Introduction:
There are many people over 40, 50, 60, and even 70 that are graduating, earning Masters degrees and PhDs around the world. Each one of them has their own reason for wanting to pursue their higher studies. Some did it because they wanted to prove to themselves and the world what they were capable of. While others did it because they needed a degree to take the next big step in their career. There are many RIGHT reasons for pursuing higher education, as well as many WRONG reasons to pursue it. Some of the right reasons and the benefits they bring are discussed below.
Why does a senior professional need to pursue higher education? That is a question that even the senior professional working 8-hour days in a company needs to ponder. In this article, we have tried to narrow down the views on higher education after 30 or 40. Many people look at the subject of a degree after 30 or 40 as if it is a big deal. But the human ability to thrive and succeed under pressure in any situation is downplayed in doing so. Science has found that learning anything new will keep your mind stimulated. And thus help your brain fight off cognitive ageing. As Ralph Waldo Emerson puts it, "All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better."
Here are 9 reasons to pursue higher qualifications for senior professionals:
Higher qualifications will bring you higher Status
According to a survey by the OECD, the number of degree holders around the world is expected to reach 300 million by 2030. More and more young people are recognising the perks of having higher qualifications. In India, only about 8.15% of the population are graduates (2011 census). The numbers must have been doubled by now considering the fast pace at which India's education sector has been growing in the last decade.
In 2019, 1.4 million students earned their post-graduation in India. The number of postgraduates is much lower as not all graduates pursue higher education. Instead, they immediately begin working to support themselves and their families.
Considering these numbers, becoming a postgraduate at any age in the modern world will give you instant recognition among your peers. It will position you higher in your industry. Because of the badge of recognition, your Masters Degree offers and also because of the depth of understanding you have in your field by working for years.
Earning a Degree will help you in your midlife identity crisis
It is nothing new to humanity, the dreaded Midlife Crisis! Man's search for meaning is an age-old question. The life expectancy of humans is going up and up. But the age at which people are facing their midlife crisis is coming down. Nowadays people are having their midlife crises in their 40s, even in their 30s instead of their 50s.
Senior professionals, being nearly mid-age, are not immune to this crisis. Because by 30, having a good job, and a family, most individuals will be in a good space. However, not all those that are doing well in life have found their meaning or purpose. Unlike other physical or mental conditions, midlife crises can be suddenly triggered. Simple things like just looking at a happy individual's photograph can bring back memories and trigger an identity crisis. Waking up one day and thinking about whether you are living up to your potential or pondering the purpose of your life, will start a chain of thought patterns that will trigger the crisis. It can be so sudden that you will be deep within the crisis before you identify it as the midlife identity crisis.
A midlife crisis hits when you're between 35 and 55 years of age. And the symptoms are anywhere between normal and chronic. You will feel intense sadness for short bursts of time. You will start reminiscing about your past, wishing you had changed your life. You will regret or question every decision you made in the past. There will be a constant feeling of guilt, and irritability. You may show rash behaviour sometimes.
People respond to the midlife crisis in a variety of ways. Those who are rich buy luxury cars, fancy gadgets and/or go on expensive vacations. But as the crisis is linked to one's identity, none of these external factors will help in the long run.
The best solution to a midlife crisis is to find your identity. Sometimes, the identity crisis can be cured by going back to school. Indeed, going back to school is considered the best cure for a midlife crisis. Getting deeper knowledge in your field of interest with passion will bring you joy and a spirit of happiness. It will help you to find your lost identity.
Pursuing your higher studies will give you something of value to do. It will motivate you every day to wake up, work hard and learn new things. After completion, it will give you a feeling of self-respect and a sense of self-worth. Which is unmatched by owning any material procession. A feeling that you have accomplished a goal you have long dreamed of. It will fight off the negative thoughts of worthlessness and regret. The reason being you are taking action in the present instead of living in the past.
Higher qualifications will give you better opportunities
Some of the highest-paying jobs in the corporate world require you to have a Masters degree to get through the selection procedure. The cut-off itself is post-graduation. Hence, when you hit a certain position in your company, chances are you will be stuck there for the rest of your life. This might be the reason your boss is not giving you the promotion that you're eyeing.
You will see one of your junior colleagues promoted to a higher position. Just because he/she had a Masters degree on their resume and you did not. Despite having years of experience and deep knowledge in your field, a lack of a degree might hinder your career growth. Be it in your current company or in any other companies you might work with in the future.
How to change this? You are unquestionably more capable of your work than your junior graduate due to your experience in the company and your skills. But to ensure your future career growth, you will need a degree. Employers don't count whether your degree is online, offline, or hybrid. What they see is whether you have the necessary academic qualification or not.
It will help you when you are planning for a better career growth
Times have changed. Retiring in the same company after 40 years is a time long gone. In the modern age, an average individual switches jobs every 5 years or less. The reasons are plenty from tedious workloads, and seeking higher pay to lack of growth and family issues. If you are trying to switch jobs, a Masters degree will give you an edge. It helps by making your profile look more sophisticated and professional. A Masters degree generates confidence in the profile and hence, recruiters/HR prefer such profiles.
In recent years, HR professionals are using automation software. It helps to filter through the hundreds of applications they get for a job posting. This automation software will take care of everything from posting on job boards to finding new talents. It will assist in sending offer letters, onboarding, and training the employees. Many of the top-level jobs that are high paying require their applicants to have a Masters degree. That is how this software will ignore the other job applicants based on their lack of post-graduation qualifications. So, even if you have the necessary skills and experience in your domain, you will be rejected solely based on your lack of academic qualification. Now, that would be an opportunity lost.
