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The difference a Masters really makes
Spending $100,000 or more on a Masters degree at an international university is a daunting prospect. The decision to invest that amount of money requires months, even years, of research and discussion before you submit your application and begin your graduate program. So what difference will a Masters degree really make to your life? What guarantee do you have that your personal investment of time and finances will pay off? And can you measure your return on investment?
The answers to all of these questions are not straightforward. Each Masters graduate, even if they study the same modules and courses at the same university, is very different. We all have different skills, experiences and personalities and react differently to whatever environment we are in. It’s very often these qualities that have the most impact on our ability to secure the best jobs and really make the most of the opportunities that we are presented with.
The difference a Masters degree really makes doesn’t have to rely on just guesswork. There are clear and measurable benefits from studying an advanced degree for all those that go through the experience. Take Maja Nenadovic, a Croatian graduate of the Masters program in International Relations and Diplomacy at the oldest university in The Netherlands: “I became a much more confident person while I was at Leiden University. During my studies, I was involved with the founding of the De Leidsche Beck – the University’s debating society.”
Maja’s experience of life outside the classroom is typical of students who have taken the plunge and study away from their home country for a Masters degree. Personal development, learning new life skills and adapting to another culture are important elements of the international study experience, especially at Masters level, where students tend to be more mature than their undergraduate counterparts. Maja continues: “We got to represent Leiden at various competitions, even reaching the finals of the English as a Second Language competition of the European Universities Debating Championship 2004 in Durham, UK, and winning the Koc University 2nd International Debating Tournament in Istanbul, Turkey! In this way, my studies at Leiden also enriched my life by widening my circle of both Dutch and international friends.”
For Trisna Wardhani, an alumna of the Masters in Management and Business Finance at York University in the UK, the experience had more demonstrable results: “After my Masters at York I attended a UK alumni job fair in 2007 and the CEO and Director of Shell Indonesia spoke at the event. I found his speech about their commitment towards people development was really impressive. I sent my CV the following week, a phone interview was arranged and I was lucky enough to be selected. My skills and the selection of people and companies at the event helped facilitate an open door to my future.”
Depending on the academic subject area, graduating from a Masters program can also add immense academic, intellectual and work-related skills to those already building a career.
Depending on the academic subject area, graduating from a Masters program can also add immense academic, intellectual and work-related skills to those already building a career. For example, it is common for lawyers to seek additional specialization through one of the growing number of LLM programs dedicated to relatively narrow professional areas, such as intellectual property law, environment risk assessment and telecommunications regulation.
David Socolow had been Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, but in 2004 he decided to enrol at the Rutgers University School of Public Affairs and Administration: “I had on-the-job management experience – with a sense of what works and what doesn’t – but I realized that more specific education and training would serve me well. Rutgers gave me the opportunity to grow, to do my job better and the professors in the program brought a wonderful mix of academic rigor and practical real-world experience to the classroom. They taught not only theory but also what it really takes to get things done.”
