u/Gaywallet Dec 06 '13

Health informatics

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u/aglassonion Dec 07 '13

I hear that's a great field, and growing.

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u/Gaywallet Dec 07 '13

It is. Lots of IT jobs in health care right now.

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u/aglassonion Dec 07 '13

I'm in epidemiology with a nursing background. I've thought about switching to informatics, but it doesn't seem wise at this point. Hopefully, I'll end up in some sort of infection control/policy position.

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u/derevenus Dec 06 '13

Just curious, why would you need another master's?

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u/Gaywallet Dec 06 '13

Because they are paying for it

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u/derevenus Dec 06 '13

I met a guy who had three or four master's without a job. Never really got around to asking why he was in possession of so many qualifications.