Believe it, Psychology Master's Degrees ARE Worth Your While

Often you will hear this said, "Get a doctorate; stop messing around with a psychology master's degree. It is only a waste of time"

This article discusses why this is untrue. Psychology master's degrees are not a waste of time. Often, the field of psychology is guilty of being intellectual snobs when it comes to qualifications. There is the tendency to belittle a master's degree, which is unfair as there is value and wisdom to be gained from a master's degree.

First of all, let's be clear, if you are planning a career within the academic arena then this myth certainly holds true and a doctorate will be required. There are some opportunities within local community and at junior college levels however competition within these institutions is fierce. This exception apart, earning a masters has significant advantages over studying for your doctorate.

Teaching aside, the training and credentials gained from a psychology master's degree has provided enormous employment opportunities. This is noted by the APA itself, which has stated that those with master's degrees have obtained jobs within their selected field of study. This only acts as proof that in the modern job market, a master's degree is still relevant, even beneficial.

Aside from the APA, other independent studies have shown that a psychology master's degree is indeed useful, particularly in the mental health field. Nowadays, managed health care systems choose "sub-doctoral" professionals to deliver their services instead of doctorate holders. The reasons underlying this trend are that this option is cheaper and offer added value to the patient. Indeed, in the field of mental health, particularly in psychotherapy, career opportunities for psychology master's degree holders are growing, and this growth is likely to continue in the years to come.

Gaining a masters degree has significant attractions compared to studying for a doctorate. To begin with, doctoral programs are not as widely available as masters and students may be required to move some distance away in order to study. The ability to study online has revolutionized the delivery of masters programs for many subjects and psychology is no exception.

An additional advantage for those with financial commitments and responsibilities is the time it takes to gain the degree. A masters degree can typically be earned in 2 to 3 years compared to a minimum of 6 for the doctorate. In other words there are 4 years of potential earnings that can be made by taking the masters rather than proceeding immediately to a doctorate.

A further argument that is sometimes advanced for going straight to the doctorate is that if you take a masters degree you cannot then subsequently transfer your work to a doctorate. In effect you have to start all over with your doctorate and ergo, the masters is a waste of time. In practice this depends upon the doctoral program you enroll in and the relevance of your masters work to the doctorate you subsequently are seeking. The key issue is to bear in mind the relevance of your masters to the doctoral program and also that some doctorate programs actually require a masters as a prerequisite.

In summary, earning a psychology masters degree has much to commend it. The masters route has provided a valid and appropriate means of entry to the mental health profession for tens of thousands of mental health practitioners today and will continue to do so.