A Day In The Life Of A Masters Student

A Day In The Life Of A Masters Student Can you survive a Masters degree? I am sure you do not need me to tell you that completing any Masters degree is extremely difficult. Crazy workloads, lack of sleep, coupled with excessive energy drinks and maybe dealing with the fear of entering into a new environment again are all part and parcel of the Masters experience. As true as all of this is, I am completely certain it all sounds familiar to you. Where have you heard all of these things before? That’s right, Bachelors degrees! All of these things are what comes along with making the commitment to undertake a qualification to improve your career prospects and that is exactly what you sign up for with a Masters degree. As heavy as the workload is, I promise you it can be accomplished. By the time you have completed your three years degree, you would have learnt how to push yourself to the limit intellectually and this skill and determination can carry you through a Masters degree, if it can be maintained throughout. A Masters degree is nothing to be intimidated by if you were able to complete your Bachelors. Sometimes it can even be a way to redeem a bad undergraduate degree grade. I have friends who have achieved 2:2 and below in their Bachelors and were still able to complete Masters degrees. There is absolutely no past grade achieved at one moment in time that can define how determined a student is to succeed at another moment in time. Nonetheless, you should still be aware and mentally prepared for what you will be in for if you choose to do a Masters course. Below I have listed some of the differences I came across whilst completing my own. Time The time frame which you are given to complete  an assignment  is shortened by approximately 3x (a three-week time limit in Bachelors would be worth one week for Masters). There is no time to be wasted and time must be pre-scheduled around deadlines for work and socialising, otherwise it becomes incredibly easy to neglect one aspect of life to prioritise another. Furthermore, when something is going wrong with an unfair lecturer or maybe the fact that there have been 8 deadlines in a 10-day period, there is no time to complain. Time becomes such a precious resource that it cannot be wasted on anything other than completing work or revising for an exam. Marking The marking becomes far harsher, by about 10%; therefore a first class Bachelor’s coursework would be a 2:1 (upper second class or merit) at Masters level as you are expected to be producing work of exceptional quality. This can be a difficult pill to swallow at the beginning because the use of initiative is relied upon heavily and your previously high standard of work is now considered average or less than average. However, this is all part of the experience and only strengthens your work. Independence Explaining an assignment? That becomes a luxury of the past. Other than a brief overview, the vast majority of lecturers will not provide any further guidance for assignments or labs. As you have completed the Bachelors degree previously, it is expected that you have a high level of knowledge before beginning the assignment or being presented the topic. For this reason lecturers (generally) do not supervise for Masters coursework nearly as much as they do for Bachelors coursework. Maintaining good friendships with those around you is crucial during a Masters course because there is always someone who knows something that you do not know and they can only help you, in exchange for you helping them. To answer the original question, can you survive a Masters degree? The answer is dependent upon whether you were able to survive your Bachelors degree. If you made it through your Bachelors degree, then the answer is yes, but with a pinch of salt. Determination is absolutely key! Particularly during the dissertation period, it is imperative that you do not lose focus. Always remember: firstly, there is nothing beyond your reach and secondly, it is perfectly natural and expected for anyone to get bad grades now and then, as long as you keep improving your work. MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR:   1.  Why Do We Fail? 2.  Starting University Again, Here Is My Experience 3.  Are Self-Esteem And Self-Confidence Mutually Exclusive? 8