Career Advancement: It's Not All About Getting A Master’s

Today’s seething job market has made many of us take that extra step with regards to furthering our education. Often, this step is taken in order to simply get a foot in the door of our desired career paths. This advancement in education is proving to be financially difficult and time consuming, so the prospect of embarking on a master’s course, for example, often seems like too much of a commitment and sacrifice. In today’s world, a whole wealth of worthy education and information is readily available at our fingertips. However, giving up everything and enrolling on a master’s course is by no means the only way to get your foot further up the ladder of career credibility. If you're interested in career advancement, don't worry - getting a master's degree isn't your only option.

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Courses Galore

The Internet is, of course, one major provider of this, with the beauty of its accessibility largely lying in the way that is reachable on our own terms of time and scheduling. This pattern resonates through with the participation of online learning; with an endless plethora of courses ranging from project management courses to even learning Klingon being readily available online. Many of these courses will not only widen your horizon and deepen your knowledge in your desired subject, but will also provide you with formal qualifications in the form of certificates or diplomas which, in their own rights, will only make your CV shine brighter. The added promise of these courses is that they can be completed from the comfort of your very own home on your very own terms, giving you that much-desired need to work your professional and social life around your studies as you see fit.

Networking: It’s not all about suits and business cards.

The digital age that we currently live in may well incur that the Internet is a primary nucleus for many in terms of their social and professional lives. However, that doesn’t mean traditional ways of getting yourself heard should be discontinued or discarded like yesterday’s jam. One other way in which you can get your face noticed among the crowd is to attend networking events. These don’t always come in the form of suit-clad high-fliers and careerists flaunting their business cards and detailing their successes a-la Patrick Bateman, however. Networking opportunities can often be achieved through means of organized social events and will likely feature like-minded folks either looking for people just like you or equally wishing to propel themselves into the fray by sharing ideas and information. If you’re a budding writer, attend your local weekly writing workshops and discussions; if you’re looking to get your foot on the ladder as a translator or language expert, then scope out events where Italian, Chinese, or Arabic (or even Klingon) speakers are likely to gather. Organized social meet ups aside, you’ll often find that a large number of networking events are announced to those already in their line of work rather openly to the general public. If that’s the case, then it’s just as easy to get your head in the door by joining specialized groups on LinkedIn, for example, or subscribing to online platforms or newsletters that allow you inside knowledge and insights of what’s going on in the community of your professional field. The term “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” still rhymes true in today’s professional sphere, and getting yourself out there by featuring at such networking events may well lead to you shaking the hand or acquiring the business card of a potential employer who needs someone just like you. Career advancement doesn't have to break the bank. Before you enroll in a master's course, consider the above options.

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