Is doing a masters good for job prospects?

I'm currently a penultimate year student at a Russell Group university and have been struggling to secure an internship.

My applications have mainly been for commercial law firms, banks, the civil service and also think tanks. I understand that academics is not the only part of the application that these organisations consider when offering places, and I am also aware that there is always areas in these other assessment methods where I can improve, but I'm wondering if my chances could be improved if I undertook a masters degree.

After having spoken to various heads of graduate recruitment at several career fairs at my university - some of which have told me there is no point in applying with my A level grades (ABB (for some of the law firms)) - would it make sense to complete a masters as a way to overshadow or reduce the negative consequences of my A level grades?

Which area(s) of work are you considering and what are you studying at the moment? Your list of possible careers seems very wide - I doubt you could select a masters which would really move you forward in many of the options.

Hey there,

I'm currently studying History and Politics at Warwick and am very interested to pursue a masters in political theory or intellectual history. My primary focus is currently towards the legal sector where many of the law firms that have established an ABB requirement have acceptence rates below 2 or even 1%.

My interest in law stemmed from earlier interests in politics and economics. I felt that the combination of the two - alongside the notion of negotiating and drafting/reviewing documents - is best found in the legal sector. However, this hasn't stopped me from applying to other institutions that are purely economics/business or politics based.

Wait, so this is a law question? I apologise in advance for the double-invocation @J-SP. I guess @JohanGRK might have some opinions too.

Master's are "good" to fill a year and give you another cycle in which to apply to firms. But maybe it's phrases like "penultimate year student" and your wider app that's causing the bother. The range of places you're applying to is pretty wide, so maybe your lack of specific motivation for legal work is evident in your app. I guess seeing an app you've sent in might be the only way answer you properly. What have firms said in relation to your apps? Are you even getting through the psychometric testing?

So let’s be clear, you have only been unsuccessful in one application? Why are you assuming you need to do a masters if only one application has been unsuccessful. I will bet money now that you weren’t eligible for their scheme if you were rejected so quickly - sometimes you have to be in your final year as a non-law student.

How can you apply for the civil service twice when you are only in your penultimate year? For the civil service, you can only apply in your final year.

Your possibly spreading yourself too thinly. You said you have applied to banks, and yet nothing you have posted so far suggests an inkling of an interest in a financial career.

All the sectors you are applying to are highly competitive. Most civil services applicants take several round of applications before they get in.

A masters in a non vocational subject won’t help any of these applications though. I really don’t think it’s worth it if you are still looking at a wide range of career opportunities.

Better to go out into the world of work and build your skills/knowledge there and work out which sector you want to focus on.