Jamie Lyons - Postgraduate Study

Name: Jamie Lyons

Age: 24

Degree and University: Management at Middlesex and a Masters in Human Resources Management again at Middlesex. Jamie has now handed in his dissertation and has secured a full-time job as a Gas Administration Manager for the Peabody Trust.

Direct from undergraduate: Yes

Why did you decide to continue your studies?

I continued in order to expand on the skills I had already developed in my undergraduate degree. I enjoyed the theoretical part of my degree but wanted to go beyond it. Once I did some work placements I thought about what sort of work I wanted to go into. I decided I’d like to go into HR, but most of the companies I was applying for required a CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) qualification, which I didn’t have. The great thing about the degree at Middlesex was that it offered me both the Masters and the CIPD graduate membership which, after a few years of work experience, can be upgraded to a full professional membership. I think the key thing is the people you work with: a Masters allows you to develop your own skills but also to develop other people’s skills. With the postgraduate degree I’ve learnt how to develop an organisation in terms of people skills.

How did you fund your postgraduate studies?

I funded myself through my savings and part-time work at the Peabody Trust and as a store trainer for B&Q, as I’m a part-time student. It’s important to think about how you are going to finance yourself, and to manage your money well.

How was it different to undergraduate study?

With the Masters including the CIPD you are trained to the CIPD professional standard, as opposed to just the theory. This way you are ready to go out and actually do the job. You are required to attend branch meetings and workshops with professionals who are already CIPD qualified so you get to find out what is really happening in the industry. There are also opportunities for reflective learning and personal development planning, which allow you to look at how you have improved. Masters students also have residential weekends away to develop professional skills and team building; it’s a totally different experience. Some of the guest speakers you have at postgraduate level are professionals who have written the textbooks and this is one of the most exciting aspects of the degree.

The classes tend to be about practical management. We discuss theories, but then we talk about what happens in practice using examples given by the students of real life scenarios. You use your own knowledge and look at different perspectives from other people in different organisations. This gives you a better outlook on situations.

Do you have any advice for those taking a postgraduate course?

Choose something that you definitely have a passion for. I’m doing it part-time and it will take nearly two and a half years to complete. It’s time-consuming and challenging, and there are obstacles along the way, so you need to be passionate and self-motivated. In order to get the results you need to be prepared to give up your own time and work over the weekends in order to finish all the work. If, like me, you are working at the same time, you need to make sure that your employers will support you. You also need to consider how it will reflect on your job at the end. If, for example, you need to be qualified by a professional body then you need to make sure that your postgraduate degree contains that, otherwise you will complete your Masters and need to go on to even further training. Finally, make sure you use the knowledge around you: the library, your lecturers and other students will all offer you a wealth of knowledge.

Add to

You need to be logged in to vote.

Article rating:

4/5 Stars.

Send it to a friend | Comments (0)

Thanks for rating!

Send to a friend

To:
Recipient email:
From:
Your name::
Your email:
Your message:

Please enter the characters above:

Thank you for posting. You message will be moderated before going live on the site

Comments

No comments....

EMPLOYERS

Durham University Business School	Durham Business School offers a broad portfolio of Masters Degree ...	more
Brunel University	Brunel is a world-class university based in Uxbridge, West London....	more
Exeter University	We are a leading UK university with 14,000 students at our campuse...	more
Nottingham Trent University	NTU offers a wide course portfolio, whether you want to study for ...	more
Cass Business School	Part of City University, Cass is a business school with a truly in...	more
College of Law	The College of Law is the UK’s leading provider of legal edu...	more
London Metropolitan University	London Metropolitan University is one of the foremost providers of...	more
Wales Aberystwyth	Founded in 1872, Aberystwyth was the first university institution ...	more
Cardiff Law School	Cardiff Law School is a large, well resourced centre of excellence...	more
ESCP-EAP	Founded in 1819, ESCP-EAP is one of the world's oldest business sc...	more

View all Employers

LATEST JOBS

Title	Organisation	Apply by
Chartered Accountancy ACA Trainee	ICAEW	27 Nov 2008

View all Jobs

CASE STUDIES

	James Slaughter - Postgraduate Study The MBA gives students detailed insight into critical business issues,... more
	Jamie Lyons - Postgraduate Study I continued in order to expand on the skills I had already developed in... more
	Martian Appiah - J.P. Morgan - Credit Analyst The Durham MSc Finance and Investment attracted me because of the strong... more
	Konstantina Kougiannou - MA Human Resource Management I chose Durham because of its exceptional reputation: I was extremely pleased... more