"Exactly. Is ego fulfillment worth the $20-40k? If I were single, maybe.
If a
lateral move would result in a significant pay raise, maybe. But the
truth
is that an IxD with enough experience, these days, is so in demand that
this
huge pile of cash may not be a wise investment."
I'm under 30 and single, so perhaps I'm not in the appropriate demographic to
respond. Also, I do both interaction design (Flash, IVR, and wireframes) and
research.
But I wholly agree with Dave's (and others) point that the decision to get a
grad degree depends entirely on your personal situation / goals. This also
pertains to the glass ceiling discussion, but I think the field is still new
and large enough that we can be creative about our personal niche in it, as
Andrei and Robert note. In your case, it sounds like you're where you want to
be, so why bother ($20-40k is a very conservative estimate for the cost of a
graduate education)?
On the other hand, if you want to let go of the hands on design and be the
Director of User Experience at a Fortune 500 company, join an elite management
consulting firm as a domain expert, or teach at a top design program in the
long-term, the grad degree may generate ROI over the whole of your career. Most
of the salary surveys out there that provide a breakdown by education and job
descriptions for these top positions will confirm this. It can also just be a
great way to take time off in the Ivory tower networking and dreaming up cool
stuff with other designers in a place like Stanford's d-school... and in the
process launch your
own company, as I alluded to earlier.
Phil
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