Take out a loan or use savings to pay for Master's degree?

MalMonroe

tartancushion said:

Mickey666 said:

I’d think very carefully about doing a masters degree at all, unless it is absolutely necessary for the career you wish to follow because as an investment it will likely turn out to have a poor return.

I'd be doing it more out of interest and, potentially, as a route to a PhD and a change of career to academia. I don't expect to earn more because of it as it isn't related to my current career, which provides a comfortable income, but because it's an area of research that I love. 

£120k sounds like an extortionate amount to do a PhD! I know several people who are doing/have done one and don't have anywhere near that amount of debt.

You know what, you're crazy to come on here to ask for sensible advice! I just turned 70, got my BA Hons 2.1 degree 17 years ago and would love to do an MA. I'm not eligible for any loans though. If you can get the loan, do it and go for your MA. You want to do it and I think you're better leaving your savings where you are. Student loans have such a low interest rate anyway. It won't cost you anything LIKE £120k to do your MA. I'd be surprised if it cost more than £12k.

You could pay the loan back immediately you've finished, if you want to. But if you are eligible I'd take the loan since you don't have to even start paying it back until you've finished. I think doing an MA is a fabulous thing, even if it's not connected to your job. I'm just jealous that I can't afford it right now but there's still hope for me, and I'm going to do my best to do one. 

Take no notice of all the miserable naysayers, and go for it. What does it even matter if it DOES have a poor return? It's something you really want to do and you can afford it. Go for it!! And good luck, I'm sure you will be absolutely fine!

I hope my comments have helped, I will always support anyone wanting to do any kind of further and higher education, I love it! You honestly don't know where it will lead. And if you want to do a PhD, do that too. The sky's the limit. Enjoy while you can.

Mickey666

tartancushion said:

Mickey666 said:

I’d think very carefully about doing a masters degree at all, unless it is absolutely necessary for the career you wish to follow because as an investment it will likely turn out to have a poor return.

I'd be doing it more out of interest and, potentially, as a route to a PhD and a change of career to academia. I don't expect to earn more because of it as it isn't related to my current career, which provides a comfortable income, but because it's an area of research that I love. 

£120k sounds like an extortionate amount to do a PhD! I know several people who are doing/have done one and don't have anywhere near that amount of debt.

£120k is the accumulated debt over the BSc, MSc and PhD when they are finally ready to get a job.  Three degrees while living in London and not having a job takes its toll.  Still, perhaps they will never have to repay the student loans part of the debt as they are unlikely to ever earn much over the repayment threshold.
It sounds as if you have your eyes wide open though so the very best of luck to you.

MalMonroe

Mickey666 said:

I’d think very carefully about doing a masters degree at all, unless it is absolutely necessary for the career you wish to follow because as an investment it will likely turn out to have a poor return.
I was fortunate to gain my degree at a time when there were no fees to pay and the student grant was enough to live on - and that was in London - so I graduated without any debt.  This set me up well for a good career and buying my first home just a couple of years after starting work.  Today, all that has changed and a degree costs a lot of money.  In many (most?) cases, more money than will likely be recovered during a lifetime of work.   Of course, education has its own reward - just don’t rely on it being a financial one.

Another consideration is the degree subject.  I have a science degree but has no relation to my subsequent career.  In fact, none of my formal education - O-levels, A-levels, B.Sc(Hons) directly helped to qualify me for my subsequent career.  By the time I was 30, MBA’s were all the rage and many of my colleagues took them, at significant cost to their time and wallet.  I declined to jump on that bandwagon and it didn’t seem to hold me back in the slightest as I ended up as European MD for a US public tech company, from which I retired well over a decade ago before I was 50.

I post this, not to boast, but to point out that paper qualifications are not always necessary for a successful career, a good income and financial or job security.  So many posts on MSE are about debt management and dreams of being mortgage-free, yet so many people are handicapping themselves right from the start of their working lives by taking on huge debts for a few letters after their name.  

I know someone in their 20s about to start a PhD in a subject very unlikely to ever lead to a high salaried job.  They expect to be around £120k in debt by the time they finish it at age 30 if they are lucky.

If I was 18 today, I would be thinking very, very hard about whether a degree was really worth £50k of debt by the time I was 21.

I know I have been fortunate, but perhaps I have also been very lucky.  Lucky because I have never slavishly followed ‘the norms’ and have always questioned the status quo.  It seems to me that’s where the real opportunities lie, going a little against the grain, not conforming to standard expectations.  Not being one of the herd.

All very interesting but this OP can AFFORD to do a Master's and wants to. I graduated 17 years ago with  2.1 BA Hons. It was nothing to do with my career, I was 53 but it was something I'd always wanted to do. I cannot tell you the feeling of satisfaction it gave me. I was absolutely over the moon. I'd love to do an MA too but I can't afford it just yet but I'm going to save up to do one, even though I am 70. 

You shouldn't try to put dampeners on those who really want to get further qualifications. This OP is really enthusiastic and wants to go on to do a PhD. Your ramblings just are not helpful at all. Nobody asked for your life story. You've been lucky, yes you have. But so have I, I feel really lucky that I was able to get a degree at all, after having been written off at the age of 11 by a conservative government because my parents were working class and I was that most disparaged thing, a girl!

Education is never wasted. This OP wants it, and we should not try to discourage anyone from their ambition.

Mickey666

I was not trying to dissuade anyone from taking a degree, only to think very carefully about the very real financial implications - especially when they are at the start of their adult life.
I absolutely agree that education is never wasted, what saddens me is that it so very expensive these days and that it can become a financial burden instead of the route to a more financially secure life.

DrEskimo

What are the terms of a postgraduate degree loan? 

There are ways of doing higher education without having to go into debt. I have a plan 1 student loan from my BSc, but that is it and should be paid back in a few years by the time I'm 35.

I have a PhD and did it without having a MSc as I was working at the university as a research assistant and doing work that was related to the MSc programme. I then spent a few years applying for funding to do a paid PhD and received a stipend whilst I did it (was around £13k a year tax free).

My PhD is directly related to the work I do. In fact career progression in my field is not possible without one.

Socajam

I agree with those who say go ahead and do your Masters - who knows where it might lead to in the future.
I would take out a loan, leave your save where they are because, we have no idea what is going to happen post COVID.
Once you have completed the Masters, you can always repay the loan early if you want too.
Good luck