Does Post graduate study really make you more employable?

studentphil

If I go do a masters in Social work or a PGCE, then post graduate study should make me more employable.

But does really doing a Masters in Healthcare Ethics or conflict studies really make me anymore employable than someone with a BA?

:beer: :beer:

kittiwoz

Aparently a Masters generally makes you more employable or at least employable at a higher level, i.e. increases your earnings potential but a PHD leads to you be seen as over-qualified and over-academic and actually makes you less employable unless you plan to continue in academia as a researcher or lecturer. That doesn't seem terribly fair but was the finding of a recent study.

Having said that I am a believer in the intrinsic value of education and so if someone is interested in a subject and wants to study it a higher level I think that may well be a worthwhile end in itself. Obviously by continuing in education you are spending when you could be earning so it isn't necessarilly money savings but people spend money on an awful lot of things they don't have to have and which bring them less benefit than education does so that doesn't make it a bad choice.

DrFluffy

I would say no - a masters isn't long enough to actual beat on the job experience, unless you're going into something academic but at a lower level. Most people do MBAs after working for a while...

Doctorates can limit your employment oportunities, unless going into academia or specific research driven areas of industry, as no one likes to employ someone more qualified than themselves...

studentphil

DrFluffy wrote:

I would say no - a masters isn't long enough to actual beat on the job experience, unless you're going into something academic but at a lower level. Most people do MBAs after working for a while...

Doctorates can limit your employment oportunities, unless going into academia or specific research driven areas of industry, as no one likes to employ someone more qualified than themselves...

That is true, a masters can help develop specific skills if it is vocational, but generally it does not give you any specific advantage over a BA.

talksalot81

I certainly wouldnt bother doing something simply to make me more 'employable'. My belief is that my postgraduate education in fact makes me more capable (there is a destinction which many people forget). So although better employability is good, I am confident my education will mean I can actually out perform and progress more rapidly than those without it.

I see no point in education if all you want is to wave about your qualification. If you cant back it up with some useful skills, you have wasted everyones time.

missejackson

would depend on the qualification. i did a PGCE and didn't get a job so gave up on Primary teaching!!!

So took a job suitable for A Levels even though I have a Masters. Fortuntately the Masters qualification has been used as I am about to start a PhD which I wouldn't be able to do without the Masters. It will be applied social research and with this experience under my belt I will be able to to go into the workplace and do consultant research if I didn't like academia.

tomstickland

Yes & no. Extra study can either indicate your intellectual credentials or suggest that you're avoiding getting a job for as long as possible.
I've got a masters degree, but I binned the phD and think it was the correct decision.

ffeindadifyr

tomstickland wrote:

Extra study can either indicate your intellectual credentials or suggest that you're avoiding getting a job for as long as possible.

What's wrong with avoiding getting a job for as long as possible? :rotfl: