A pool of qualified candidates with the right skill set and experience are always available in today’s job market and companies are becoming more selective. How to stay competitive and stand out in a tight job market? How to move upward to higher positions along the career path? It is common knowledge to bolster your earning potential by ongoing education. The one who is well equipped will get it and the one who sit complacently by probably will hit his head on the advancement ceiling when promotions come around. For career advancement, the popular way is to pursue for the career related knowledge by doing a master degree. Looking at the job advertisements nowadays, more and more employers will consider an academic qualification of master degree a plus, or looking for people with a master degree or above.

Before deciding to pursue a master degree, there are several points you need to note.

1.             Are you looking for advancement in your current field, or do you want to change careers? Either can be a good reason to get a master degree if you've thought things through.

2.             There are many different programs offered by different universities, you have to choose the right program that fit well into your career path and best suit your career goal. Consult your coworkers or managers as they may be able to give you advice and an all-important heads-up about what's hot and what's not.

3.             There are different modes of study, are you willing to quit your job to study full-time, attending evening and weekend classes for a part-time mode, or pursue the degree by distance learning? This depends on your budget constraint and the time you are willing to commit. Full-time mode usually cuts the number of years it would normally take in half. In addition, proper time management is needed to stay focus on the study within the busy working schedule for part-time and distance learning modes. 

4.             Another factor which must take into consideration is the cost. Will your employer subsidize your Tuition? Some programs can be quite expensive and may not be covered by your company's tuition-reimbursement policy. Most companies expect your courses to directly relate to your job.

A master degree can help you to advance your career, along with the building work experience make you stay competitive in the ever changing job market.  

The writer found that nowadays, more and more employers regard having a master degree a plus (from what we could see from the job requirements in the advertisements). Though they seldom require a master degree in any specific area, the trend is that many candidates (who work in the financial sector) have been pursuing a master degree in finance or others financial related program. They get the knowledge in their undergraduate study for getting the job but further education in the finance related field would enhance their competitiveness. A master degree is an asset if you actually use it to your advantage.

Within an organization, promotion usually bases on performance. However, a master degree could give a better chance to a candidate to get the job (other factors being constant, such as relevant work experience, the performance in the interview, similar remuneration expectation).

From a writer's point of view, doing a master in finance is considered as a good choice, for one could gain latest financial technologies and most of the programmes allow students to concentrate either in the area of Risk Management or in the area of Financial Engineering.

(The writer is a consultant with a recruitment firm which specializes in IT recruitment for banking industry.)

Source:

1. http://career-advice.monster.com/job-promotion/human-resources/management/Gain-More-Education/home.aspx

2. http://career-advice.monster.com/selfassessment/career-changers/Will-an-Advanced-Degree-Advance-You/home.aspx

3. http://learning.monster.com/learning/resources/article/103853?id=1b8fa1ec5f7be84dcc8f020ed3380080