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Does it matter where you do your masters?
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Also does having that as an extra qualification really make you stand out, employment-wise?
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#2
I think it depends on the role your looking for. For example for plenty of jobs in urban development i'd be expected to have a masters - so it would be a massive boost to my employment.
I don't think the uni is too relevant. A masters is generally more specific than an undergraduate degree so I think employers will probably look at the relevance of the topic before anything else.
I don't think the uni is too relevant. A masters is generally more specific than an undergraduate degree so I think employers will probably look at the relevance of the topic before anything else.
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#3
I was under the impression that you do a masters if you have a specific career in mind, due to the fact they are often very specific.
For example, we were given a few options to continue from animal science such as animal welfare, animal nutrition, equine psychology etc.
The research sectors involved in the animal indistry won't even look at you unless you have a masters and/or a Ph.D.
But that is VERY area-specific. I have no idea about other areas.
For example, we were given a few options to continue from animal science such as animal welfare, animal nutrition, equine psychology etc.
The research sectors involved in the animal indistry won't even look at you unless you have a masters and/or a Ph.D.
But that is VERY area-specific. I have no idea about other areas.
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#4
(Original post by Toodles8)
Also does having that as an extra qualification really make you stand out, employment-wise?
Also does having that as an extra qualification really make you stand out, employment-wise?
I recommend doing one, there usually just a year which usually only really is 8 months of learning with all the holidays and term times.
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(Original post by advice_guru)
Again depends on the job and employers usually look at what the masters is in rather than where it is from.
I recommend doing one, there usually just a year which usually only really is 8 months of learning with all the holidays and term times.
Again depends on the job and employers usually look at what the masters is in rather than where it is from.
I recommend doing one, there usually just a year which usually only really is 8 months of learning with all the holidays and term times.
Honestly thinking of doing one because I don't know yet what to do career-wise when I graduate!
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#6
(Original post by Toodles8)
have you done one before? if so, would you say the workload is a lot more intensive than an undergrad degree?
Honestly thinking of doing one because I don't know yet what to do career-wise when I graduate!
have you done one before? if so, would you say the workload is a lot more intensive than an undergrad degree?
Honestly thinking of doing one because I don't know yet what to do career-wise when I graduate!
If you are unsure of your career I recommend picking a more general masters. You dont want to narrow yourself down too much, but then again people go into all sorts of random careers with random degrees.
Can I ask what you are studying right now?
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#7
(Original post by advice_guru)
No, I'm in the 3rd year of my undergraduate degree in maths. I'm looking at masters as well. I guess it probably would be harder than an undergraduate, I doubt it would be intensive, usually a course has a reasonable amount of content to cover to push you but not to drive you over the edge with workload.
If you are unsure of your career I recommend picking a more general masters. You dont want to narrow yourself down too much, but then again people go into all sorts of random careers with random degrees.
[...]
No, I'm in the 3rd year of my undergraduate degree in maths. I'm looking at masters as well. I guess it probably would be harder than an undergraduate, I doubt it would be intensive, usually a course has a reasonable amount of content to cover to push you but not to drive you over the edge with workload.
If you are unsure of your career I recommend picking a more general masters. You dont want to narrow yourself down too much, but then again people go into all sorts of random careers with random degrees.
[...]
The degree pushed most students over the edge. I do not know any student I who was not given extensions for more than one piece of coursework. In terms of intensity, I did some work before I started the degree and it was still not enough to keep up. I had about half a week off at Christmas. A few days 'off' when I went to a conference at the beginning of January. Three weeks paternity leave in March, which meant all my Easter coursework was late and meant I started my dissertation later. For pretty much an entire year I did nothing but read and write. The actual taught part of the course is easy. It is the dissertation in the summer that is the hard part (i.e. it is not 'only' eight months learning).
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#8
(Original post by evantej)
It will obviously vary from discipline to discipline, and between different universities, but the workload on my master's degree was more than twice that of my third year (i.e. the amount of primary reading was doubled). Not to mention the material itself was almost always more difficult and the amount of secondary reading required to get good marks was significantly higher too.
The degree pushed most students over the edge. I do not know any student I who was not given extensions for more than one piece of coursework. In terms of intensity, I did some work before I started the degree and it was still not enough to keep up. I had about half a week off at Christmas. A few days 'off' when I went to a conference at the beginning of January. Three weeks paternity leave in March, which meant all my Easter coursework was late and meant I started my dissertation later. For pretty much an entire year I did nothing but read and write. The actual taught part of the course is easy. It is the dissertation in the summer that is the hard part (i.e. it is not 'only' eight months learning).
It will obviously vary from discipline to discipline, and between different universities, but the workload on my master's degree was more than twice that of my third year (i.e. the amount of primary reading was doubled). Not to mention the material itself was almost always more difficult and the amount of secondary reading required to get good marks was significantly higher too.
