Should I Go For Masters Right After Bachelors (Undergrad)?

All those who plan on studying abroad

(Facts & Information): The fact is most of us have not even toured the universities we plan on going into, which all sane students do. Most of us have no idea of their work load, for i know i wont be able to handle a university like LUMS without my chums. Most of us have no concern for their extra curricular activities, which is an important part of the personality and character building process. Most of us don't care if the university has a name, all we know is we "studied abroad".

Most of us base our decision on the information of rankings, courses and fee structures provided by university sites. Combining that with another fact that we are risking around 3 million for a year, in case of Ms, Msc's and MBAs, usually combines into an utter disaster.

(I have seen foreign qualified working in the worst of conditions in government offices during my internship at NICL). When asked with a reason as to why they chose to start working in a goverment owned company like NICL? They would say we did our masters in insurance and other private companies have no vacancies. When asked why did they choose to do their masters in Insurance in the first place? They said we just did it because we had to select something and considering that there arent many students opting for insurance so we believed things would work out for us because of the small supply of insurance qualified people. This is just plain sad.

(Feelings and Emotions): I find alot of my friends in last year of their undergrad unable to decide which university to go to, which degree to opt for and whether or not to go to one at all after their graduation. This, so obviously hints at the fact that you just are not ready for masters yet. This problem is emotional. Believe it or not. Seeing that you are the only one going to be left behind in this race of studying abroad, which starts as soon as you approach the end of A levels and now watching the next four years of undergrad and sticking together with another batch of friends, whom you have been with, through thick and thin, fading away and seeing all this happening all over again, you lose your calm and tend to hasten. In the process you cloud your judgement to the extent that you aren't able to see properly.

There is a solid reason in the madness of good universities that care about their standards and ask for job experience. They know the degree of "serious" motivation, self confidence and determination masters level needs instead of the hasty decisions that most of us take.

(Being Cautious): If i were to be planning i would be cautious enough not to risk my last and most valued portion of my academic life just like that, based on other people's views and a few colorful pictures painted by the internet. This is not the same as undergrad level, where most of us just jump straight into it, right after completing our High Schools and colleges. Masters level defines what career you want to choose and what you want to do with your life. This is the last shot most of us have got and i would rather spend a year or two gaining experience of the "real" world to exactly know what the world has to offer and what i want to do and then carrying that on, in the masters. It's like a deep breath before a plunge. The job or self employed experience trains you for your big plunge, the masters degree. How would you know to take a deep breath before jumping into water if you have never been in the water in the first place.

(Being Positive and Optimistic): I am not at all saying stop being positive and optimistic, but be sure to mix a little pragmatism and reality into it as well. Internships, projects, interviews and presentations are the very tip of the iceberg that we learn in undergrad. The confidence and knowledge one gains at the undergrad level only caters to a few parts of the corporate world. NO WONDER these areas are saturated. Everyone is being taught the same thing, same run of the mill, prepared for being consumed and misused by the MNC's and banks. Being lined up like live stock to be executed once full grown. The great mass of the "real" world which you can NOT see is under the surface, which can only be judged when you dive into the water and look for yourself.

(New Ideas): What we are not trained to do all these years of schooling is think on our own. From the very start we are guided through our course packs, which chalk out the road map we are to follow. Who made the curriculum? Why are they being followed the way a Holy Book should be followed? Why aren't we for once able to think on our own? All we do is follow the same old curriculum to become marketeers, accountants, managers and sales people all over again. I find it to be local epidemic to go from junior school to high school to college to undergrad to masters and then Ph.D. non-stop. Students abroad take a while off to get their mind off of studies and travel around and see if they find some thing interesting elsewhere in the world.

(The Big Picture): For once, step back to get a wholistic view, give yourself time. Step out in the open "real" world and see for yourself how things are done and carefully observe the windows that open. Look out for opportunities and chances that exist, in terms of business, trade, unique ideas that you are so blindly over looking. Give yourself a year or two to look for these opportunities, really get to know and understand what you REALLY want to do "BEFORE" your masters degree instead of going for masters first and then coming back into the real world to get a feel of how things are done. There is a high probability that first hand experience would change your mind as to what you REALLY wanted to do all along, once you start earning your living. Think before its too late!

P.s.

It is much like the on going debate on personality ethics and character ethics. Personality ethics focuses on appearance and outward behavior, not concerned about the inner self (very much like having a masters degree to your name). Character ethics focuses on integrity, humility, fidelity, courage, justice, patience, simplicity and modesty. What is important is that you build your character ethics first before going for personality ethics, the outside look. It is important that you know yourself and what you EXACTLY want to do before you go on adding an image to it. We need to develop, change, and train ourselves inside-out.