As someone who awaits their graduation and is surrounded by lots of young and intelligent people at university, I have always been interested in discussing and learning about the future plans of my friends after completing their degrees. Whether they are going to embark on the ‘real’ world and gradually start building their professional career, whether they intend to take a six-month break before going to work or choose the challenge called a Masters. The alternatives are not many, and the most preferred ones are often such because they look the least scary and only moderately challenging. But is this always the right choice?
How can a Masters turn into ‘a waste of time and money’?
‘I will do a Masters because I’m not sure what I want to do with my life’ is one of the most common reasons I’ve heard and maybe the worst, along with ‘… because I’m not ready to pursue a career and I don’t want to work yet’. The truth is, if you are not ready to face the challenge of an 8-hour business day, full financial independence, and paying utility bills, you will not ever be ready completely, let alone a year or two later. Hence, a Master’s degree is often used as a means of ‘delaying time’, which on the one hand can be considered a positive feature, but on the other hand it is not for free, unfortunately. Unless you have won the lottery and you don’t know what to do with the money, the UK’s tuition fees + living costs exceed the modest £10,000 and in countries such as America, for example, it is even more than $20,000. Let’s also not forget the fact that for international students, tuition fees are twice as much. Because of this, consider carefully: is it worth sponsoring even the most prestigious university in the world, if all that you’re aiming is to avoid the challenge of ‘adult life’, or because it will look good on your CV, make you seem clever or because you just want to ensure a year or two more getting smashed in nightclubs? In the end, don’t forget that even if money is not, time is irrevocable, and within a year, one could not only face their fears but overcome them.
Let’s dismantle the myths…
‘If you do not have a Master’s degree, you’re screwed’… really? In most countries around the world, firmly lives the stereotype that a person without a Master’s degree has no chance to break through. But who, for God’s sake, has invented such a ridiculous ‘rule’? Excuse me, but the year is 2019… One’s employability, skills and qualities, as well as qualifications are closely linked, but not necessarily interdependent. Last week, I attended several workshops where Luke (a representative of the Careers and Employability Service at Nottingham) was trying to convince the audience that in most cases, impressing an employer is due to people’s individual qualities, thoughts and values and how they apply them in real life, and not how many degrees of education one has obtained. And this makes sense! Because hundreds of thousands of people around the world can boast about the higher education they have completed, regardless if it’s a BA or MA. So far, none of them seem to stand out from the others and all of them seem to be just the same, don’t they? That is why, the earlier one embraces new challenges, accumulates practical and real experience different from writing essays, overcoming exam stress and being punctual for classes – the more valuable and unique that person becomes. Do not get me wrong – reading books has always been one of the most exalted and spiritualised ways for me to enrich my knowledge, and I do it with pleasure. But the world we live in today is much more than that. So, the Master’s degree (unless you want to be a lecturer in a school or surgeon for example) does not guarantee your further career, and this myth is gradually outdating.
How to find out for yourself if you should get a Master’s degree?
The answer to this question is not unique and depends on whether you have estimated how much time, money and effort it would cost you; if you could afford it; and most importantly, what qualities and knowledge you expect to receive in turn for your investment and whether these are practical in your future and aspired job. In certain fields, the Master’s is not only mandatory for a successful career, but is also a criterion for promoting developers and researchers. This applies, for example, to Science degrees, or to people who aspire to an academic career. In the private sector, however, a Bachelor’s degree is often sufficient to find an attractive starting position. Therefore, before turning the Master’s degree into unnecessary expense and wasting your money, think if there are specific competencies and skills that your Masters will give you and if they will have practical application, as well as what other alternatives there are to acquire these specific skills.
To sum up, no, the Master’s degree does not serve as a guarantee for obtaining a certain job position even if it is acquired at the most prestigious university. At the end of the day, an employer requires a well-done job, for which a Master’s degree certainly does not guarantee, but in some cases, it could also make a significant contribution.