Higher academic qualifications will bring greater career security
The world is evolving. The prices are rising. Cities are becoming more and more populated, and real estate and living costs are steadily rising. Cities around the world are becoming more expensive to live in.
If you have the right educational qualifications, you have a higher probability of keeping your current job and even finding new jobs. If you ever need to move to a new city, having a Masters Degree on your resume will certainly help you get a good job and higher pay. It will help you negotiate salaries and move into higher positions with ease. Even in an international setting, a globally recognised degree will give you a competitive edge. It does so by proving your commitment to enhancing your capabilities and your penchant for growth. This shows that you are a true professional who keeps upgrading him/herself in order to perform at the highest level.
Higher studies will enhance your financial status
No matter what one says about how much they love their job, at the end of the day, money is what motivates all. If your current paycheck is not enough to support you and your family, you need to reconsider your career choice. Some companies are reluctant to offer their employees promotions or pay rises. They might say that they are not able to promote you since you lack a higher qualification.
If you have a family, you will need a decent income to support them. According to one study, it costs an average of 4.5 lakhs per year to send your child to a good college in India. For foreign education, the costs will rise dramatically.
If you have elderly parents, looking after them will become a lot easier if you have a higher earning potential. As the medical system is becoming fully commercialized, bills for the treatments and well-being of the elderly are getting more expensive. And if you are stuck somewhere where your paycheck is not increasing as you age, it is going to be a burden in the future.
A Masters Degree will help you in your journey toward a PhD/Doctorate:
According to an estimation by UGC, in 2013-14, 22,849 PhDs and 20,425 MPhil degrees were awarded. Only a fraction of graduates will go as far as a PhD. If you have a dream of a PhD, consider earning a Masters degree first. There are many universities in the USA that don't require you to have a Masters degree to apply for a PhD. But getting a Masters Degree before a PhD is beneficial in many ways and is a requirement in many universities in other parts of the world.
If you have below-average marks in your bachelor's degree, a Masters degree will favour you by leveraging your academics. When you apply for your PhD, having a Masters will move the focus away from your Bachelor's degree mark sheet.
A Masters degree before doing your PhD will give you a competitive edge by immersing you further in the specific field. With a bachelor's degree, you just scratch the surface of a subject. With a Masters degree, you dive deeper and learn specifically about that particular subject.
Doing a Masters will also help in deciding if you are ready for a PhD or not. A Masters degree is like a testing ground, as PhDs require you to spend around 4 years of focused study on a particular subject. Bachelor degree holders find it hard to transit from their surface-level knowledge base to the deepest areas in the subject. A Masters degree is a bridge that tests and prepares you for the specialised field before doing a PhD.
A degree in management will lead you in your new business venture:
Of course, one can become a business owner or entrepreneur without having higher education qualifications. But an MBA or any Masters degree in management can give your company extra chances at surviving in the ever-changing world. If you want to start a new business after being in the corporate world long enough, an MBA will give you the insight and skill set for your business dream. It will give a structure to your planning and execution.
A survey from the Financial Times found that 84% of the companies started by MBA graduates were still operating after 3 years. It is a pretty phenomenal feat, as most startups fail early at the starting stage. The reason that most startups fail is a lack of planning, management skills and soft skills on the part of owners and managers. If you want your business venture to succeed, you should consider being equipped with all the knowledge and skills to manage the risks associated with running a company.
An MBA or a Masters degree in a related field will give you a competitive edge beforehand. It will help you in the legal aspects and risks involved in planning, execution, and marketing. It will help you choose your partner, team, product or services wisely and in a well-structured way.
Learning will fight cognitive ageing:
Just like physical exercise will keep your body active and boost health, mental exercise like learning will increase your brain activity and slow cognitive ageing. Going back to college to earn a Masters Degree or any program, certificate, or Diploma course will be a challenging brain exercise. Even just 2-3 hours per day of focused study needs deep concentration, memorization, and active participation by the brain and memory faculty. The brain and our thinking capacity are like muscles. Therefore constant learning exercises will have a deep impact on your brain in a healthy way. The Masters programs are designed in a way that is much harder than a Bachelor’s program. So the amount of active participation required by the learner is also greater. Make lifelong learning a priority. Many people quit learning anything new after they attain a certain status, or at a particular age.
Conclusion
We have highlighted some of the right reasons to pursue your higher studies while working. Similarly, there are also some very good reasons not to pursue higher studies. Like enrolling in a University simply because you are bored. Some people make the mistake of pursuing higher education because they have the time and money. They just want to please themselves and others by doing something, anything. But it will leave you in a tight spot. You will waste your time and money if you are not serious about your higher studies. Don't do that.
But doing what you know will bring value to you is a smart thing to do. Never be discouraged by negative thoughts or negative people. If it is beneficial to you and your family in the long run, attempt it without giving in to any external challenges. Doubtless, post-graduation will open doors for you and give you more respect among your peer group. But the right reason to pursue a masters should be a thirst for knowledge and a tool for your next career move.
If you are interested in resuming your higher education but struggling to find the right institution or the right degree, SNATIKA can help you! Our ISO-certified academic delivery process can save you time, cost, and your job. SNATIKA is the leading online UK Masters Degree provider exclusively for senior professionals like you. Check our programs and benefits before you decide. Visit SNATIKA now!
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