hi,
this was the case for me in the year 2005, i decided to go for MS degree, finished last year, now i am Post Graduate............. planning for Part time PhD
you will be researcher in MS/PhD with more number of papers published, more knowledge, more and more research work................ its really good to join
your MS degree is not counted as experience, but the PhD research work
you can also try with part time MS...... but Full time MS is always recommended
with best regards
Chandre gowda