When you’re coming from a business undergrad background, you might not see the point in doing a postgrad degree in business. After all, you’ve probably studied all the subjects before. Chewing through marketing theory and business strategy again might not seem that appealing to you.
But here’s a thought – I discovered that so many opportunities are only open to me now with a masters degree. Once you’re out of uni you’ll probably spend a lot of time exploring the opportunities with an undergrad degree – and you might miss some really good ones, just because you don’t fulfil a seemingly statutory requirement only. There’s more to it than it seems.
In the UK, the job market seems to be very permeable for people with degrees in science and arts of all sorts and virtually all employers welcome applications from people with bachelor’s degrees. That is not the same everywhere. In France, graduates are expected to have a “Bac plus cinq” level education before the job market takes them seriously. In Germany, where people were told that their previous five-year diplomas were equivalent to a three-year bachelor course, employers quickly looked beyond the Bologna conversion and asked for masters’ level education in the ideal candidate.
So, you will ask what benefits the postgrad in business brings for an undergraduate with a business background. In my previous IBD job, I met linguists, architects, electrical engineers, physicists etc etc. You get the gist. And they didn’t seem to have problems with business at all.
In cynical moments, I think that I should’ve studied something fun instead of biting myself through accounting, getting innumerable group projects done for marketing, strategy, corporate finance, managing a student firm and at the same time writing a dissertation about M&A in the cement sector.
OK, I AM a nerd but even for me, my concept of fun is somewhat different. Frankly, I couldn’t wait for the day my last exam was over.
So why on earth should I choose to come back for more?
to be continued...
But here’s a thought – I discovered that so many opportunities are only open to me now with a masters degree. Once you’re out of uni you’ll probably spend a lot of time exploring the opportunities with an undergrad degree – and you might miss some really good ones, just because you don’t fulfil a seemingly statutory requirement only. There’s more to it than it seems.
In the UK, the job market seems to be very permeable for people with degrees in science and arts of all sorts and virtually all employers welcome applications from people with bachelor’s degrees. That is not the same everywhere. In France, graduates are expected to have a “Bac plus cinq” level education before the job market takes them seriously. In Germany, where people were told that their previous five-year diplomas were equivalent to a three-year bachelor course, employers quickly looked beyond the Bologna conversion and asked for masters’ level education in the ideal candidate.
So, you will ask what benefits the postgrad in business brings for an undergraduate with a business background. In my previous IBD job, I met linguists, architects, electrical engineers, physicists etc etc. You get the gist. And they didn’t seem to have problems with business at all.
In cynical moments, I think that I should’ve studied something fun instead of biting myself through accounting, getting innumerable group projects done for marketing, strategy, corporate finance, managing a student firm and at the same time writing a dissertation about M&A in the cement sector.
OK, I AM a nerd but even for me, my concept of fun is somewhat different. Frankly, I couldn’t wait for the day my last exam was over.
So why on earth should I choose to come back for more?
to be continued...
Hello,
Good post. I am thinking of applying to this course. However, I want to know what career placements for the inagural class are so far? Are people getting finance/consulting jobs? What firms? Location? Any information would be helpful. Thanks.
Posted by: John Smith | 02/03/2010 at 06:46 PM