Benefits of a Postgraduate Degree
In recent times, it’s become delusional to think that an undergraduate degree guarantees that your career opportunities will be endless. In fact, we have to deal with the direct opposite seeing as the present-day graduate job market is fast becoming fiercer.
For the most part, it is quite tough to distinguish yourself from the next university degree holder. While many believe that career advancement is a slow and gruesome process, there are alternative routes that are tried, tested, and proven.
For instance, getting a postgraduate degree can give you a leg up. This will start to ring true when you consider the fact that in the US alone, about eight percent of people are armed with a master’s degree; this is over 16 million of the population.
With this amount of competition, it’s obvious that a first degree is no longer enough to establish yourself in a career. In that vein, below are the benefits of acquiring a postgraduate degree.
Employability Increase
While we can’t give you all the tips to become a successful college student, we can offer a little advice on the employability benefits that come with a successfully completed post-grad degree.
Although we certainly agree that a postgraduate degree does not guarantee employment, it will certainly boost an applicant’s chances in the very competitive labor market. The truth of the matter is that having a master’s or Ph.D. will make a world of difference, especially now that education is a lot more accessible.
This applies even more to the legal, vocational, and financial sectors. In these fields, most companies will consider a candidate armed with an MBA more attractive than one with a first degree.
Boosts Your Chances Of Ascending The Career Ladder
It doesn’t matter if you seek employment or a promotion; you can make things move much smoother if a postgraduate degree is part of the mix. With a postgraduate degree, you can hone your skills by pursuing a higher qualification in the same field.
Or, you can take it up a notch and aim for a management position by getting an MBA. Altogether, for fresh graduates, the most viable way to land a coveted role in a particular industry is through postgraduate studies. If you want to make a career out of filmmaking, enrolling in a filmmaking masters program is one of the best ways to get ahead. The film industry is highly competitive, but with a postgraduate degree in film studies, you can stand out from the rest of the crowd.
In fields like architecture, candidates need a postgraduate degree to qualify for professional registration.
Gain expert knowledge
Getting a master’s degree doesn’t only give you a leg up in the job market. It also exposes you to specialized knowledge, which is still great for career progression.
During the program, you will have the opportunity to learn directly from experts. Even more, people who opt to bag a Ph.D. degree further will ultimately become experts in their own fields. All in all, with the evolution of the workforce, a graduate degree shows your dedication and devotion to boosting the credibility and expertise of your industry.
So, it’s not out of the question to focus on one area or course of study that’ll make you stand out in your field. The truth is that with a master’s degree, people will be better equipped to gain more skills, build on their current abilities, or, better still, transition to a completely new field.
Increased your earning potential
Acquiring a postgraduate degree can boost your earning power significantly. With this degree in place, candidates are qualified for a 23% increase difference from what a fresh graduate would normally earn.
The gap is even wider in certain fields, but don’t take our word for it. For example, Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce report said that in fields like life science and biology, employees with higher degrees pocket 63% more than what first-degree holders are paid.
Meanwhile, postgraduate degree holders in medical preparatory programs and the health sector as a whole can earn a whopping 137% more. We are trying to explain here that though you are already a first-degree holder, you can significantly boost your paycheck by bagging another degree.
A skills bonus
Thanks to the additional skills you will acquire during your postgraduate studies, you will be better equipped to secure employment and thrive. However, on-the-job training is sometimes more favorable to companies that can engage undergraduates and train them for one specific role.
If your mind is set on a particular career, first find out from employers which course will position you better to get a job in that field. If that’s not possible, then go for a course that will offer helpful skills; it doesn’t even have to be along scholarly lines.
Continuing an Interest
Let’s say you’ve always enjoyed studying biology; chances are that you’ll like it even more once you delve deeper. You’ll probably thrive studying this at a higher level than you would while studying creative writing.
Nevertheless, while it may be nothing short of an adventure to continue with an interest, it may not always be enough to justify the extra cost and time.More so, you need to consider the course thoroughly and decipher its relevance to your future career plans.
Take it up a notch by measuring your plans against the present job climate. Most of the available programs offer something similar; a chance to develop and boost your skills while bolstering your CV. However, you need to really consider how relevant all those skills will be when it’s time to look for a job.
Access to different kinds of funding
A critical consideration for graduates who are looking to pursue a postgraduate degree is funding. On that note, candidates need to keep it in mind that there are alternative ways to fund postgraduate studies.
Don’t get scared because you feel your only option is to self-fund. For instance, a new master’s degree candidate in the UK can get a PGL or postgraduate loan of about £10,000, and this student facility has been approved since September 2016.
These loans from the government have provided answers to questions like how to pay for medical school, how to pay for law school, and many others. Additionally, interested people can find various bursaries and scholarships given by the government or the university. Trust, charities, foundations, and public bodies like the NHS can also access funding.
Opportunity for career Change
Before rounding up, it is worth mentioning that pursuing a postgraduate degree is a great way to position yourself for a career change. A graduate of medicine who wants to trade in the hospital for a classroom can leverage the opportunity to study education.
To Conclude
It doesn’t always have to be that drastic a change and a good example is someone transitioning from cinema to animation or marketing to communications. Though it is easy to study any course of your choice at the graduate level, there are still specific courses where the students must be armed with a foundation degree. Based on that, course information needs to be read carefully so you can make an informed decision
