The Four F’s: A simply guide to choosing an MSc

Introduction

This guide is based on many years of students asking me advice about MSc’s and the answers I gave them. It's not a sales pitch for Edinburgh’s EO and GI masters degrees – I use examples from GeoSciences because that’s what I know best, but I also know that the MSc’s at Edinburgh won’t suit everyone. This guide is meant to help you decide which MSc is right for you, and how to choose the best place to do it (wherever that might be). 

Why should I do an MSc?

There are a number of reasons why you might choose to do an MSc, but they mostly fall into one of two categories: “further training” or “conversion”.

Further Training

MSc’s are now a key differentiator in the job market – many of the space industry employers I’ve talked to say they would prefer to employ someone with a relevant MSc over someone with just a bachelors. Indeed, many prefer it over a PhD, which may be surprise to many readers (PhDs are sometimes seen to be “too academic”). (But if you are interested in doing a PhD, an MSc is now seen as a particular advantage (in some cases a requirement) as it demonstrates your ability to do a piece of focused research.) 

Conversion

Another reason you might want to do an MSc is that you feel you graduated in one field, but want to work in another. By this, I don’t mean changing track altogether, but many of the interesting opportunities in the space industry today are in fields that span many traditional disciplines. GIS or Earth Observation, for instance, are not subjects you are likely to have a bachelors degree in, but are definitely subjects that are now desirable in the job market. 

The important thing for you is to think about what you are aiming to do with your MSc. The nature of the course on offer won’t help you decide that since they are not always explicitly one or the other: while some MSc courses are clearly new fields and therefore Conversion by definition, other MSc courses you might consider as Conversion might be Further Training to someone else. 

Tips:

• If you are looking for further training, look for advanced versions of topics you know and love, and do some research to make sure they are advanced enough for you, and not just covering the basics (as might happen in Conversion MSc’s).
• If you are looking to convert, then look at the courses on offer and make sure they cater for non-experts in a field. Do they have “Introductory” versions or does it look like its catering for the Further Training?
• MSc by Research is always going to be more like Further Training as there will be an expectation that you can get your teeth into the topic straight away.
• Consider if part-time suits you. Our EO MSc offers 2 and 3 year part time versions, so you can work alongside the study. 

How do I choose which MSc programme to study?

First, decide if you are in the Conversion or Further Training camp. Then have a good think about what you are good at, and what subjects you really enjoy. There is little point in spending a year of hard work (and most MSc’s are very hard work) studying something you don’t enjoy. 

It's also a good idea to go and meet the people who teach it, and ideally some students who are currently studying. Many MSc programs offer Open Days (or virtual open days) where you can meet the staff, see some more details of the programs and meet some students. If you don’t see one on offer, contact the relevant Department/School/Institute and ask if you can come for a visit, or talk to some staff and students. 

Tips:

• Talk to potential employers. Have a think about who you might ultimately want to be employed by and phone them up and ask, “Would you consider my application more favourably if I did THIS MSc or THAT MSc?” They may sit on the fence and not answer, but you might get enough conversation out of them to identify what it is they are after. (NB: you might also want to check that they would prefer you to have an MSc at all!)
• Look into where the graduates of particular programs went to work after graduating. Are they working in the sorts of fields that you want to work? 
• Visit (in person or virtually) and ask questions.
• Look for the social networking activities associated with the course – here you might see what’s going on and get contact to some former students.

How do I choose where to study?

If you know roughly what it is you want to study, and why you want to study it, then you are well on your way to deciding on which MSc to undertake. For all but a few specialised topics, you will find that you now have a shortlist of programs from different institutions near where you live, or even further afield. So how do you differentiate between them? You need to think about your financing, that is a given. But also consider the city where you are located (which is important for making employment connections as well as just for enjoying yourself while you study). 

I put the criteria under my Four F’s: Finance, Facilities, Fanaticism and Fun.

• Finance: A program that can fund you will be top of anyone’s list. There is little time to do part time jobs when you are doing an MSc (unless you do the MSc part-time), so if you can get funding, go for it! Check (and ask) for information on partial funding or other opportunities within the program (such as payments for demonstrating or helping with undergraduate courses). If you think you will need to have a part time job to help fund you through the MSc, then try to determine if the city where it is based is somewhere with lots of casual employment (e.g. tourism, sport, nightlife, etc). Find out how much it costs to live in the city. 
• Fanaticism: Look for evidence of commitment by the organisation hosting the MSc. Are they passionate about the subject? Look at the webpages of the staff doing the teaching on the program. You won’t be able to tell much from their photographs – instead, look at their publications, their personal webpages and anything else that demonstrates enthusiasm and commitment. Is there evidence of the staff keeping in touch with former students?
• Facilities (including the network): Does your chosen subject require particular facilities such as specialised labs, computing software, etc? If so, make sure you determine the quality of those facilities. Try to find out what other organisations or businesses are in the local area that are related to your chosen subject? This gives you some indication of the local activity in this subject and also identifies some potential employers.
• Fun: Does it look like a fun place to be for 12 months? If you get to meet current or past students of the program, ask them what it was like or look at their social networking. Look for other factors that will improve the quality of your time there – e.g. sports facilities, outdoor activities, clubs, etc. 

Good luck.