Earning an undergraduate degree is a huge accomplishment, but earning one does not mean that your academic journey should end there. Millions of graduates as well as people who already have a career going often choose to further their education by pursuing a postgraduate degree. There are lots of reasons why you should pursue one, as having one affords you so many benefits.

But What Is a Postgraduate Degree?

Before we look at why you should pursue one, we need to answer the question, “What is a Postgraduate degree UK?” As Uni Compare explain, a postgraduate degree is one undertaken after you have completed a Bachelor’s degree. If you already have a Bachelor’s degree and need to pursue a postgraduate degree, Uni Compare can help you find the right university and degree. They do this by helping you compare different universities and their courses, giving you in-depth and up to date information on each of them so it becomes easier to choose one. They also show you the rankings for different universities so you can choose the right one based on impact and success.

Now that you understand what a postgraduate degree is, here are the reasons why you should pursue one.

Increase Your Career Prospects

A Bachelor’s degree used to be the minimum requirement for most jobs. That is no longer the case as companies and businesses have changed their education requirements in favour of people with postgraduate degrees. Some companies still require that you have a Bachelor’s as the minimum, and even in those cases, you still need to stand out among all the other potential hires. A postgraduate degree gives you this advantage by showing you are better qualified than other potential hires. What this means, therefore, is that if you want an edge during the interview process, you need a postgraduate degree.

It Makes Changing Careers Easier

Postgraduate degrees do not only help you land a job, but they can also help you change careers. Most postgraduate degrees do not have a stipulation as to what Bachelor’s degree you should have, which makes doing things a lot easier. This means that if you have a law degree and want to pivot into business, you can take a postgraduate degree so that you can follow that path. 

A postgraduate degree can also help you pursue areas you become interested in while undertaking an undergraduate degree or at your first job. For instance, if you have a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, you could take a postgraduate degree in law enforcement so you could go into criminal justice.

To Get a Promotion

Many businesses and companies require that you have a postgraduate degree to be promoted to certain positions, usually positions that require the management of fellow employees or your own team. Acquiring special skills, knowledge and experience while pursuing a postgraduate degree also means that you have skills ready to take advantage of any openings that arise. The welcome side effect of this is that the promotion might come with a sizable income bump.

Develop New Connections

Postgraduate students have the opportunity to meet like-minded researchers, academics and professionals. This gives them the chance to expand their professional and personal networks that consist of fellow students, faculty members and academics.

These connections can become important in helping you get into rooms that you otherwise would not. This way, you not only get to expand your world, but you also open yourself up to opportunities that would otherwise not have been available.

To Make a Difference

A Bachelor’s degree gives you an opportunity to become a positive force in the community you are part of and the communities you will become part of in the future. By getting a postgraduate degree, you can make a difference in your community by providing solutions that would otherwise not be obvious or available to you if you just had a Bachelor’s degree. 

Intellectual Stimulation and Personal Fulfilment 

When you are passionate about a specific area or topic, a postgraduate degree will help you get a deeper understanding of that particular area. Becoming an authority in one area of study or a topic is something a lot of people want, and a postgraduate degree is the first degree in doing just that. 

If you are looking forward to a career that requires you have an advanced understanding of a particular area of study, getting a post-graduate degree will get you well on your way there. This happens for a lot of people who want to go into research or academia.

Getting a postgraduate degree is becoming the minimum academic qualification for most jobs. A postgraduate degree can also be an avenue for much more as you can also get the postgraduate degree for personal reasons, and if you are interested in academia, drilling down on a single area of study will be largely aided by having a postgraduate degree first.