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Posted Aug. 29, 2012

Living the Life of a Postgraduate Student!

After 3 or 4 years of blood, sweat and tears you’ve finally got your diploma in hand: you’re a graduate. You’ve made it to the promised land of job prospects, possible wealth and glory...

...and then you start your postgraduate degree.

In all seriousness, many people walk straight into their postgraduate degree with no idea as to what awaits them. They fall down the rabbit hole without a clue as to what their day to day life will be like, what the work will consist of and whether or not they’ll ever emerge from a library long enough to remember their boyfriend/girlfriends’s face. Well fear not: here’s a lightening quick guide to ‘what to expect when you’re expecting’ to become a postgraduate.

Social life stereotypes: undergraduates have one, postgraduates don't. But is it true?

While it is true that the social life of an undergraduate is much more lively than that of a postgraduate student, it does not mean that you need to confine yourself to a nunnery. As long as you plan your time well there is no reason why you can’t find yourself drunkenly busting out atrocious dance moves on a saturday night. Don’t kid yourself: a postgraduate degree is hard work and you will more likely than not spend your tuesday night nights shifting commas about than downing shots. Yet as long as you work hard during the week, there’s no reason why you can’t have a laugh when the weekend rolls in.

How the type of your postgraduate degree will matter

What to expect from your day-to-day life in your degree mainly depends on what kind of postgraduate degree for which you are studying. A taught masters will involve the familiar stomping grounds of lectures and classrooms whereas a research degree is much more likely to involve you getting into a co-dependent relationship with the librarian. The demand on your hours also varies massively. While a taught degree might have more ‘set’ hours than a research degree, a research degree requires hours more of independent study. It is also difficult if you have a job while studying for your degree. You may also be responsible for data gathering and other projects that can take you away for weeks at a time.
 

Why the library you avoided for 3 years is now your best postgrad friend

While some students boast about getting through their degree with ONLY ‘X’ amount of visits to the library, if you’re about to become a postgraduate you really shouldn’t be one of them. Masters and doctorates are research degrees that require not just some hours in the library but LONG days in the library. Like ‘bring a sleeping bag and some coco to befriend the security guard with’ kind of long hours. Even if long hours pouring over books isn’t an imperative in your degree, you should still expect to need to make better use of library and internet sources. This is a higher league you’re playing at, and you’ve got to act like it.

Look at your final undergraduate year as a trial run

Many people often note how similar the final year of your undergraduate degree and the first year of your postgraduate degree feel, and it’s pretty true. If you are study a taught masters degree, you will have components that mirror the combination of teaching and dissertation that you had in your final year. So if you’re currently in your final year, then look around you. If you’ve spent your time pounding your head against your dissertation whilst crying over subject weighting, then you better prepare yourself for the long road ahead.
 

So all in all?

A postgraduate degree is hard work, but that doesn’t mean you should be wishing summer will never end. The work is rewarding, and it is very much possible to have fun at the same time. So while you may occasionally reminisce about the good ‘ole days of your undergraduate degree, don’t let it distract you from your brand new adventure.
 

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2 comments

Edith Sebatane Oct. 23, 2017, 11:58 a.m.

Post graduate studies are indeed a nightmare if one is ill-prepared for the long hard labor and reading it goes with. Nevertheless, support from family, friends and colleagues is critical.

Charlotte King Oct. 30, 2017, 10:06 p.m.

Hi Edith,

It's true that it's always best to be well prepared and have a good support network when embarking on your postgrad studies.

What PG course did you study?

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