MUST YOU HAVE ONE TO EXCEL AT THE JOB?

Jun 30, 2009

MASTER’S DEGREE<br><br>WHERE are you?” an old friend inquired during an abrupt encounter on Luwum Street, Kampala recently.

MASTER’S DEGREE

By Susan Muyiyi

WHERE are you?” an old friend inquired during an abrupt encounter on Luwum Street, Kampala recently.

“Right in front of you,” I said.

“I mean with the master’s degree. How far?” she asked, before telling me about our five former classmates who were pursuing their master’s.

At a recent graduation party, the evidently excited graduand was reminded about the need to pursue a master’s degree immediately if he wanted to get a good job.

“A first degree is like a Senior Six certificate, go back and get many more,” he was told.

There has perhaps never been a mad rush for a second degree like now. Many people seem to be either frantically searching for scholarships or taking loans to further their studies.

You feel the pressure to enroll immediately after hanging around peers who head to university immediately after work. They brave the cold and lack of sleep to fulfill their dreams of acquiring a better pay.

While it is hard to get admission statistics compiled at different universities over the last few years, some studies show that enrollment in the master’s programme has doubled in barely a decade.

At Makerere University, for instance, the number of graduate students was at 657 in 2007, up from 332 in 2000, according to a 2008 report titled: Research in Uganda: status and implications of public policy, by Julius Ecuru (Etal) of the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology.

As such, the number of master’s programmes has also gone up to meet the high demand. Until a decade ago, Ecuru reports, Makerere, with a handful of master’s programmes, was the sole provider of graduate training in Uganda.

Today, according to the report, there are over 126 master’s programmes at Makerere, while Mbarara University of Science and Technology has over 17 programmes. Kyambogo and Gulu universities have about 10 programmes each.

Private universities are also coming in to fill the gap; Nkumba has 36 master’s programmes, Nkozi 12, Mukono 13, while the Islamic University and Ndejje universities have 13 and eight master’s programmes, respectively.

University dons agree that over 50% of the post-graduate enrolment at any respective university constitute master’s students.

“There is certainly a boom for students pursuing a second degree,” says Prof. Augustus Nuwagaba, an international development consultant. But the key question is: Why the mad rush?

Yeko Acato, the assistant executive director of the National Council for Higher Education, says the need for a master’s degree is inevitable considering the competitive job market. Many job adverts require one to have a master’s degree.

“You must have noticed this phrase: ‘a master’s degree… will be an added advantage,’ as one of the prerequisites for a job application,” says Acato.

Back in the day, a first degree opened great employment doors. A job offer automatically awaited you, even before finishing your studies. In fact, you could even harness a career with just an O’level certificate. But as Joyce Mpanga, who got her first degree in the 1950s recalls, that has long changed.

Acato concurs: “You could join a bank and climb the career ladder to management position. It soon became an era of first degrees, now it is the master’s era and will soon become a PhD era. A first degree is just a stepping stone in today’s employment world.”

Peter Ojede, the chairperson of the Association of Human Resource Managers, argues that a master’s degree adds a great deal of specialty than the first one.

“Many employers are looking for specialised qualities like analytical skills, which come much easier for master’s degree-holders because of the level of research, self-drive and initiative involved in the programme,” Ojede explains.

He is, however, quick to add that such scrutiny applies to senior management positions in companies. Because Uganda has few jobs for the numerous graduates passed out by various learning institutions each year, a first degree is a basic requirement.

For some people, however, the master’s is a source of satisfaction. Take for instance Mark, whose first degree was in Music, Dance and Drama, for the sheer fact that it was fully sponsored by the Government. Upon graduation, he felt cheated.

“I could not further a career in singing or dancing. I wanted to be a psychologist. I decided to do a master’s in that field,” Mark says, “True, some people say I wasted a lot of time at university, but I am now content after getting a master’s degree.”

Similarly, Gloria Nakitende, a young woman, had always wanted a career in social work, but the qualifications and work experience eluded her. After six years of working as an administrative assistant, she got a scholarship to study for a master’s in public administration.

“At the end of the course, I had the job I had always wanted, accompanied by a higher pay.”

Sylvia Namujju, a human resource consultant, acknowledges that a person with two degrees is better placed to know what they want to further their career.

“Holding a master’s degree broadens one’s thinking level and creativity and if relevant to your job situation, your pay cheque will be fatter.”

According to Namujju, the master’s degree also increases one’s leverage when it comes to negotiating for a higher pay and develops one’s capacity to research on various job-related situations.

When it does not work
Sometimes, though, a master’s degree is as good as useless. Ask Rhoda, who for the fear of being singled out at work, will not give her second name. She is frustrated.

“My employment terms have not changed two years since I got my master’s degree. I am actually looking elsewhere because my morale is low,” she confides. But the problem was that Rhoda jumped at a study opportunity which was not in any way related to the work she is doing or even applicable for most of the highly coveted jobs.

Prof. Nuwagaba points out that some programmes are irrelevant to the country’s development needs.

“Most courses consolidate academic knowledge which is not the best option for training and building human capacity. Master’s programmes should focus on enhancing skills in improving livelihoods, land reforms, productivity and international trade. Philosophies, theories of economics cannot develop the country.”

Some people have been frustrated after embarking on a master’s degree immediately after completing their first degrees. For instance, Loice Lunkuse, a graduate of mass communication, did not even know what field to master in. Lunkuse zeroed in on a master’s in human resource management. It was a challenge when she completed the course because she did not have any work experience. When she went for a job interview, her colleague, who only had a first degree, took the job.

Bottom-line
While refresher courses are important, human resource experts say they cannot be substituted for skill. That is why someone with a first degree and vast experience in his area of expertise is likely to be well-positioned to take up a job which would ordinarily be reserved for a master’s degree holder.

“Getting a job in today’s market depends on several factors, including education, which could be a bachelors or master’s degree in a particular field and work experience,” Namujju says.

Factors like one’s ability to express oneself to convince the recruitment panel of his ability to do the job, plus networking cannot be substituted.

In the current market, one may get a job because of the contacts he makes.

Membership in professional associations and clubs often helps candidates to identify available opportunities on the job market.

“A master’s degree could be advantageous if it is relevant to the skills as well as the job you are applying for,” Namujju stresses.

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