Masters after BSc
Thanks in advance!
Reply 1
Thanks in advance!
I get annoyed with these sort of questions.
Firstly, don't do a master's if you don't have a valid reason to do one. Valid reasons include:
•
You want to pursue academic research in the specific subject that you want to study
•
You are legally required to have a degree or a master's in the specific subject in order to go into a specific job in the country that you work or live in - if so, you might want to check to see if it needs to be accredited by a specific professional body
•
You intend to work in another country, and they specifically are looking for more people with a specific type of master's for specific jobs that they are short on
•
You want to study the subject at postgrad purely because you have pure passion for it or want to develop your knowledge in a specific niche or subject
Invalid reasons to do a postgrad:
•
You think it would improve your job prospects
•
You think you would get a better advantage over the competition just because you have a master's
•
You think you are entitled to a higher salary just because you have a master's
•
You think it's a good excuse for not being able to find work
•
Because everyone else is doing it
•
You think it makes you look good or any other superficial reason
Unless you are specifically required to do a postgrad for the job you want, doing one for the sake of it is a bad approach.
If you want a job in marketing, I would suggest you go straight into the role. Any further qualifications that you should be looking into should be from CIM, DMI, and IDM (with strong preference for CIM). Any further courses you want to do to broaden your marketing knowledge should be up to date strategies and techniques from successful practitioners in the field.
If you want a job in any area of business, I would suggest you just apply for the job instead of doing any further qualifications.
Jobs in general tend to favour relevant experience over qualifications. Those that don't necessarily tend to be in very technical, academic, and/or specialised fields e.g. healthcare, academia.
I would also question why you decided to do a degree in business and marketing, since you don't need the degree in order to work in industry in these areas.
Reply 2
Firstly, don't do a master's if you don't have a valid reason to do one. Valid reasons include:
•
You want to pursue academic research in the specific subject that you want to study
•
You are legally required to have a degree or a master's in the specific subject in order to go into a specific job in the country that you work or live in - if so, you might want to check to see if it needs to be accredited by a specific professional body
•
You intend to work in another country, and they specifically are looking for more people with a specific type of master's for specific jobs that they are short on
•
You want to study the subject at postgrad purely because you have pure passion for it or want to develop your knowledge in a specific niche or subject
•
You think it would improve your job prospects
•
You think you would get a better advantage over the competition just because you have a master's
•
You think you are entitled to a higher salary just because you have a master's
•
You think it's a good excuse for not being able to find work
•
Because everyone else is doing it
•
You think it makes you look good or any other superficial reason
If you want a job in marketing, I would suggest you go straight into the role. Any further qualifications that you should be looking into should be from CIM, DMI, and IDM (with strong preference for CIM). Any further courses you want to do to broaden your marketing knowledge should be up to date strategies and techniques from successful practitioners in the field.
If you want a job in any area of business, I would suggest you just apply for the job instead of doing any further qualifications.
Jobs in general tend to favour relevant experience over qualifications. Those that don't necessarily tend to be in very technical, academic, and/or specialised fields e.g. healthcare, academia.
I would also question why you decided to do a degree in business and marketing, since you don't need the degree in order to work in industry in these areas.
Many thanks!
Reply 3
Master's study isn't for the faint hearted and it needs to be a subject you're massively passionate about
It's unlikely you can blag your way through or feign enthusiasm
Reply 4
Many thanks!
I'm breaking down each part of your question and addressing them individually:
what do you do when the UK job market isn't great,
Keep applying, build a portfolio of work (for marketing), or do professional qualifications if they are relevant (the relevant ones for marketing were previously mentioned).
every job you apply for isn't answering you back,
Chase them up to see what your status is, if they allow it. If you intend to work in marketing, you are also chasing up leads.
the successful candidates hold more experience than you
Can't be helped. If anything, I would try to look into internships (or apprenticeships) that you should still be able to apply to (not those that say you need to be in your perultimate year of uni).
and you have no experience
The thing about marketing is that you can often build your own portfolio of work at minimal cost or no cost at all. Want to build a webpage to market - costs about £10. Build a marketing campaign - costs about £50 if you're smart. Want to build a social media following - need the camera on your phone and produce content. Want to write out copy - need to type things up on a webpage
Do some marketing work for free for a charity or someone if you need to, and then ask if they are willing to allow you to showcase the work you did for them as part of your portfolio.
If the above still doesn't suffice, I would look into freelancing jobs to build up you repertoire for marketing roles. A good thing about marketing is that you don't need any qualifications, licences, or certifications before you start working or freelancing. UpWork is good for freelancing.
Should you freelance, you will need to go through the legal and tax stuff of setting up a business.
and how do you get experience if you don't have experience?
The conundrum that gets all graduates. If you didn't get onto an internship or placement during your time at uni, or if you can't secure an apprenticeship, you would need to be inventive and creative about how you go about this. If you intend to work in marketing, you will encounter this problem a lot when trying to enlist prospects to buy from you.
I have provided ideas for marketing roles above. Take what you will from it.
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