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I need advice. (Masters vs Entrepreneurship)

Stargazer

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If you are going to plough your own furrow, it is irrelevant what the jobs market is like out there.

Whether you do the Masters or not you will be paying for a roof over your head and food.

So why fork out £5k towards the Masters you aren't fussed with - and neither are 99.9% of employers, and not towards what you want to do?

You know what to do really. Go with your gut feeling.

Dan
 
D

Deleted78083

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I came to this forum one year ago to ask this exact question.

I ended up not doing the master and getting a job, and realized that no one cared about my university degree. All they cared about was for me to get sh*t done.

You want to be an entrepreneur, which means you won't be wasting time handing off resumes.

So why would you do this master?

For me, I wanted to do it because I liked it. But guess what, I also like spending my day on the beach reading history books. It is not because I like it that it's something I should do.

My sole life purpose right now is to achieve financial independence aka having a profitable business. Once I have it, I will be able to do anything else I want with my life - including doing this master.

So now, I focus on my business.

PS: if i had to do it all over again, I don't think i would even go to university. I'd start off learning marketing and work as a freelance marketer to learn the basics of business, then with that money build a proper business.

The only thing university did was wasting 5 years of my life - and teach me a couple of things.

Good luck!
 
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inabox1

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I need your advice.

I'm a 22yo university student from the UK in my final year, and I have recently been offered a masters degree at my university with a 50% discount (Which adds up to roughly £5k).

I'm planning to build my business (As soon as my essays + diss are complete later this month), and my plan was to rent a cheap apartment alone for a few months, build my reputation up as a freelancer, and then pursue UNSCRIPTED business ventures from there. My current tenancy runs out end of June.

My dilemma is this:

A: I take the masters, split my time between degree/business/partying, with a year of "security", and attempt to build my business on the side.

B: I reject the offer, rent a place by myself and double down on building a business myself.


At the moment, I'm being pressured by family to take the masters, as "the job market is tough out there", while my girlfriend is saying I should choose entrepreneurship.

I should note that my primary reason for taking the masters would be to give me another year of "security" while I build my business from scratch. I don't care about the qualification itself.

I currently have savings allowing me to live alone to pursue the venture for roughly 6-12 months (depending on lifestyle)

What should I do?
 
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Choate

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Being realistic here, how much is that £5k worth to you? Do you have existing debt? Existing time obligations? Do you have to take on debt to pay this £5k or can you comfortably pay it out of pocket?

1 year and £5k for a Masters Degree is not going to sidetrack you from your fastlane plans. Studying opens up more leeway and time for you to pursue your fastlane as you basically study on your terms; unlike being tied down to a job 9-5 and unable to make progress.

In my opinion, go for it. You are only 22. In this specific situation, it seems like there is a lot of upside with very little downside. You don't have a job, family to take care of, or existing business. If you have to enter the workforce, you'll be more favorably viewed and later down the road when you have your own business, it will only look better when investors/customers see the founder has a Masters.

If you had to pay $30k and spend 2+ years studying for this, I would say no way. But to me, all signs point to yes. Even though you'd be in Uni, you have to take this serious - dedicate time to your fastlane, to freelancing to make money, and to studying. Partying/girlfriend comes after all that. And at the very least, no more Thirsty Thursdays.

Besides... You would pay more than £5k in rent if you choose not to study, right?
 
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inabox1

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Thanks for the reply. From your experience do employers even care about graduates holding masters?
 

inabox1

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PS: if i had to do it all over again, I don't think i would even go to university. I'd start off learning marketing and work as a freelance marketer to learn the basics of business, then with that money build a proper business.

The only thing university did was wasting 5 years of my life - and teach me a couple of things.

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply!

It's inspiring to know that you've been in the same situation. I 100% agree with the part about not going to university. While the character-building/social side has been huge, the thought of me being £50k in debt for the experience does not seem to be worth it.

Honestly, I would be doing the masters because of the social life (this year has been pretty dull with the COVID restrictions), security, and because of the expectations of my family (I have two siblings who both went to top unis + got jobs after, so I'm not sure if my parents really understand the path I'm taking).

Typing this out, those reasons don't seem like good justifications.
 

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