Last year of Uni

[Furton]

I'm currently in my 3rd and final year at Manchester Uni (Formely UMIST) studying for a BSc in Information Systems Engineering. I absoloutley hate the thought of not being a student and am considering doing a master in some sort of management or business area as I want to run my own business eventually but don't want to limit my career paths.

To do this I'm thinking of doing a masters but not sure if doing this would be beneficial, I've got a nagging thought in my head that I would be doing this just to be a student for longer.

What's the sudden change from being a student to a "real person" like? I absoloutly love being a student but need to decide pretty soon as we need to sign contracts for the house next year (nice house, double beds, sky in every room, leather sofas e.t.c).

Any ideas? Should I do a masters or should I just finish it now and work for a year then go travelling?

[GreenPiggy]

work, unless you have a very very clear idea of what the masters is going to do for you in terms of jobs.
Work is quite nice really, the pay is lots better, even with rubbish jobs i.e data entry assuming you stay house sharing(much more cost effective)
beware though that if you are the only student in the house you'll still have to pay 3/4 of the council tax(on average £750 a year)

[directhex]

don't do a masters for the sake of it. and honestly, it won't make much difference to job prospects

as for the difference, it won't really hit home until you get a job (rather than floating about as a jobless bum for a few months, student style)

[shiato storm]

well, depends what other skill you have - or start looking for jobs for when you finish NOW, so you can slip straight into it without a problem.
I did an MSc - best thing i ever did, was awesome - and chilled for a yeaer after that, then started work at the university as a lab research assistant, cushti

[Rythmic]

I'd personally only go and do a masters if you mean to carry on being an academic (carry on to do a pHD, and go into research). Most people I've dealt with don't consider a BSc to be much different to an MSc, in terms of employing you (heck - half of them didn't even know the difference...)

[EvilMunky]

What do you fear about not being a student?

[Elmo]

i'm in my last year too, but i'm planning on taking a year out and working then doing a second 1st degree in another subject.

There's loads of options for what you could do, but i just didnt want to be going any further in the subject i'm doing, i enjoy it greatly, but didnt see myself working in that field, however the degree itself will be of great value aswell as the uni i did it at. To work in the area i would like to work in, requires a different degree, and altho i could have done it first time round, i wanted to do this one first to prove to myself i could

good luck with what you choose to do in the end.

[Aaron]

I did a masters degree and my experience was quite mixed.

My main motive for doing a masters was that I couldn't find a suitable job. I only got a 2:2 for my first degree and I didn't really want to work in that field (physics). In that respect, the master degree really helped me. I actually didn't get to finish my masters because I was offered a fantastic job about 2/3 of the way through.

From a social aspect however, my masters wasn't great. I was at a different uni that I didn't like so much and everyone on my course was very mature and boring. Maybe it would have been different if I'd stayed with my original uni, but that wasn't an option for the course that I wanted to do. My first degree was an absolute riot, so I found the whole experience very disappointing.

Everyone has different experiences though, so it's hard to give any real advice.

[tiggerai]

To work in the area i would like to work in, requires a different degree, and altho i could have done it first time round, i wanted to do this one first to prove to myself i could

What field do you wanna work in Fi? I thought Chemistry was your thing?

I'm in the same kinda position, although I think i'm definitely gonna do a masters, as it's something that's on my list to achieve, and now is about the only place it'll really fit into plans.

hopefully the job i've got will be really good, and if it's just waht i want, then i may ditch the masters all together. (depending on what other education i might need for CEng).
It's a horrible time to be in, as there are so many decisions to be made. I hate decisions.

At the end of the day, if you really wanna do a masters, do it. If you don't know, don't waste the money until you're sure.

[Elmo]

What field do you wanna work in Fi? I thought Chemistry was your thing?

Yeah i love the course i'm doing in chemistry, i just dont really see me doing it for the rest of my life. It's very difficult to get into the better jobs unless you have at least a 1st class degree if not a masters, and that's not going to happen.

I'm planning to do a degree in midwifery in a year and a half, after finishing this one and working for a year. It's what i've always really wanted to do, but i just wanted to prove that i could do a degree in chemistry, more to myself than anyone else.

[tiggerai]

I'm planning to do a degree in midwifery in a year and a half, after finishing this one and working for a year. It's what i've always really wanted to do, but i just wanted to prove that i could do a degree in chemistry, more to myself than anyone else.

Nice one girly! Go for it!

[Nemeliza]

Im still in my second year of uni and im starting to think about what im going to do, after my degree. The masters idea is interesting but i dont think there is any point in doing it just to avoid the 'reality' of moving on and growing up =/ (not takin a dig at u)

Im doing a joint degree so i have a few options when i leave but im starting to stray towards network administration and i might keep going there as i know there is a career there if i go abouts it the right way.

Have you tried speaking to your lecturer(s) believe it or not they can be pretty good at helping with these things, as they can speak from experience.

[Big RICHARD]

Get a job, lazy bum!

It's tiring to hear of all these people who just want to live the life of a 'permanent full time student' when we have to work to pay for you to be at uni (as university is still subsidised by taxes). Also, we workers have to pay for the general infrastructure of the country which you are prepared to freeload on.

I'll say it again. GET A JOB, LAZY BUM!

[Twigman]

Do the masters...you might as well...
Rather than getting a job and possibly regretting it...and no doubt you'll get extra letters after your name...

[TiG]

Sounds like you need to go and get a job, while i enjoyed Uni, having my own wage and being able to buy stuff as and when i wanted was so much better. Job market is looking reasonable at the moment, so i'd suggest that if you are considering just doing a masters to stay a student that its the wrong choice.

TiG

[Kumagoro]

Doing a masters in a different degree is worthwhile. If you do management
then you are more likely to move further up the chain faster.

I also miss uni... if you are like me you'll never get over it haha.