👨🎓 Should you pursue a postgraduate degree?
Find out which career fields required higher education levels in 2021 + the pros and cons of completing a postgrad degree.
According to the World Education News and Reviews, 60% of Indonesian students pursue undergraduate degrees, while only 14% continued their education journey onto the graduate level.
This data could be seen both ways: either as an opportunity for those who would like to stand out and become one of the 14%, or a way of concluding that possessing an undergraduate degree is realistically more practical and necessary.
Postgraduate studies are all studies that can be taken after the completion of an undergraduate degree—including diplomas, specializations, master’s degrees and doctorates. Whether or not you would need any of these postgraduate degrees relies a lot on which career path you’d like to take on.
The weigh ins
Like many other things in life, the saying “High Risk, High Return” applies very well to pursuing a postgraduate degree. While it might enhance your career prospects, it is also a huge commitment with many challenges along the way. But will all the efforts be worth it at the end?
Here are the things you need to consider before starting your postgraduate journey:
Pros
Employability. In a fiercely competitive job market, a Masters or a doctorate can really make the difference.
Career Path. By gaining further qualifications, it can open up doors to highly exclusive and intellectually rewarding job opportunities, like research roles.
Translatable Skills. Whatever field you choose to study, you will gain a wide range of transferable skills that every employer values.
Cons
The Cost. Each institution charges their own fees, ranging from reasonable to downright extortionate. That’s excluding living costs and accommodation.
Intensity. Consider the very real prospect of “burning out”. After 3-4 years of intensive study, do you really want to commit to immediately taking on more?
FOMO. The hardest part might be convincing yourself you are doing the right thing, while your peers travel the world, buy houses, and get job promotions.
See the complete list of the key benefits and risks of a postgraduate study in the full CareerAddict article here.
Most postgrad-friendly roles
In their recent analysis of the 20 Southeast Asia roles that are growing in demand, LinkedIn found that the percentage of workers holding a postgraduate degree rose in the last 5 years, at least for 15 out of the 20 jobs. These were the roles with the highest percentage of postgraduate degree holders in 2021:
Singapore: Sustainability Manager — 67.3%
What they do: Sustainability Managers are in charge of a company's overall sustainability strategy and projects.
Most common skills: Sustainability Reporting, Sustainability Consulting, Corporate Social Responsibility
Malaysia: Information Technology Associate — 38.8%
What they do: Information Technology Associates maintain and help to improve their companies' tech databases, processes and products.
Most common skills: Technical Support, Data Management, Active Directory
Philippines: Clinical Research Associate — 25.3%
What they do: Clinical Research Associates conduct clinical trials and studies to test the efficacy of new treatments.
Most common skills: Clinical Monitoring, Good Clinical Practice (GCP), Clinical Trial Management System (CTMS)
Indonesia: Machine Learning Engineer — 24.1%
What they do: Machine Learning Engineers develop and implement self-running artificial intelligence algorithms and systems for products and applications.
Most common skills: Deep Learning, TensorFlow, Computer Vision
Learn more about SEA’s in-demand jobs from the LinkedIn Jobs on the Rise 2022 report here.
A common alternative
Not everyone has time in their favor to pursue a complete postgraduate degree. But those people might still feel the need to further their education for a career progression or a career switch. In that case, professional certifications might be the suitable option.
Though professional certifications (PC) and postgraduate degrees (PD) have a lot of benefits in common, they are two very different methods of study. The biggest differences between the two include:
Time Investment
PC: General professional courses can range from 2 days to a week, while accredited professional certifications might take up to 3 years.
PD: Full time or part-time programs can range from 10 months to 24 months.
Cost of Programs
PC: Starting from $500 (Not inclusive of exam fees and other miscellaneous fees).
PD: Ranging from $5,000 to $120,000.
Difficulty Level
PC: Passing rates for programs vary. Ex: Certified Human Resource Administrator (CHRA) – 85.33%, Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Prgoram – 41%
PD: Usually requires a high level of commitment, however, you are unlikely to fail unless you drop out due to personal reasons or submit your assignments late.
Career Prospects
PC: The subjects covered are more niche and technical. Relevant for those who’d like to switch careers.
PD: Covers a broader range of content, meaning more job opportunities will more likely be opened up.
Relevancy
PC: May be ‘popular’ for a few years or a decade but will phase out quickly when another certification starts to gain more recognition.
PD: The modules and content will change and update with newer case studies and research. However, a degree does not expire and is ‘Good for Life’.
Read more on how to decide between a professional certification and a postgraduate degree in the Aventis article here.
So, what’s the verdict? Do you feel like a postgraduate degree is the right step for you?
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See you next week!