The situation at my college is sort of unique, for reasons I won't elaborate on. I found out after I was hired that I was the highest qualified person they interviewed, but the other two they looked at had flying jobs and when given an offer they turned it down. I was facing a furlough, so I took the gig.
The only mention of a Masters degree during my interview was the question of whether I would ever consider getting one. My answer was that I would if I thought it would be beneficial to what I was trying to accomplish. They made no mention about it being part of their accreditation, and I, being ignorant of what goes on behind the scenes at a college, had no idea it would be so important. Once my year one review came with the "action plan" for year two, I was advised "Hey, why don't you start looking at options for your Masters?". As soon as I signed my name on the action plan, it became part of my job requirement. So here I am.
That program at Southern Miss is actually more expensive than ERAU. I can get my MBA in Leadership with my employer for 50% off tuition, but that will still cost me almost 10k. The American Public Univ. option might be my best bet: somewhere in the 12-13k ballpark, and I can get a little more than half that reimbursed by my employer.
It might all be a moot point. Flying is starting to pick up locally and I may be able to get back into the cockpit sooner than later.
Thanks again for all the opinions. The wonder of the internet!!
