funkymonkey

Define "worth it"? Do you mean will it make you more money in the long run? Probably not. It does have some advantages, depending on the career path you choose. The opportunity cost of staying in school for another 2 years while your friends are in the work force, gaining experience and making contacts, should not be taken lightly.

Here's my experience:

I have a BS in Software Engineering, and an MS in Computer Science. The MS helped to open doors for me right out of school, but most of the companies that I targeted had staffs where MS and PhD were the norm. Also, I had a very focused specialty during my MS (mobile development), and this helped me land a great first gig out of school. If you do the MS route, I recommend finding something that you can truly focus on during that time.

I often wonder if those of ya'll (sorry, couldn't resist) in the Bay Area understand that this anxiety exists. It does, and it drives many of us to drop our drawl and head westward.

I worked for a very well-funded startup in DC a few years back that failed miserably. When the end was nigh, I overheard C-levels say things like "you know, I can't help but think that location played a role in this." Did we have money? Yes. Did we have talent? Yes. Could our location change the fact that our management made stupid decisions? No. But, when you're looking for excuses the location factor is always there. And, as tech entrepreneur on the east coast it's always in your mind as you debate your next big thing.

I'd be very interested to know if those of you who are in the Bay Area with successful startups feel like your same company (funding, employees, etc) would be as successful in a different location.

Perhaps I'm just sadistic, but I actually like the fact that it's taking startups years to reach an IPO. As someone who has witnessed a startup die slowly over the past year as the C-levels chased the impossible dream of an IPO, I wish that more people would realize that it's the creation of solid products by great people that get your company bought or IPO'd.