Not sure how you’ll balance study and full-time work, especially in a management position? Why not dip your toes in with a Graduate Certificate in Business Studies and see how study can fit into your life, you might even end up pursuing a master’s degree, as Dayna King discovered.
As Director of Operations, University College, Dayna wanted to try out postgraduate study, but never expected to graduate with a Master of Business. But 10 years and three degrees later, she puts her career success down to how easy it was to fit study into her life. And it all started with a curiosity into studying a Graduate Certificate in Business (now Business Studies).
“I have worked in private industry (as a retail manager of a chain store) prior to doing my undergraduate Bachelor of Regional Resource Management in 2007. After graduating, I started working for the University of Tasmania in 2009 and that year the Graduate Certificate in Business was offered to University staff - which I took up."
I found the Grad Cert was a great way to get a ‘taster’ of what postgraduate study is all about and in particular I really loved the delivery format – online, with intensive workshops, delivered one unit at a time across the year – I found this really manageable with full-time work.
You could say Dayna caught the study bug, "I then continued on to achieve my Master of Business, which then subsequently lead to me completing another Grad Cert in Lean Management in 2018!… some would say I am over-qualified!”
“..it wasn’t the plan – but I found that once I achieved the Graduate Certificate in Business , and there were another set of units offered in a similar format, the decision to continue on was a pretty easy one. If I had of been required to study fully online to get the Masters, I am not sure I would’ve taken up the opportunity… I need the face-to-face interaction to keep me motivated!”
The units I studied provided a good mix of ‘theory’ and ‘practical’. Not to mention, I made so many connections and friends with other students, who were all working as well, that have been invaluable.
After graduating from the Master of Business, Dayna experienced her career opportunities expand and was offered a higher-level role at the University, “I am convinced this (completing a masters) was a contributing factor in my success”.
Danya’s advice to anyone thinking about studying a postgraduate Business degree -
Go for it! It sounds daunting at first (doing part-time study, whilst working full-time), but when you break it down, time is relative… you just have to make the time. I found it very rewarding… you get the ‘return on your investment’ through learning new things you can immediately use in your work, not to mention everyone is in the same boat! You’ll meet so many like-minded people along the way, who become life-long friends.
Apply Now to study Postgraduate Business.