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Posted Oct. 2, 2017
Top 5 Employability Benefits Of Postgrad Study
With the incredibly competitive jobs market as it is, leaving university and walking into your dream job is unfortunately no longer the norm.
You might have an excellent degree, from a top university, with all the right work experience under your belt, but you should anticipate most of your competitors having the same too. So, look at alternative ways to give yourself the edge, to sneak past the other graduates. How? With a postgraduate degree! Don’t think that it will hinder your chances of getting your foot in the door, if you take one more year out to get a masters degree. If anything, it will boost your chances of landing that dream job.
Have a read of our top five employability benefits of postgrad study, to understand why it could be the right route for you.
1. Evidence of your commitment
The fact that you have chosen to deepen the skills and knowledge base you acquired during your undergraduate degree, will not fail to make an impression on your future employer. You are not only demonstrating your commitment to the area you want to embark on a career in, but you are actively showing that you want to learn more about it, and that you are willing to sacrifice your own time, and money, to get where you want to go. This level of initiative is going to get you noticed by the decision-makers as you have gone that extra mile. Employers don’t want people to work for them because they couldn’t find something else. They want dedicated, keen and enthusiastic employees who are not only prepared to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in, but who are genuinely interested in their field of work.
2. Increased salary expectations
Whilst it is widely known that graduates earn considerably more than non-graduates, research has shown that those with a masters degree can expect to earn £5,500 more per year than their graduate contemporaries, who only hold a bachelors degree. This works out to over £200,000 more, over a 40 year working life. If that isn’t incentive enough…
3. Specialist skills
As a postgrad, you will be taking the knowledge that you learned during your undergraduate degree and delving much deeper into it. The specialist skills and knowledge that you will gain, pertinent to the work that you want to get into, will be invaluable to you. If you read the next level up of job descriptions to the graduate level ones, you will find that a lot of jobs require these specialist skills.
4. Work experience
Some universities offer work experience as part of their postgrad study. If you undertake this you will gain significant insight into your desired sector, potentially meeting prospective employers and having network potential, before you’ve finished studying. This immediately puts you at an advantage, because you will gain valuable insights into working in that environment. It is something you can call upon during the job interview, demonstrating not just your academic suitability for the job in question, but your professional knowledge too.
5. Career progression
Most jobs will require you to undertake some form of training in order to progress along your career path. However, by having a postgrad degree, alongside your undergraduate degree, you are setting yourself apart from the competition. You have shown you are willing to do what it takes to get ahead, to put in the extra hours of education, in order to further your career.
In short, postgraduate study is only going to boost your employability and help you up the career ladder. It will be time and money well spent, teaching you not just specific industry knowledge, but also more general skills that employers expect, and look for, in potential employees. It is always going to be a win-win.
About the author: CV-Library is the UK’s leading independent job board. For more expert advice on job searches, careers and the workplace, visit their Career Advice pages.
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2 comments
Charlotte King Jan. 31, 2023, 4:56 p.m.
Hi Elina – once you have been accepted onto your chosen masters degree you will be eligible to apply for one of our Postgrad Solutions Study Bursaries worth £500 each >
https://www.postgrad.com/psuk_study_bursaries_apply/
Good luck!
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Elina Brooks Jan. 19, 2023, 6:47 a.m.
I graduated with a degree in Education, and I was thinking of working for my master's next for better job opportunities in the future. Thank you for letting us know that postgrad studies will allow us to delve much deeper into the knowledge we learned during our undergraduate degree with more specialist skills involved. I'll keep this in mind while I look for a university offering master's degrees.