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Postgraduate students explain how a Birkbeck qualification has helped their careers

A new set of videos on the career benefits of a postgraduate qualification

Birkbeck is the fifth largest provider of postgraduate education in the UK and the third largest in London. In a new set of videos, Birkbeck postgraduate students explain how their qualification has helped them in their careers, whether it was developing new skills, networking with other professionals or using their qualification to secure a promotion.

78% of Birkbeck postgraduate students cite career/professional development as their motivation for studying.

Chris Barnes, who studied an MA Victorian Studies at Birkbeck and is a Reader Advisor at The National Archives, credits his postgraduate degree with helping him to secure his current role, saying: “I wouldn’t be doing the job that I am doing now if I hadn’t gone to Birkbeck and got my Master’s”

73% of Birkbeck’s postgraduate students are working alongside their studies and so there are many opportunities to build networks with other professionals. Former MSc Government, Policy and Politics student Valentina Serra says: “In seminars I had the opportunity to meet other young professionals working in my sector, so we did not just exchange lecture notes but also exchanged experiences from work.”

The skills that students develop at Birkbeck can be helpful in a working environment too. Georgia Sarantopoulou who studied an MSc Accounting and Finance and is now a Structured Credit Training Associate at Molton Street Capital, says: “I gained many skills, like project management, critical judgement and definitely time-management…all of these skills are very useful and I apply them in my day to day job.”

Tom Lloyd, who studied a Master’s in Teaching English as a Second or Other Language (TESOL) and is now a project manager at the British Council, explains: “I think [the Master’s] has been very important in me being successful within the role so far”.

Birkbeck postgraduate students tell us that the time they spent studying was a good investment and 90% would recommend studying for a postgraduate qualification at Birkbeck to a friend, family member or work colleague. MSc Management student Kostas Chyrsikos says: “I saw the change within myself during the two years that I was studying and it finally ended up with a promotion last summer”.

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