> I didn't really do it for the potential payrise (there is/was none)
In many places it's a matter of employability. Without a degree, you are simply not employable (or promotable) unless you have the right network.
Discussing the relevance of the contents of a master's is like discussing the relevance of leetcode. At no point does anyone, either from the university or industry, claim the contents are relevant to the job. It's also why many degrees are effectively interchangeable as long as they are similarly prestigious.
I think mid-career degrees can have the effect short-circuiting the elitism.
In many places it's a matter of employability. Without a degree, you are simply not employable (or promotable) unless you have the right network.
Discussing the relevance of the contents of a master's is like discussing the relevance of leetcode. At no point does anyone, either from the university or industry, claim the contents are relevant to the job. It's also why many degrees are effectively interchangeable as long as they are similarly prestigious.
I think mid-career degrees can have the effect short-circuiting the elitism.