You’ve earned your bachelor’s degree and are probably at a crossroads wondering whether you should pursue postgraduate studies or enter the workforce.

Getting another qualification may lead to a wage premium, while work experience early on may equip you with skills that cannot be learned at university.

Of course, there are several factors to consider to determine which option will best fit your needs, or give you the maximum benefit in the long run.

Getting a Post- Graduate degree

A key reason to consider taking up post graduate studies is the wage pay-off you are going to get after you are employed with this additional academic merit.

Wage premiums

While wage premiums are given to those with higher education qualifications in some fields, there are still a number of employees with master’s degrees who earn just as much as those with bachelor’s degrees, and even less in some cases. In 2013, an analysis made by the National Center for Education Statistics showed that occupations in the fields of business, finance and sales lead to the highest wage premiums for employees with a degree.

In-depth knowledge of the subject

Postgraduate programmes are geared towards the development of an in-depth knowledge of the subject. In this case, assess whether studying will ultimately benefit your career, especially if your goal is higher pay.

Some employers may credit a specialisation with extra compensation, but others may not. You also need to consider how enthusiastic you feel about the specific course, since completing a master’s degree may be a challenge if the topic is not an area of special interest for you.

Hands-on experience

Joining the workforce gives you an early start in climbing the corporate ladder. You begin to acquire professional skills and experience that might be beneficial to your career.

Postgraduate degree recognises the importance of experiential learning that takes place in the workplace, by enabling you to focus on context-specific projects to enhance and influence aspects of your and others’ practice. As you undertake a project, you will address both the learning outcomes of the module and specific self-defined learning outcomes. Through your experience of defining, planning and engaging in an innovation, service development or a skill development project, you will not only be contributing to your service but also engaging in work-based learning.

Professional certifications

If you think that more studying may be beneficial to your career advancement, you can look into Post Graduation Diploma Management that tackle only the specific area of knowledge or skill that you want to strengthen and enhances skills you need, that can improve your professional character. It is only a matter of selecting what option will best suit your priorities, and what choice would be more cost-effective in the long run as you pursue your goals.

Skillville offers you program to be the best version of yourself with courses like:

• AIMA – AICTE Approved, Post Graduate Diploma Management Program (Full Time) http://skillville.in/course-detail-manage-full.html
• AIMA – AICTE Approved, Executive Post Graduate Diploma Management (18months) http://skillville.in/course-detail-executive.html
• AIMA Professional Certificate in Digital Marketing Strategy http://skillville.in/course-detail%20-%20digital-market.html

Source: www.timeshighereducation.com