Today featured a spread seeming to suggest that a Masters will equal a job at the end of it. Lauren Dolan looks understandedly pleased with her current role that, yes, did follow directly on from her Masters. What’s important to understand is the type of Masters she chose to do. Later in the article (last two paras to be exact) it’s explained that her Masters featured a six month work placement in industry and she was subsequently taken on by the company she did the placement at. Significantly different from doing a Masters without this practical work experience built in. Choose carefully.

Carl Gilleard had a little more to say about the employer’s perspective on Masters:

“If postgraduate qualifications are undertaken for the right reason, and the graduate is able to explain their value to prospective employers, they can certainly be very worthwhile additions to CVs,” he says. “The desirability of a postgraduate degree varies between sectors – in science and engineering a postgraduate qualification is often a requirement, and in investment banking an MBA is seen by many as invaluable when supported by structured work experience.

“But if the real reason is to delay the job search or as a last resort after failing to secure a job, then it is not going to be a worthwhile exercise.”