Making a Decision about Higher Studies

Why obtain a postgraduate degree?

There are many reasons why someone may decide to do a masters. There is no doubt that it greatly improves your qualifications and overall subject expertise. However, masters degrees are expensive programs that require a lot of dedication and hardwork. It might be this trade-off which makes the choice to obtain a postgraduate degree difficult.

In certain cases it is true that getting a masters may be unnecessary. It can be a costly and time consuming way to improve your qualifications, and a few years of work experience can sometimes be seen as an equivalent use of time. Overall, the added knowledge and exposure that another degree gives you is always a good way to increase your credibility and helps you in acquiring better career options.

How will a masters degree help you?

Here are seven benefits of getting a master degree:

1. It gives you specialized knowledge. Master’s degrees are focused on particular areas or aspects of a subject, which helps you get a mastery and expertise in that particular field. They provide you with in-depth analytical and reasoning skills with the subject. This helps you implement your knowledge and learning in diverse fields.
   
   
2. Helps you develop valuable skill sets. Masters degrees expose you to more environments, more ideas, and facts. It helps you develop important interpersonal skills, as well as other analytical skills, writing skills, research abilities, etc. It teaches you lessons that you can take on with you for your life. 
   
   
3. Exposes you to new people and opinions. Masters degrees help you grow as a person by broadening your viewpoints and perspectives. Here, you get to meet all sorts of people from different backgrounds, which helps you not only in learning new things, but also in building a good network and establishing contacts that could be valuable in the future. 
   
   
4. Career growth. Masters degrees can exponentially increase your job opportunities, especially in some fields as this Vox article points to,  and also help you get better posts in higher levels. The advanced qualification level and knowledge base that masters provides you with gives you a wider range of career options to choose from. It also makes you a valuable asset to have in a company. 
   
   
5. Better earnings. A masters graduate can make much more money than a bachelors graduate, even though they may be working in the same field. In addition to better positions, masters graduates also get a higher pay and usually tend to have better chances of getting into a job of their choice.  
   
   
6. Can help you get into higher studies. Not everyone may not want to pursue a doctoral degree, and get into research, but for those who do want to, a masters degree is highly essentia. While there are some PhD programs that take in students without a masters degree, it is still a better option to have a masters degree because it can greatly increase your chances of getting selected for a doctoral course.
   
   
7. Helps you stand out in front of prospective employers. Having a masters degree is a rather valuable bonus point to have on your resume when searching for a job. Usually master’s courses are difficult and require a lot of rigor, and having passed through that would greatly indicate that you are also suited for an efficient work life.

Overall, while many people may understandably advise you against getting a masters degree for various reasons, including that it is too expensive and time consuming, there are still plenty of benefits to getting one. But at the end of the day, understanding whether a masters would be worth it for you or not depends on the sort of career path you want to take in the long run.