Afterwards - Getting a Job

Many postgrad students find a subject in which they have at least a passing interest, and therefore enjoy their year(s) of further study. However, most people have more concrete career ambitions in mind when they choose a course or research programme. A postgraduate qualification has many benefits when you leave academia to enter the working world…

The first thing to point out is that postgraduate study or research is not a golden key to any job that you want. Today many Irish people go on to postgraduate level before entering the labour market, and we have reached a situation where a postgrad degree is relatively similar to an ordinary degree twenty years ago. However, obviously, the more qualified and knowledgeable you are about a particular subject or sector, the better your chances of securing a valuable job are.

There are costs involved in postgraduate study (money, time and others) so potential postgrads will want to know if the game will be worth the candle (so to speak). According to the latest statistics showing employment prospects and earning potential, it undoubtedly is. The Irish Higher Education Authority (HEA) carry out regular surveys, asking those who have studied at Ireland’s higher education institutions about their circumstances a few years after graduation. The results show that, for the majority of people, postgraduate study does pay for itself, and more. Put bluntly those with postgraduate degrees earn more money.

Candidates with postgraduate qualifications tend to join the career ladder a few rungs up from their colleagues who go straight into the workplace after their undergraduate study. Even entry positions in some organisations are only open to those who come armed with a postgraduate qualification. It obviously depends on the career you wish to pursue, but one way to give yourself an excellent leg-up, is to arrive on the job scene armed with a postgraduate qualification. For example, if you enter the civil service after graduation, a postgrad degree will usually lead to a higher starting salary.

While the subject you choose to study at postgraduate level is of course important for your future career, potential employers are also interested in the ancillary soft skills which postgraduate acquire during their extra time in education. Candidates who can point out their successful initiative, project management and teamwork experience are likely to do well at interview. Many postgrad programmes hone these exact skills. This means that a research qualification in (say) Theoretical Physics, can still be considered useful if you are applying for work with a financial institution. (However, someone who has studied economics or asset management may be better placed.)

The Irish, European and global economies are all developing quickly. The kinds of jobs that are sought after in Ireland now are much different from those even a few years ago. It is a declared aim of the Irish government to put in place a ‘knowledge economy’, where Irish people work in high-tech and creative ‘ideas’ organisations. Many big multinational employers, in sectors such as (for example) telecommunications, medical device engineering and biotechnology, set up in Ireland because they know that they will find a highly educated workforce here.

Links between universities and the private sector are growing all the time. At postgraduate level, institutions are putting in place commercially relevant programmes that are specifically designed to meet the needs of industry and business. This can be beneficial to the postgraduate students in two ways. Taught programmes can be tailored to meet the needs of a specific employer, while local industry can also play a part in funding certain research projects underway at a university.

While taking a postgraduate course is a serious commitment, the statistics seem to bear out its worth. A postgraduate qualification not only adds another string to a graduate’s bow, it can boost their salary levels and widen their career options. Therefore it’s no wonder postgraduate study in Ireland continues to grow and grow in popularity.