Sometimes the part of electronic engineering and the associated field around it that gives you the most charge and desire to work at it 30 hours per day is so obvious that pursuit of an advanced degree in that same field is blatantly obvious!!

Sometimes you will not be very sure just where you will want to specialize. In such conditions it can be useful to go out into the real world and work at a few things for a couple of years to help decide where an advanced degree could be useful to you.

Sometimes the availability of jobs that fall into your "ideal" category are very sparse and far away if any can be found. In such cases it may make sense to dive in and get the advanced degree to wait out the time till the ideal position comes along.

Sometimes it makes sense to take on an advanced degree in a parallel or orthogonal field to broaden your knowledge base. This can be helpful in a competitive environment where your value to an employer can be increased by being able to wear many hats as the need arises.

Sometimes when you start working in engineering you may find that you like the business and marketing side a lot. In this case pursuit of a degree in business development, marketing or business management may help you steer toward those areas.

Sometimes it make sense to start working and "living life" part way and work part time at an advanced degree. This can be a lot easier to work at if you do not live life too fast and find your self with a lot of life obligations such as house, family and taxes.

In all cases I suspect that the biggest value of an advanced degree is one attained in a field or specialization that charms your spirit and wherein you find the spark of innovation and sense of awe at how something works and the part you can have in it.

Michael Karas