Postgraduate courses are an attractive option now that the job market is crowded with first degree holders; there are currently more than 500,000 postgraduates in UK higher education institutions. But postgraduate study is not an easy option – it requires hard work and extra money.
Choosing a course
Deciding why you want to continue your study is vital. If you’re pursuing a particular academic interest, the likelihood is you’ll already know which course you want to do and why.
Otherwise, the career path you are planning to take will certainly have an effect on your choice of course, particularly if you’re considering a profession such as law or teaching which requires specific qualifications.
Extra skills
Of course, if you do not have a definite route mapped out, a postgraduate qualification will still enable you to develop skills which are marketable to employers, as Alex Jones found out.
"I applied to Barclays in the final year of my degree but didn’t make it past the online application forms," explains Alex.
"I’d also applied to other organisations but was turned down. I had a good degree (French and Spanish) from a good university (Bristol) but had no real idea of what I wanted to do, which was evident on my application forms.
"I didn’t have enough examples to put forward of my skills – I had university experiences but that wasn’t enough."
Faced with this problem, Alex considered his options. "I could have worked for a year, taking an interim job to get some work experience, or taken a postgraduate course.
"I decided that if I was going to spend a year out then I should spend the time on a structured course that would give me the knowledge I needed, so I took up an MSc in Marketing and Management at Loughborough University.
"It was a bit of a risk but it was the right choice to make. I learnt a lot about marketing but also about accounting, human resources and advertising, learning various aspects of how a business works."
Inside knowledge
The next time Alex applied to the bank, he was in a stronger position. "By the time I reapplied to Barclays, I had much more knowledge and real examples to use as evidence of this," he explains.
"I had a better understanding of how the organisation worked. The big difference from my first degree and my postgraduate degree was that I was more focused. I had a firmer idea of what I wanted to do and why I wanted to join Barclays, which I was able to demonstrate at interview."
Since joining Barclays Alex has progressed on to management. "I started on the international graduate programme, spending time in different departments in different countries," he explains.
"I’m now a manager, working in the Leveraged Finance Department. I have been lucky to end up in a job that I really enjoy. The people are great here, I have options to progress and the travel opportunities are good.
"I definitely think that my postgraduate course has played a big part in getting me here. It gave me a structured way of thinking and I use a lot of what I learnt in my job."
