11 May 2015
Mid-Career Professionals: Time to Upgrade?
As an experienced working professional in Singapore, one of the reasons you may not be able to grow your careers in the desired direction is because of ‘qualification inflation’, whereby a large proportion of degree graduates enter the workforce every year.
To distinguish yourself from your working peers, you may need to go beyond a Bachelor’s degree.
Reignite Your Career
Career stagnation is not a new phenomenon – in fact, it afflicts many Singapore workers. After a couple of years in the same position, you might feel your career has reached a plateau and there aren't many opportunities for personal and professional progression.
One common way out of this mid-career is to jump ship for greener pastures. But this may not be a wise (or indeed, viable) option for the following reasons:
• Lack of concrete opportunities
• Comfort level at your present organisation
• Uncertainty about career switch
In fact, one reason why some experienced employees aren't promoted is because they simply don’t possess the skills to be promoted or be offered a better position – after all, an employer must be sure a potential promotee has the aptitude and know-how to handle increased responsibilities and/or a more strategic role.
Upgrading yourself via a postgraduate education is one way to demonstrate this ability and diversify your knowledge base at the same time. For instance, a Master of Business Administration usually does not require students to have a degree in Business.
It also allows working professionals with actual business experience to apply their practical knowledge to the curriculum while pursuing one or more specialisations – for instance, Business Law, International Finance, Real Estate and E-Commerce, among others.
Unlocking Opportunities
As a working professional, pursuing a postgraduate education also has other, intangible advantages. The benefits can go far beyond the academic – going back to school will allow you to network with both young adults and working professionals from other industries.
Last but not, taking the initiative to pursue a postgraduate education (even if it means having to deftly juggle both work and studies) will serve as a solid statement of intent to your employer that you are willing to do what it takes to go the extra mile in the organisation – and thus put you in good light for further advancement up the career ladder!
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