I recently graduated in May with a BSc in Applied Math. I have been looking for jobs for over a month now and so far havent had any promising response, mainly perhaps becuz i have no exp in my field (no internships etc etc) since i was always working full time on the side.
Anyhow, now I am torn between taking a couple classes towards my masters while looking for a job OR take the risk and devote all my energy towards job hunting.
What is the professional opinion out there?? I am confident that if i persist and look aroung hard enough i will InshaAllah land wth an oppurtunity soon but then i will jhave to wait till the end of the semester to start work. What do you guys suggest??
PS: FYI I am looking for research analysts openings.
I would recommend devoting all your time to find a job in your field, mainly because Masters takes alot of time, money and effort and you don't wanna get into something you don;t have experience about....say what if you don;t like or what if that the demand is not so great for this major of yours....so i would say that spend sometime looking for a job, try it out anf if you like it then go for the masters or see of there is something else that you would like to do which is in great demand also..
Bhoot: thanks for your response. I have thought well over it and I have decided to forgo the masters for a little while more. In my case educational level does not seem to be the culprit but experience. So I am going to devote some more time and energy to job hunting and see how things go. InshaAllah all will be well.
why not start off with a two-railed approach. Investigate what is possible with respect to persuing a masters. See what packages colleges offer. Wat timetables etc. In the meantime also go for job-hunting. I get the feeling you're at the starting point of decision making, and I think it's too soon to decide. Perhaps invest a couple of weeks to get a better view of things at offer and decide then.
As for jo-hunting, bachelors tend to land very good jobs. The ratio of the time spent in searching for a job and the quality of the job is very good, so Idon't think either way it will be a risk
i would highly recommend getting a master’s. once you are enrolled in your program, you can find a collection of networks at school-leading to good/relevant jobs. if you can’t find a job…at least you’ve got your degree under your belt. and you can always withdraw from school and take the credits elsewhere…if you decide to enroll later on…
best luck:blush:
I agree with bkp. I think it's more important to get a job in your area of interest first before starting Master's degree. One of my friends' brother went on to finish his Masters degree without working anywhere. Now, with a graduate degree and with a pile of student loan, he is unable to find a job in his field, and I think the reason for that is most employers wonder why one was not able to work at all during all this time? He has gotten job offeres but employers are willing to pay him a really mediocre salary, since he does not have any work experience in the field, and he is not accepting those salaries since he thinks he should get more with a graduate degree. IMO, it becomes harder to get a job if you have zero work experience with a Master's degree than with a Bachelors.
Hi Ira.
I dunno what the situation in the US is , but in the UK (despite the racism) if you are a maths graduate you can easily find jobs (temp or permanent) through agnecies. Anyway, try Pricewaterhousecoopers and Deveraux (they have global operations so i am sure they must have a presence in the US as well).. they usually have internships for students and have a very good corporate culture. Wish ya luck
Plus, ur options are not limited to analysis, I recently read an article about somebody who'z a maths graduate and was offered a job by cadbury's to measure the proportion of the distribution of choclate (or sumthing like that I am a Jahil u know) and apparently its a high -profile job plus that person is also doing his/her PHD at the same time .
Just to update the thread: I did not apply for masters ofcourse but Alhamdulillah I have landed a job. It was the second company I interviewed at and I was impressed by the company culture, the folks, the work environ and ofcourse the job description. I am told they were equally impressed by me as well. ( ).
Its a market research company in downtown Chicago and my position is as Sr Research Analyst. Lets see how my first exp at a job right out of school goes. InshaAllah hoping for good learning oppurtunities.
Thank for your advice, everyone. It was well appreciated.
and you can always withdraw from school and take the credits elsewhere…if you decide to enroll later on…