Master the next level

Story by Amanda Loudin

In today’s job market, certainty is rare. Shifting economic indicators, evolving industries and rapid technological change have students and professionals alike asking the same question: How do I stay competitive no matter what comes next?

One proven answer is advanced education — especially when it’s designed to keep pace with the real world. ASU’s master’s degree programs are built to do exactly that, equipping you with in-demand skills, hands-on experience and the adaptability employers value most.

Whether pursued immediately after a bachelor’s degree or later in life as a strategic career pivot, graduate education at ASU is designed to help you stand out in a sea of candidates.

ASU master’s degree students come from all walks of life. Some balance full-time jobs while attending evening or online classes; others immerse themselves in full-time study. With a wide range of flexible, industry-aligned programs, ASU offers pathways tailored to nearly every professional goal.

Here are four master’s degree candidates and graduates who are expanding their skill sets, strengthening their resumes and positioning themselves for the careers they want next.

Industrial engineering, MS, spring 2026

Why he is pursuing his master’s degree: to deepen his knowledge of the field of industrial engineering while pursuing his love for college football

Current place of employment: SpektreWorks (internship)

It’s one thing to learn statistics and analytics concepts, and another to do a deep dive into their theories, derivations and applications. For industrial engineering master’s degree candidate Coben Bourguet, ’24 BSE in engineering management, that’s just part of the appeal in pursuing his degree.

“(The programs) transitioned really well with each other,” Bourguet says. “I really liked the operations research side of things. Taking classes with statistics and analytics as a big core foundation piqued my interest. You get to see the theory and derivation behind concepts you usually just glance over.”

Like many master’s degree students, Bourguet is keeping many balls in the air while maintaining his studies. One of those balls stands unique, however: Up until the last season, he was a member of the Sun Devil Football team for four years. He has also managed an internship for the past three summers at the engineering firm SpektreWorks in North Phoenix, which designs drones and unmanned autonomous vehicles.

“It has been great to get my foot in the door with a growing company,” Bourguet says. “It’s been cool to see engineering concepts and theories applied in the real world.”

Bourguet credits his ability to manage full-time, in-person school even as a university Division 1 athlete with the supportive staff he’s found in his master’s program. His advice to others?

“Maximize your resources and dive into the faculty available to help you,” he says. “Use office hours, form study groups and get the most out of your time.”

Project management, MPM, spring 2027

Why she is pursuing her master’s degree: to eventually become director of production at a major opera program

Current place of employment: Arizona Opera

As a full-time contract stage manager with the Arizona Opera, Callista Veaughn-Payne is steeped in the nonprofit world.

“Many nonprofits don’t run on traditional business practices and fall into a uniqueness bias that I think can be highly problematic,” she says. “I view stage management and production management as a form of project management. I am of the firm belief that if people take some theories and practices from corporate management into the nonprofit sector, we would see more success.”

It’s that belief that led Veaughn-Payne to ASU’s Master of Project Management program, where she’s currently taking six credits per semester, split between in-person and online classes.

“I’m developing a sense of awareness and expectations,” she says. “In my project management theory class, we consistently discussed when and where to apply traditional project management approaches, and where we should and shouldn’t pivot to a more agile approach.”

As she looks into the future, Veaughn-Payne hopes to eventually become a director of production at a major opera company.

“I’m learning a lot of hard skills that will allow me to develop and manage budgets of that scope and figure out how to do things in a more sustainable way,” she says. “Being from ASU and working in the Valley gives me credibility (toward my goals) beyond just a bachelor’s degree in theater.”

’25 MS in health care administration and policy

Why he earned his master’s degree: to help position him to become a CEO of a rural health care organization

Current place of employment: Gila Regional Medical Center

Rural health care systems serve a different population than their big-city counterparts, says Alden Joe, and that population often falls through the cracks. Growing up in Ganado, Arizona, on the Navajo reservation fed his passion to pursue a degree in health care administration.

After several years of working in rural health care in hospital executive and revenue cycle positions, which is the management of the complete financial process of health care payments, Joe enrolled in ASU’s master’s program in health care administration and policy.

Joe credits his ASU master’s degree in preparing him for modern-day health care administration.

“Innovation and technology are constantly evolving,” he says. “ASU helps develop critical thinking and an innovative mindset.”

While in his degree program, Joe worked closely with professors Michael Donovan and Amber Brooks-Gumbert, who gave him an in-depth understanding of both health economics and public policy.

He applies his learnings daily at Gila Regional Medical Center, a critical access hospital in rural New Mexico, where he holds a position as the director of revenue cycle management. His long-term goal is to serve his community on the Navajo Nation as a hospital CEO.

Sports psychology, MS, spring 2026

Why she’s pursuing her master’s degree: to become a sports psychologist

Like many psychology majors, when she obtained her bachelor’s degree, Micaia Gerstner, ’22 BS in family and human development and ’22 BA in psychology, assumed she would need an advanced degree. Trouble was, she didn’t quite know which master’s program to choose.

“I worked in a behavioral health program because I thought I wanted to go the developmental psychology and PhD route,” she says. She loved it but felt it wasn’t for her.

Gerstner had never considered sports psychology, but upon learning about ASU’s first cohort that launched in fall 2024, she took interest. A gymnast and cheerleader growing up, Gerstner liked the idea of having a positive impact on young athletes.

While continuing to work full time, Gerstner is pursuing her master’s degree from New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences under the guidance of Professor Lindsey Markwell, taking classes at night at the West Valley campus.

“Lindsey has been a literal guiding light and mentor in our first cohort,” Gerstner says.

Under Markwell’s mentorship, Gerstner has begun working with a local high school cheer team, gaining real-life experience along with her classwork.

As she looks toward graduation this spring, Gerstner is unsure if she’ll pursue private practice or a position as a team sports psychologist. But she is certain she will be well prepared for either.

“My professors helped me see the avenues available,” she says. “Sports is something I always wanted to be involved in, but I wasn’t sure how.”

Master’s degrees may not be for everyone, but in an ever-changing world, they can become a path to career success. If you’ve ever wondered “what if” when it comes to pursuing a new and different direction, check out ASU for a program to fit your needs.

Learn more at degrees.apps.asu.edu/masters-phd.

About the author: A journalist, Amanda Loudin's work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Harvard Medicine and other national media outlets.

Gain hands-on experience to land your dream job

From interning with American manufacturing’s powerhouses to developing robots, the experiences on ASU’s Polytechnic campus are helping graduates secure jobs that drive the economy forward and protect our nation’s success.

“The connection to industry is a really big deal,” says Ammon Hall, ’23 BS and ’24 MS in manufacturing engineering.

Whether working as a research assistant on campus or pursuing a formal internship, both he and Zachary Goode, ’23 BSE in engineering (robotics), ’23 BS and ’24 MS in manufacturing engineering, credit that hands-on experience to helping them secure jobs prior to completing their graduate degrees through ASU’s accelerated master’s program.

Hall currently works as a robotics and controls development engineer at AeroSpec in Chandler and Goode as a systems engineer at Northrop Grumman in Gilbert and Goodyear.

Students also benefit from a strong culture of support.

“I studied in Asia and Europe, and I have not seen this level of mentorship anywhere else,” says Sunny Amatya, ’24 PhD in systems engineering, and a research and development engineer at FANUC America.

Learn more at campus.asu.edu/polytechnic-campus.