MA & Me

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have already caught wind of this...

I have signed myself up to do my Masters Degree! Eeeek!

It's been a long time since I graduated from university, 2006 to be precise, and it was even on my mind back then, I just wasn't entirely sure if it was what I wanted to do. Fast forward seven years, a few jobs and I finally seem to have figured it out and made up my mind.

I ummed and ahhed initially over what I wanted to do my Masters Degree in, my Bachelor's degree was in History and I knew I wanted to do something related to that. I toyed with Archive and Record keeping, Archaeology and History. After thinking long and hard (and a lot of research) I ruled out Archaeology and was left with a toss up between Archive & Record keeping and History. Both would use my degree, one was a specialty and the other wasn't.

I investigated further; I had an idea of a few careers that I was interested in (Research, Museum Curatorship and Heritage) and worked backwards from there to find out what qualifications I would need for my chosen path. In my mind, at this stage, I had already ruled out Archive & Record keeping, I just needed to know whether the choice of a Masters in History was the right one.

Like I said, I graduated from my Bachelors degree in 2006, these final stages of thought were taking place at the latter end of 2012, so it had taken me a while to get myself to the point where I was ready to make a final decision.

The real decision came during a conversation with my other half. We discussed what I really wanted to do career-wise, and my answer was 'Research'. I've always loved the element of research that came alongside my History degree and have always wished I could take it to a higher level, but its not the easiest of routes to follow, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. We talked it through and I went away thinking even more intensely about my next step.

When it came to the crunch I knew what I wanted to do, a lot of it was down to what I already knew I wanted to do, the other was my other half just asking a few questions which really made me think about it. So I signed up for my Masters Degree in History, starting in September 2013.

The plan I have at the moment is very loose, and that's kind of the way I like it, I don't want or need to put any pressure on the situation, I just want to try and do the very best I can. I start the Masters, like I said, in September this year with the Open University with the aim of completing it in two years (which brings me to the year I turn 30). Then, my loosely planned route has two options. If I am happy where I am I intend to investigate jobs in Museum Curatorship, possibly something to do with researching and maintaining collections. My other option is look for funding for a PhD in History and complete that over a few years, with the aim of going into Research/Education (like a University lecturer etc). At the moment I am not putting pressure on myself, but I do love the idea of being able to complete the PhD. What an achievement that would be!

The process of deciding wasn't easy but was at the same time. I think all along I probably knew what it was I wanted to do, I just needed to be sure about it in my mind. I am so happy with the decision I have made, and although for now it will take a while to get to where I am headed, that's fine with me. I have a supportive man, a supportive family and with that in mind, I already feel like I can do anything I set my mind to.

I'd love to hear from you if you've done your Masters Degree, are thinking about it or just if you have any questions!

Happy Wednesday Folks!