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For the past 6 years my associates and I have observed this trend that all Ghanaians have towards higher education and the most important thing is to obtain a master’s degree.
Although for simplicity I would refer to HR, almost all tips here apply to any master’s degree in almost any professional discipline.
Masters in Ghana: any value?
We have seen it in Ghana:
one. A master’s degree alone will #not guarantee employment. Any employer, whether they think it’s fair or not, would rather hire someone who can “go to work” and be productive from day one!
Let it be … Minute 1 !!!.
And it makes sense … so experience is king / queen – if the choice is between one of, say, MIT and zero years of experience or someone with an HND and 5-7 years of experience, the job will be for the second person. (no, this is not a theoretical example, we have witnessed such situations)
So please #no_no # pursue a master’s degree after National Service, hoping it will automatically employ you; We have seen several of these candidates being unemployed for years despite their Master’s or MBA degrees.
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two. If you have #lots of #professional #experience, then mastery will put you #apart of the other candidates.
This is more of an observational comment … We have seen that when candidates have comparable professional experience and interview equally well, the one with the graduate degree receives the offer.
It is almost a ‘Golden Rule’…
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3. It seems that an MA / MSc in HR, for example, is #preferable than an MBA in HR, by employers in Ghana
That has to do with:
- On an MA / MSc in any discipline, you will earn 10-12 courses in that discipline. In an MBA in the same discipline, you will only get 3-4 courses maximum in that same discipline. So obviously if I need a senior HR person, for example, the one with all 12 HR courses has more exposure to HR than someone with an MBA in HR.
- The value of an MBA over the years has faded a bit … because there seem to be too many MBAs with no practical experience in anything …
By the way, there is a whole book written by Henry Mintzberg – the ‘Guru’ of Strategic Management, against hiring MBA graduates; Managers, not MBA (2005)
.By the way, I strongly suggest you read this article: https://thebftonline.com/04/12/2017/why-should-you-or-not-hire-an-mba-grad – it’s rather open mind!
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My #personal #tip
4. Start a master’s degree after 3-5 years of relevant work experience in HR or whatever discipline you want.
Almost every major career school in the US and Europe (I don’t know about other parts of the words) you will not be admitted without an average of 5 years of experience.
So why in Ghana can we go straight for example to an MBA after your bachelor’s degree? It’s a paper exercise for you and a cash injection (your money) for the school …
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5. #Ideally, consider doing a #professional #certification (for example, Diploma #CIPD Level -7 or something similar for HR, CIPS for Procurement, CILT for Logistics and Transportation, etc.) and #top_it_up with a teacher (Usually you will need a few extra months as Level -7 courses are Master’s level).
# I highly recommend this route and you will gain more practical knowledge.
It combines a respected and recognized professional certification plus a master’s degree and studies can be done at the same time as a normal master’s degree.
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6. Don’t ‘isolate’ #theory from #practice – do your mastery #part_time #while #working.
Don’t turn your degree into a theoretical work exercise, where you go to school, you learn things but you have nothing to relate other than new knowledge to …
From what I know about my husband (I googled it too): In North America and parts of Europe, they have cooperative undergraduate and graduate programs where you spend 4-6 months in school and 4-6 months in an employer’s site.
Usually it’s a different employer each time … Sure they tend to be one year longer than normal degrees, but you come out with a lot of work experience and exposure, I wish it was done in all parts of the world, especially in our Ghana. !!
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All that said, go get your teachers, just make sure it’s # programmed and # planned correctly !!!
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In conclusion
There is no strong evidence that there is an “employer preference” among candidates with a master’s degree over those with only a bachelor’s degree.
But, it seems that the relevant experience is slowly turning into the ‘King’ (should I say ‘Queen’?) Or to be more precise:
Employers care more about the value you can add to their organizations and how (if they have to ‘coach’ / monitor you every second to get you through it, then most likely not an option) than if you have a bachelor’s degree from Circus University or a master’s degree from Harvard.
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Once again go for your teachers, just make sure it’s # programmed and # planned correctly !!!
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Thank you and good luck,
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Irene
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About the author: Irene Gloria Addison owns HIREghana [Human Intelligence Recruitment], a specialist HR consultancy and Ghana’s leading recruitment agency and executive search firm, based in Accra.
Irene welcomes your comments / comments / observations / suggestions through her email to Press [at ] HIREgh.com. You can contact HIREghana at +233 50 228 5155
Our website is https://www.hiregh.com
© 2020 Irene Gloria Addison and © 2020 Human Intelligence Recruitment
