I’m currently preparing for my final term for my Master in Information Systems (MIS) degree. It’s a short break from the stress in school. Looking at what I’ve learned and accomplished so far, I would like to share my top 7 reasons why you should take up a Master’s degree. (I’m not going to discuss what course to take or which school should you go to. That will be in a another blog post. 🙂 )

7. You will meet new friends.

They say that in grad school, having 10 students in a class is already big. In the class, there will be mixed types of people- from young professionals to management-level to self-employed individuals. There will also be returnees or transferees who will join the class. Since a lot of them will be your classmates for a couple of terms, you spend a lot of time with them during and after class.

And you will be friends with them in no time similar to your college experience! This time, you won’t be limited to your age group. You can be a young professional and make friends with a senior manager or even a mother. And that’s fine. 🙂

6. It’s a requirement for you to be able to teach in the Philippines.

It’s a plain and simple requirement in the Philippines. I cannot argue and elaborate more on that. I will write another post about to pros and cons about the vertical articulation by Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Anyway for now, getting a master’s degree will make you qualified to teach.

I just have to put my disclaimer right away that I know a lot of people who have graduate degrees but incompetent in their fields (and/or don’t possess the teaching hand). I’m sorry I just have to say it because there are still a lot who pursue the degree for the “title” and “compliance.”

5. You can build your network of professionals that can help you in your career.

One of my professors in the grad school said that with the variety of students who enroll in the class, he can already build a company with all of us have different roles.I agree with him. Your classmates come from different industries and fields. You can help each other out at work. I have classmates who are in banking, government, project management, academe etc. They can help you look for a job or do your job well. haha

My professors helped me link to some consulting opportunities which I won’t be able to find had I not enrolled in grad school. The world in the corporate is quite enclosed that’s why you need an outlet to spread the network.

 4. You get to learn from experiences rather than plain textbooks.

More than the degree, one of the main reasons why I enrolled in grad school is to listen to my classmates and professors’ stories- experiences in work that helped them succeed or even led them to failure. I can read books or Google stuff or even watch tutorials in You Tube. But to listen to the experiences is something you’ll only get if you’re in class.

3. You have something to look forward after your routinary work.

You will have classmates who still slack in some instances and those who are teacher’s pets. haha There are also those who study in advance and submit the deliverable very early. You’ll have classmates who don’t  have anything to submit too! haha In any case, attending the class is something you will look forward after a week of work. For some, attending a class is a challenge. For others, it is a stress reliever.

2. You can get promoted at work after you graduate.

Not an assurance though. In the government, some posts require a Master’s degree to lead a division or a department. In the academe, you can get a higher rank.

In the private sector, I’ve observed some seasoned managers have master’s degrees. Most of them have MBA’s.

1. You learn something new.

Sounds cliché but that’s the truth. You will have classmates who will take the class just to pass and earn a degree. But majority of my classmates attend class to learn something new. I’m not a project manager. I have no project management experience but I am learning now (the hard way haha) for our capstone. I need to sell an IT business idea and make sure that I will gain profit. I learned different IS Policy frameworks and how to use them even if I’m not a manager. And I learned so much more…

Here’s one of the learning logs I wrote in our Human Capital Management class.

If you think these reasons are what you’re looking, then enroll now!

I’m not advertising any school.haha  Just encouraging… 🙂