Using your Bachelors as a foundation for future learning
While compulsory education now carries on until the late teens, it’s still a commonly-held view that the ‘end goal’ of learning is an undergraduate degree. Holding a BA or BSc is a great achievement that shows the ability to delve deeply and independently into a subject and some companies require a university degree as a pre-requisite for employment.
Businesses value undergraduate studies, viewing them as a commitment to advancement, the ability to work to a certain standard and the ability to adapt to different challenges – which appears to be the case for many students as half of recent graduates go on to work in sectors unrelated to their field of study. This could be down to many reasons; graduates no longer wish to specialise in that particular area; the number of opportunities in certain industries is limited and extremely competitive; or certain degrees don’t have job roles that explicitly link to them.
Although students choose degrees carefully, a lot can change in three years. While getting a BA or BSc after your name shows ability, what do you do if you find yourself with a degree for a sector you no longer wish to work in, or one that doesn’t apply directly to your career progression?
A BA or BSc is not the ‘last stop’
The good news is that undergraduate degrees are not the end of Higher Education – if anything, they’re just the start. While some BA and BSc qualifications directly apply to certain businesses, such as journalism or pharmaceuticals, many companies see them as displaying a certain standard of commitment and ability. There are a huge range of postgraduate options that can not only showcase your intelligence and talent, but can build and supplement the skills gained during undergraduate studies to boost your professional profile.
Many graduates would be very interested in a further course of study that enhances key capabilities and offers a qualification to make them highly desirable to employers, but the time, commitment and expense of staying in education and out of the workplace can make it seem daunting.
Continuing education to further your prospects
With this in mind, the University of York have created three 100% online MSc degrees in Leadership and Management to give you the professional skills you need to succeed without having to sacrifice time away from work. As all learning materials are delivered online, you can study in your spare time, lunch break or weekends; you can stay in your current job and apply what you learn whilst gaining valuable skills and a highly desirable Masters degree.
All courses are delivered on a pay-per-module basis, removing the large, up-front costs usually associated with further study and there are six start dates spread throughout the year, meaning you can begin when you like. You can gain a prestigious Russell Group university degree without taking a costly study break or losing the experience you’d gain with your employer, as well as keeping your salary and pay grade.
Best of all, you can hone vital business skills such as effective communication, critical approaches to problem solving and professional development insight, meaning that as you begin to climb the career ladder, you’ll already be able to demonstrate the skills that companies need from their leaders.