How hard is a Masters Degree vs undergraduate.. HELP

Its a step up. It isnt a continuation of an undergrad degree. It involves more detailed study, building on your first degree, and in particular individual/independent study. It usually also includes a research element.

Ask yourself why you want to do a Masters degree (be honest about this). Is it 'because I want to be a Uni student for another year', 'because it sounds good', 'because I think it'll help me get a job' etc etc. And then think carefully, and do some homework. If you look at most graduate job ads they want a good undergrad degree and experience, not a Masters degree.

Masters are expensive (no automatic funding like SF) and rarely actually make any difference to your initial job prospects straight out of Uni. A much better plan to aim at doing one later, with the benefit of some relevant work experience. Without this you will still be seen a fresh young graduate with no relevant work experience - and sometimes a Masters degree can actually exclude you from some graduate recruitment programs.

I found the work a logical step up but not a struggle (not your subject/field though).

The big difference was the volume of coursework. My Masters was assessed mainly on coursework other than one lab test. I turned out the same volume of assignments in a term, as I'd done in my entire third undergrad year. Because it was all crammed into two terms, there was a significant deadline pile-up towards the end of the spring term - eight deadlines in six weeks.

Christmas and Easter holidays are just times you can get on with coursework without the interruptions of lectures/seminars. From May to September, you'll be working on your dissertation pretty much full-time, so you can forget the summer holiday as well.

I found the Masters a very full-on, concentrated experience compared to my undergrad years. Just in terms of stamina, there were times when I seriously thought I'd never get through it. But I did - it's just a real test of willpower

thanks for your answer, what masters did you do?

Currently second year going into 3rd year studying Economics BSc, intend to study a 1 year Masters: MSc Financial Economics or MSc Money, Banking and Finance at a London Uni LSE or CASS ( City University London) and maybe Exeter as a backup.

Does anyone know what the step up is in terms of difficulty or not as the case may be when it comes to Masters.

Especially if you have personal experience in these sort of subject, or to be honest just general ideas..

Many Thanks

I am about to enter a masters (very different subject) and from what I have researched it is more the volume of work which is a step up plus more independent study. Rather than say the actual difficulty of what you are doing, the standard is expected to be higher and every essay is twice the length expected at undergrad.

Depends - at my uni in final year undergraduate essays have been 3000-4000 words and the masters I am going to do the essays are mostly 3000

Oh yeah I meant on my particular course but OPs is very different to mine so I have no idea if what I wrote is even relevant at all, just giving my personal experience

Masters are expensive (no automatic funding like SF) and rarely actually make any difference to your initial job prospects straight out of Uni.

BSc in Economics from e.g. Birmingham? Welcome to the Civil Service grad scheme. That + MSc in Finance from Imperial/Cass/LSE/LBS? The interviewer for Deutsche Bank will see you now...

Got any evidence of that - or is it just 'I've heard' or 'I think'?

Despite what many school-leavers and graduates think (even for jobs in the City) you will not get a job offer, or even an interview, based purely on which Uni you went to.

Got any evidence of that - or is it just 'I've heard' or 'I think'?

Despite what many school-leavers and graduates think (even for jobs in the City) you will not get a job offer, or even an interview, based purely on which Uni you went to.

'Career destinations' are universally unreliable as an indicator of worth - either of the students graduating from any course or the course itself. Many of the students at London University colleges (or any other 'top' Uni) are International students or others whose parents can afford to pay for their postgraduate study. These families are more likely to have business networks or experience of finding employment in high-level jobs. It is therefore likely that those graduates will get more impressive 'first destinations'.

thanks for response

yeah, for jobs as with being on the buy side at investment banks you need v advanced quantitative skills which my potential masters choices will give me, I've already got loads of experience and internships so I think a Masters would be a good choice especially in Central london due to the city connections..