Is a Master's Worth It?

Beatriz Solano: Office Hours, with me, Beatriz Solano. Today: is a master's worth two years and a lot of money? I have two founders who did one and one who did not. Ines Carvalho runs a spatial design studio in Lisbon and teaches on a master's programme. Felix Amundsen did his master's in Helsinki and now runs a furniture studio. And Grace Mwangi, who skipped it, founded a digital studio in Nairobi.

Grace Mwangi: The outsider on the panel. Fine by me.

Beatriz Solano: Ines, would you do yours again?

Ines Carvalho: For the two years of time, yes. For the qualification, no. Nobody has ever asked me whether I have it. What I got was time to make one project badly and then make it well, without a client deadline. In practice you never get that again.

Felix Amundsen: Mine was free, which changes the maths completely. Finnish universities did not charge tuition then. If I had paid what some London programmes cost today, around thirty thousand pounds, I'm not sure the answer would be the same.

Beatriz Solano: What did it buy you, Felix?

Felix Amundsen: A workshop. Industrial-grade machines, a CNC router, a steam bending rig. And introductions. My first two manufacturers came from a tutor who knew a factory in Lahti. That's ten years of supply chain from one coffee.

Beatriz Solano: Grace, what did skipping it give you?

Grace Mwangi: Two years of paid work. I joined a fintech company at twenty-two, designed a mobile payments app used in three countries, and by twenty-five I had clients asking for me by name. My master's was the company.

Ines Carvalho: That's real, and it's why I tell some students not to come. If you already have a clear direction and a job offer, a master's can be a very expensive pause.

Beatriz Solano: Who should do one?

Ines Carvalho: Someone who wants to change discipline, graphic to spatial for instance. Or someone who wants to teach, because many universities require it.

Felix Amundsen: Or someone who needs the equipment. You cannot build a steam bending rig in a flat.

Grace Mwangi: And I'd say not straight after your degree. Work two years first. You'll know what to ask the tutors.

Beatriz Solano: Has it ever counted against anyone?

Grace Mwangi: When I hire, I look at the work. The degree line is the last thing I read.

Felix Amundsen: Same. Although I do notice who learned to write about their work. Master's students usually can.

Beatriz Solano: Ines Carvalho, Felix Amundsen, Grace Mwangi, thank you. That's Office Hours.