I’m happy with the route I chose. I love education, so the Master’s was very pleasant and a real confidence boost. I also learned a lot about research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, which was one of the goals I had—I don’t think I could have taught myself those skills. I also think it’s useful to know the theoretical literature even if I don’t use it every day because it’s changed some of the assumptions I hold.
I also like having more options. It turns out that I really like the Civil Service and plan to stay in it for a few years, but it was good to test my fit in research and know that I could work in a think tank or do a PhD if I wanted to.
That said, I didn’t previously know that the Civil Service will pay for employees to do a Master’s if they have a reasonable business case. It probably would have been more rational for me to do this on the Civil Service’s dime than my own. But overall, I think I made the best decision with the information I had available.
I’m happy with the route I chose. I love education, so the Master’s was very pleasant and a real confidence boost. I also learned a lot about research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, which was one of the goals I had—I don’t think I could have taught myself those skills. I also think it’s useful to know the theoretical literature even if I don’t use it every day because it’s changed some of the assumptions I hold.
I also like having more options. It turns out that I really like the Civil Service and plan to stay in it for a few years, but it was good to test my fit in research and know that I could work in a think tank or do a PhD if I wanted to.
That said, I didn’t previously know that the Civil Service will pay for employees to do a Master’s if they have a reasonable business case. It probably would have been more rational for me to do this on the Civil Service’s dime than my own. But overall, I think I made the best decision with the information I had available.
Thanks, this is really helpful.