Skip to main content

Postgraduate Courses, Everything You Need to Know: Part Two

Hi everyone, it’s Matt again :)

It's time for your second installment of our series on postgraduate courses. I gave you the detailed and (hopefully) interesting intro last time, so let’s jump straight in….

I sat down (metaphorically speaking, in the current climate) with Paul, who went to Plymouth Uni, to discuss his MSc including all my standard questions: Value for money, positives and negatives, mental health and whether or not he would recommend postgraduate study.

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

“When I studied for my MSc I was given a scholarship, but I wouldn’t have done it otherwise as I do not believe it would have been value for money. At the time, there was no postgraduate loan available, so I wouldn’t have been willing to pay for it myself.”

Were there any longer-term benefits to Paul’s career?

“At this moment in time, it has not benefitted my career in any way, maybe in the longer term but definitely not right now. I have found that you need work experience within your field. I didn’t have that and I’ve been rejected by quite a few jobs due to either lack of experience or being overqualified”

But it’s not all bad, says Paul:

“My MSc was a great way to make new friends. As well as new ways of learning and using your own initiative. Being able to work on your own, with not much help, gives you a sense of achievement when passing assignments.”

“Although there were long hours, a lot of researching which takes up hours of your day, it does take a toll on your sleep – you’re watching a screen for hours and so my brain was still ticking over when I went to bed”

Photo by Tim Gouw from Pexels

Paul finished by stating that he wouldn’t recommend postgraduate study – unless you can get a scholarship. He went on to say that “there’s no point getting into more debt for something that isn’t unique, degrees don’t mean a lot these days”

So quite a mixed bag from Paul, it’s fair to say! 

On to my next interviewee: Kate, a now self-employed MA graduate.

“So..... I think the main points I would make was that I had gone into the MA as way to kind of network a bit and explore opportunities for new career paths, what with it being a business orientated course and all that, but I felt that side of it was a massive let down at Bath Spa”

Kate continued:

“The course went so quickly too and the workload was quite heavy really so it was difficult to really get to know many people that well or pursue and extra curricula activities (I don't just mean going out and stuff either!)”

What about mental health support?

“In terms of mental health support, the only time I needed that was towards the end when I was struggling to finish my Dissertation and the uni was fairly helpful and understanding”

 

Photo by Burst from Pexels

I asked how the course has affected her career in the longer term, and Kate mentions her new business:

“I guess on a positive note I did end up pursuing a new self-employed career which I enjoy and am mildly successful at, but I don't know that I can directly attribute that to the course.”

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

And finally, any recommendations?

“If I had any advice it would be that if you're going to do an MA then maybe a more career specific one, useful if you're looking to progress in a particular area. I did enjoy it though and I think I learnt some useful IT skills because being around younger people brought me up to speed a bit more and I did love the being back at uni and studying again. In fact I wish I could have stayed longer! When I did my undergrad I was a single parent and I didn't go to a traditional uni setting plus I think the other pressures I had limited my experience so going back was really nice.”

Thanks for your time, Kate and Paul! That’s it for part 2, hopefully you’ve gained a bit more insight now and you’ve got a better grasp of what the postgraduate world is all about. We’ll be back soon for part three, so see you back here soon!

Ciao for now.

M x

Follow Matt: @Matt_jl_24

 

Follow us on Twitter @Stridi

Facebook @StridiApp

Instagram @Stridi_health

 

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Simple Tips For A Happier, Healthier Life

  Breathe in….. breathe out. Prolong the exhale.    Your breath is powerful. It has the power to improve your mood, your mental health and the way that your body functions. That sounds so easy and simple, doesn’t it? There are loads of other simple ways to improve your life. Not just from the comfort of your own home, but from the comfort of your own mind, your own body. Let’s start with your morning routine:   Try and go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time each day. A few minutes either way doesn’t really matter, so if you’re keen on the snooze button then don’t panic just yet. When you wake up, have a glass of warm water with a squeeze of lemon – you can use up to half a lemon if desired, but just a few drops are great too. (Warm water is beneficial by itself too, if you’re not good with the bitter taste of lemons.) Lemon water has a whole host of benefits. From helping to detox the body, to being a natural mood enhancer. Who needs that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Perception: The Map Is Not The Territory

  Hi everyone, It’s Matt here, and I’m back to share some more tips with you. Today I’d like to discuss perception.  As mentioned last time, my specialist area is NLP – Neuro-Linguistic Programming, which is similar to CBT. A classic NLP phrase is: The map is not the territory.   This phrase means that everyone’s perception is different. Two people can look at the same thing and see something different. For example, you might look out of your kitchen window and immediately spot your neighbours bright red car, followed by a tree which is swaying in the wind. Whereas a friend or family member might look at seemingly the exact same view, but not even notice the car until you point it out to them. Another example, you could make someone a cup of tea, and while one person might rejoice at getting their caffeine fix, another might complain that it's not in their favourite cup and the tea is too milky.  It’s all about perception. Your mind can “delete” things th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stop Putting it off - How to Create Habits For Success

  We all have some poor habits, whether it's: Eating junk. Having one too many lemonades on a school night. Playing that game on our phone at times when we shouldn't. It can become an unpleasant cycle of Cue, Craving, Response and Reward.   But.... did you know that we can use these stages to our advantage?  Habits aren’t just a part of your life – an annoying tendency that you can’t seem to shake. Or a surprising trait that you developed out of nowhere. Habits are developed – often accidentally, but we can also create habits. Creating a habit is very much like learning a new skill. We keep practicing until it becomes natural, or until we reach our desired level of competence. With a new skill, perhaps you just want to be able to perform the activity successfully in one take? Or maybe you want to be able to do it naturally, with barely any awareness that it’s happening.   Developing a habit is similar. The activity in question may be a skill or activity t...
Post a Comment
Read more