I started to go back for my master's at some point, but decided not to continue. My assessment is that a master's in CS would open two kinds of opportunities. Academia and government. And research-focused positions at other businesses would probably look more favorably vs bachelor's. In particular, I would like the option to teach college, which would require at least a master's. The US government can't think of a better metric than degree-level to determine if you are you qualified to lead people, so they often have minimum degree levels including master's and doctorate's required for certain positions. This can spill into government contract requirements as well.
Businesses don't tend to care as much, except perhaps if your area of study aligned with a specialized business need. So if this is the destination your friend is looking at, they probably want to make sure to steer their course of study to their preferred area. Otherwise, a company might pay more for a master's degree, but probably not a lot different from an extra few years experience. It might make you a more or less attractive candidate depending on what they need.
Whether or not the higher level degrees are worth it ultimately depends on the person's goals. If part of your goal is to build yourself up as an expert in some area (and to get jobs as such), then a higher level degree helps to support that narrative. But excepting a few cases like I mentioned above (academia, government, private research), experience and results are weighed more heavily in most cases.
But again, that is my perspective as a US native. The scenario might play out slightly differently if Visa sponsorship is involved. It could be that the degree would figure more prominently in that circumstance. I don't know.
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I am curious to see other answers too.
I started to go back for my master's at some point, but decided not to continue. My assessment is that a master's in CS would open two kinds of opportunities. Academia and government. And research-focused positions at other businesses would probably look more favorably vs bachelor's. In particular, I would like the option to teach college, which would require at least a master's. The US government can't think of a better metric than degree-level to determine if you are you qualified to lead people, so they often have minimum degree levels including master's and doctorate's required for certain positions. This can spill into government contract requirements as well.
Businesses don't tend to care as much, except perhaps if your area of study aligned with a specialized business need. So if this is the destination your friend is looking at, they probably want to make sure to steer their course of study to their preferred area. Otherwise, a company might pay more for a master's degree, but probably not a lot different from an extra few years experience. It might make you a more or less attractive candidate depending on what they need.
Whether or not the higher level degrees are worth it ultimately depends on the person's goals. If part of your goal is to build yourself up as an expert in some area (and to get jobs as such), then a higher level degree helps to support that narrative. But excepting a few cases like I mentioned above (academia, government, private research), experience and results are weighed more heavily in most cases.
But again, that is my perspective as a US native. The scenario might play out slightly differently if Visa sponsorship is involved. It could be that the degree would figure more prominently in that circumstance. I don't know.