Look for a job or do a Masters?

Hi Guys,

At present i am in the middle of an 8 month internship in asset management and learning numerous amounts about stocks and shares and studying a BSc, in maths and economics (2:1 expected).

I will be graduating in 2010, so my question is; should I accept a job from my employer if I am lucky enough to be offered a further position (with the scarcity of jobs) after graduation or do a masters in finance (would my degree be strong enough to do without)?

Thanks for any comments in advance.

My advice would be to take the job. You can do just fine without a masters. There is no telling how bad things could get, and how scarce jobs could be next year. Maybe we will have recovered, maybe not. But I can tell you that if you are doing a masters, you are the customer and a paying one. So as long as you meet the universities minimum requirements and pay the fees, you should have no problem getting on a masters course this year, next year or whichever year. Good jobs are much harder to come by.

And if you're still not convinced, consider a part-time masters while you work. But you still have some until you have to make a decision. So keep your options open, and if your employers sound you out for a future position, seem keen

I am probably reiterating what Calinor has said - Experience is key! If you can secure a postion which is progressive in terms of experience and can get you to where you want to be fast in te next 5 years then go for it. I am sure that should you wish to pursue a Masters after then I am sure that you can come to a mutual arrangement with your employer.

However, a majoirty of people work in Industry for a year or two before they top up their skill set with a Masters Qualification.

On the other hand, if you are getting what you want from your employer by that time then all that remains would be to specialise in a certain area of what you want to do. For example, Corporate Finance, Mergers and Aquisitions etc.

Therefore you could have the opportunity to study something very directly relevant in what you are doing on a day-to-day basis rather than a more generalistic Masters qualification. Finance qualifications such as CIMA (management Accounting qualification) is a very good example of this in that once qualified it would be pointless to do a masters qualification. However, from the people I ave spoken to with their masters, they have told me thats its a 'paper qualification' and getting experience with references is far the best way to market yourself as a professional.

Thanks for help guys, its very much appreciated and gives me a lot to think about.

And in case you can't get a job in finance, my advice is just to get a job in whatever field. Try to get a friend or relative to help you get a place to work. From my experience, employers will consider people with real world experience, no matter what field it is, even a irrelevant one, over people with a piece of paper from the universities, because there are simply too many of the latter case.

Your parents may say the otherwise but try to judge it yourself. My parents told me the opposite of what I told you ("son, get a master!") because of their fear of me not getting a job. I got out to work early and I couldn't tell you the advantage I have over those fresh grad master. In short, just get a job.