With the news today being dominated by updates on just how tumultuous the current economic climate is, it comes as little surprise that Postgraduate study is becoming an increasingly appealing option for students predicting potentially long-term unemployment.
According to research conducted recently, 22% of students admitted that the fear of not getting a job after University motivated them to continue with higher education. Furthermore, a third of those considering further study acknowledged that they would discard this decision if the right job became attainable. But what did 66% of participants in this research cite as their number one reason for Postgraduate Study? The desire to get a better job. With endless CVs boasting undergraduate degrees, in addition to relevant work experience or an internship, Postgraduate study has recently emerged as a way for the discerning graduate to distinguish themselves from their competition. While it is impossible to ignore the 61% of participants who explained their interest in Postgraduate Study as stemming from passion for the subject, the desire to enhance employability is overwhelming.
Paramount to any undertaking of Postgraduate Study is the concern for further debt; 74% of participants expressed their concern about the cost of Postgraduate study adding to their already mounting student debt. However, it seems that today's graduates consider the prospect of further debt presently as something which will pay off (pun intended) when they obtain a better, more well-paid job in the future. With Masters' being branded as the "new" degree, one must sympathise with the predicament of today's graduates who seem to be faced with two options: enter unemployment, or deter unemployment, study more and increase debt. It seems difficult to distinguish which is the lesser of these two evils.
According to figures from the British Council, deferring unemployment by entering Postgraduate Study guarantees students higher success in the future. One year after finishing their courses, fewer than 3% of Postgraduate qualifiers are unemployed. Furthermore the British Council disclosed that postgraduates, on average, earn more than those without this further qualification. While men who have attained a Postgraduate degree earn 20% more than peers who disembarked from higher education after completing an Undergraduate degree, female postgraduates earn 34% more.
Therefore, while the additional debt may not be attractive to undergraduates, dreading the realisation that their bank statement has been sent to their "Home Address" by mistake, it appears that it is worth it in the end. "Good things come to those who wait", and those who study.
Elise, GRB Journalist
