You’ve just finished the best three years of your life, and the oncoming spectre of the real world and the job market begins to loom into view. Who wouldn’t take the opportunity to prolong those three years, and to put off the rest of your life for a little longer? What would appear to be the best way to do this is to do a master’s degree; spend an extra year at university, keep getting drunk pretty much when you feel like it, eating Doritos with that slightly spicy dip so you feel like you’ve achieved, and watching crappy movies. What could be better? Well, actually, a lot of things. The downsides, while not immediately obvious, are significant; namely the huge cost of the additional degree, and whether they actually improve your job prospects long term. Not to mention that they are not an extra year at University in the Undergraduate sense; they are more like a first year at work, with the added pressures of homework and no money coming into the bank.
On first glance, the advantages seem obvious; a slightly harder version of 3rd year, a touch more work, an extra year out of the job market, an extra year living with friends from University, and an extra two or three letters at the end of your name which, should, dramatically increase your job prospects. The first hurdle which will immediately hit you however is the cost of the course. They can range anywhere from £4,700 (at my old University, Sussex) to over £20,000 for some courses at LSE and you are expected to fund these yourself. There are some funding options which can make these more palatable, but these are few and far between; some Masters can be funded by companies on the condition of a job and a minimum contract, and there are a certain number of grants which are available, but, as you can imagine, these are both incredibly competitive and few and far between. Therefore, the most likely option is to get a bank loan at a normal rate of interest, far from ideal. Add in living costs, as there is no longer a maintenance grant safety net, then the whole idea begins to look less rosy. I know of one example who works a 20 hour week on top of their studies to earn enough money for rent and living costs. It would appear a part-time job is an absolute necessity for anyone studying a Master’s programme.
Whether a Master’s improves one’s job prospects is another issue. This often depends on the type of career you intend to go into, and whether work experience would be more valued higher than a Master’s degree in the relevant subject. I hate to use the example of my brothers again, but they for once provide a vaguely interesting case study. Both are in marketing (in admittedly different roles); one has a Master’s degree in it, the other does not, having instead opted to try a different career path before ultimately deciding on marketing. The one who does (and apologies to him if I’m misquoting, he’s abroad and I can’t check) has said that although his degree probably helped him get his foot in the door, in reality he’d have much preferred to have an extra years direct marketing experience, and be that one year higher in the company. My other brother, who does not have the Master’s degree in the subject, has not been adversely disadvantaged by his lack of marketing theory, if anything he has had to learn it more on the job and had to constantly keep on his toes to keep up with his more experienced colleagues.
The point I’m trying to make clear here is that a Master’s degree is not the proverbial yellow brick road to fulfil your job ambitions; Master’s degrees primary purpose is to prepare a student for PhD work, not to get them a job at the end of it. In some cases this does not apply, look for example at science courses; if you wish to be a scientist, postgraduate education is a necessity, while this also applies other sectors, such as teaching and law. However, for a number of sectors, such as journalism, marketing, activism, politics, accountancy; it is almost certainly better to get a job and learn from the ground up while obtaining the real world knowledge which cannot be learnt in a seminar room.
Master’s degrees do have a purpose. I’m not saying they don’t. However in many cases the logic which seems to be used as reasons for doing them is flawed. A Master’s degree can be a perfect way to broaden your knowledge of a subject and to increase your job prospects; but they are not for everyone. Take into account of the cost and whether it will actually help you in the long term. Who knows. You might save yourself £20,000 worth of debt.
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