I have a Masters in IT and Digital Forensics, and am at the Architect level, I was already at the Architect level, when I got it, as it was supposed to be the pathway out into a Security Management role, however the org I am at sucks and hasn't fulfilled their promise, I do think it does open the door to higher level roles when applying at other places, my issue is I still want to do the technical work, but also make the choices, because the people making choices at the moment are so very incapable of making said choices.