The degree pushed most students over the edge. I do not know any student I who was not given extensions for more than one piece of coursework. In terms of intensity, I did some work before I started the degree and it was still not enough to keep up. I had about half a week off at Christmas. A few days 'off' when I went to a conference at the beginning of January. Three weeks paternity leave in March, which meant all my Easter coursework was late and meant I started my dissertation later. For pretty much an entire year I did nothing but read and write. The actual taught part of the course is easy. It is the dissertation in the summer that is the hard part (i.e. it is not 'only' eight months learning).
I guess since you did European Literature you would have had a lot of stuff to write up on. I do maths and I find the only tiring thing is doing questions for practise.
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#9
(Original post by advice_guru)
Again depends on the job and employers usually look at what the masters is in rather than where it is from.
I recommend doing one, there usually just a year which usually only really is 8 months of learning with all the holidays and term times.
Again depends on the job and employers usually look at what the masters is in rather than where it is from.
I recommend doing one, there usually just a year which usually only really is 8 months of learning with all the holidays and term times.
And subject dependent of course but your first statement is very debatable. Certain unis have much better reputations in some subjects than others do - it can make a huge difference, as can networking opportunities, careers fairs etc at different unis. Depends on what you want to do and who you want to work for.
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#10
(Original post by advice_guru)
I guess it probably would be harder than an undergraduate, I doubt it would be intensive, usually a course has a reasonable amount of content to cover to push you but not to drive you over the edge with workload.
I guess it probably would be harder than an undergraduate, I doubt it would be intensive, usually a course has a reasonable amount of content to cover to push you but not to drive you over the edge with workload.
We were warned at the start of the course that a Masters would be the most intensive and demanding yearof our academic lives, even if we went on to do a PhD. Two months into my PhD, that's definitely been my experience.
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#11
(Original post by Klix88)
I turned out the same volume of coursework in a term for my Masters, as I did in my entire undergrad third year. It's very intensive and I found that I needed to study, research and write most evenings and weekends.
We were warned at the start of the course that a Masters would be the most intensive and demanding yearof our academic lives, even if we went on to do a PhD. Two months into my PhD, that's definitely been my experience.
I turned out the same volume of coursework in a term for my Masters, as I did in my entire undergrad third year. It's very intensive and I found that I needed to study, research and write most evenings and weekends.
We were warned at the start of the course that a Masters would be the most intensive and demanding yearof our academic lives, even if we went on to do a PhD. Two months into my PhD, that's definitely been my experience.
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#12
(Original post by advice_guru)
I recommend doing one, there usually just a year which usually only really is 8 months of learning with all the holidays and term times.
I recommend doing one, there usually just a year which usually only really is 8 months of learning with all the holidays and term times.
Plus "holidays" were just time where my research, studying and writing, weren't interrupted by lectures and seminars
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#13
(Original post by advice_guru)
What was your masters in?
What was your masters in?
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#14
(Original post by Klix88)
It was based in archaeology.
It was based in archaeology.
I do maths, which is frankly lazy, you remember very little and the only tedious thing is doing a few questions for each topic.
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#15
(Original post by advice_guru)
I do maths, which is frankly lazy, you remember very little and the only tedious thing is doing a few questions for each topic.
I do maths, which is frankly lazy, you remember very little and the only tedious thing is doing a few questions for each topic.
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#16
(Original post by advice_guru)
Yeah it must be subject dependent as well, the heavy work loads are going to lie in English, History, Law etc where you need to write a lot, get given a lot of courseworks to write on.
I do maths, which is frankly lazy, you remember very little and the only tedious thing is doing a few questions for each topic.
Yeah it must be subject dependent as well, the heavy work loads are going to lie in English, History, Law etc where you need to write a lot, get given a lot of courseworks to write on.
I do maths, which is frankly lazy, you remember very little and the only tedious thing is doing a few questions for each topic.
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#17
I'm tempted to take a masters, but I doubt that it will necessarily help me get a job in the sector and I don't have a clue where I could get the funding from. Anyone know whether its worth it to pursue a masters in International Politics, or not?
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#18
Prestige of uni matters for social sciences professions like law, finance, economics. For others your actual skills matter more..
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#19
(Original post by Swanbow)
I'm tempted to take a masters, but I doubt that it will necessarily help me get a job in the sector and I don't have a clue where I could get the funding from. Anyone know whether its worth it to pursue a masters in International Politics, or not?
I'm tempted to take a masters, but I doubt that it will necessarily help me get a job in the sector and I don't have a clue where I could get the funding from. Anyone know whether its worth it to pursue a masters in International Politics, or not?
Sorry about being vague, but there are many ways to work at NGOs, INGOs, national government etc that don't require a masters degree, much less a masters degree in international politics. I would wager that these degrees best serve those that are interested in the topic and are ok being flexible in the jobs they expect to end up in.
The best thing about this sort of masters though, imo, is the networking potential and alumni opportunities. But this is often dependent on the prestige of the Department (unfortunately).
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#20
(Original post by Klix88)
It's possible to coast through an undergrad degree in any subject. I suspect you'd find that Masters-level Maths is a slightly different kettle of fish.
It's possible to coast through an undergrad degree in any subject. I suspect you'd find that Masters-level Maths is a slightly different kettle of fish.
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