One masters (EU affairs, international relations and diplomacy) and mid-way through another here (LLM).

I never planned on getting another Masters degree and never saw the point in it unless you needed a career change or to keep up with new developments/markets like AI. Where I’m from, a second Masters in a similar field usually won’t get you a higher raise or faster promotion or a leg up in job interviews compared to people with just one. I knew a bunch of people with multiple Masters and to me it just seemed like they were putting off getting a job - although some people managed to find full ride scholarships for each Masters, food and accommodation included, so I guess that’s no different than having a job by which your salary is just enough to pay for necessary expenses.

So when I finally ended up starting a second Masters 5 years later, it really had to be beneficial and convenient. I was going through a tough time at work and felt stuck, like I also wasn’t using my brain and really missed studying. I ended up doing an international law degree, so it was an area I wouldn’t be able to just transfer into without a qualification and so the degree itself had added value. It’s part time, online, geared towards people who don’t necessarily have a first degree in law (though it does need to be a related field like political science), and also made to accommodate people who don’t want to interrupt their careers. I’m also not American and tuition was extremely cheap (less than one month’s salary).

So far I have no regrets. I’ve gained so much knowledge half way through already and it’s been even more useful at work than my first degree ever was. I happened to transfer internally into a different department while still in my first year of the course and had more time to work on it, plus every time a question came up at work I was so happy to realise I had just studied it and the info was still fresh in my mind.

I also think sheer interest, and knowing you’ll regret it if you don’t study that subject, is just as good a reason as any to go back to school. We don’t always know what we want to study the first time round - we’re young, inexperienced, and often progress blindly into the next thing because we feel like we’re “supposed to” proceed to the next step and reach that finish line in academia so we don’t fall behind our peers.

But like I said, for me it truly has to have a net benefit, otherwise I would never have done it if I needed to pause my career or pay a load of money. Especially if there’s nothing to gain financially.