Why You Should Pursue Master’s Degree Too — 12 Sep 2021

Hey Friends,

I am proud to announce that I finally have completed my dissertation. I will be graduated in December upon receiving the results. It means that I can add LLM to my name but I won’t since I already have a long name. This has been a challenging year with all the fuss that Covid measures have caused. However, pursuing this degree has contributed a lot to me. So here is why you also should study master’s degree too.

To Build and Improve Skills

I am a big believer in skill-based career capital as Cal Newport explains in his amazing book So Good They Can’t Ignore You. The most important thing that any education investment can bring is improving as many skills as possible. So, pursuing a master’s degree will or should enable you to build new skills and improve existing ones.

Reading Sophisticated Articles

Master’s is an advanced level of study. It takes the issues that the students have the basis from their previous education to a further point. This means deep diving and more intellectual challenge. It requires students to read hundreds of pages of material and analyse them critically. While reading, it is almost impossible to see one single universally accepted view which does not have any flaw. There are other authors harshly criticising it or completing the missing parts. Reading through them certainly empowers sophisticated thinking skills, because one knows that there are better ways to understand and explain the issue at hand. Once you realise this, you tend to be more critical about other things that you read too. The methodology, the rationale, the connection of ideas mostly bother you while reading a poorly written piece. It may seem obvious but to decide whether the arguments made in a book or article have merits is the crucial point. This requires you to have read good quality materials arguing different sides. To get the most of master level study this brain exercise needs to be practised.

Writing Papers

While studying for a master’s, the schools are waiting for you not only to read but also write what you understand. Often, they give you a discussion topic that can be defended or attacked from different angles. What you are expected to do are mainly presenting the issue, critically analysing different views, engaging with them and completing with your opinion. Most of the time, having a clear structure is the key and more important than giving the right answer which mostly does not exist. These efforts and writing practices will absolutely add up to your writing skills. Most importantly you understand the issues that you write on better than the one you only read. Because most of the time, there are thoughts airborne in your brain but when it comes to express them you don’t want to sound weird or unintelligent. When putting your thoughts into words you are more careful. Each word needs your effort to understand the issue again and again. Therefore, these writing practices will enrich your intellectual capacities as well.

Discussions

Although my experience had to be online, engaging the discussions in the class is a very valuable experience. It allows you to express your views on controversial topics which require an intellectual interest in the issue, analysing skills and critical approach. You may rightly say these exist in writing as well. However, when discussing in the class you have to be quicker, more precise and more confident. Making your argument to the professor and tens of people in the classroom is definitely not easy. That’s why building this confidence and facing the insecurities that may stem from fear of being laughed at or saying meaningless words. However, these fears may not be eliminated without confronting them. Thus, discussions will give you this opportunity to overcome your problems and build confidence.

Bonus: Making your CV Shining

This is the obvious truth although I don’t like to see it this way. Completing a master’s will demonstrate that you have the mentioned skills and desire to learn more. You invested significant time (and money) and it proves that you are interested in the intellectual debates. So, it will impress many HR staff. But I want to urge those who think that this is the most important aspect, don’t do it just to put another degree to your CV. This will make the whole process harder and less joyful. Think about this as a bonus.

Living in a different country

When studying for a master’s you may end up in a foreign country. This means moving to a place where you don’t know anyone and you are not familiar with the places or the procedures. Although this is challenging, it is one of the most enriching investments that one can make. As I talked about in the previous newsletter, cities shape identities and make people different than they used to be. It allows you to meet new people, see amazing places, explore different cultures, even learn a new language. Besides, if you are in an international environment you will meet various people from different countries and backgrounds. This will teach you a lot and make you more open-minded, more tolerant and less self-oriented.

But, living abroad is not only a touristic experience. Since you live there, you start being interested in the current issues that the people of the host country is dealing with. You being to care their problems as well. They will be different from and similar to the ones that you’ve dealt with in your home country seeing yourself and your home country from a different perspective. It will also allow you to understand other’s views on your country and you end up perceiving that the world doesn’t turn around only your issues. This will broaden your vision and you will think that the world is a more complicated place than you think.

What I Discovered This Week

Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror. A well-narrated documentary on 9/11 has just been released. Strongly recommend it to those who are interested in the political and legal sides of the War on Terror.