BBS - which masters programme???

dizzybridie

Hi finished my BBS programme back in 2003 and working in financial services since while qualifing as a QFA part time thru work. Head is absolutley wrecked looking up post grad courses. Looking to do a part time 2 yr programme. Has anyone done the Smurfit one / WIT one? Are they really worthwhile doing??? WIT offering a 2yr p/time MBS management of change. Will be massive commitment timewise while trying to hold down stressful job. Anyone come out the other side / heard anything about this one?? HELP, am totally lost. Closing date for WIT seems to be this Friday whereas Smurfit is next week....

JDLK

I did my undergrad part time and did a Smurfit MBS full time (with some part timers) so maybe can give some insight, but as I didnt do my MBS part time dont take my view as gospel, however the Smurfit "Part Time" course is actually a misnomer as for all intents and purposes it is merged with the full time course - you will study with full timers, you will do the same courses they do , with them, you will work in teams with them and you will submit work/sit exams with them, the only real difference is that they will do 4 modules per semester while you will do 2.

As far as the specific MBS is concerned I would recommend picking one which is sufficiently different from your undergrad- for example if your undergrad was heavily accountancy based maybe pick an MBS which focusses on marketing or Org Development, unless of course you are absolutely sure you want to do accountancy. In todays climate skill diversity is an asset. Really you need to develop skills along 2 axis'; the technical and the management- ie (soft and hard), if you feel you have good technical skills already- ie you're an accounts technician or an IT technician etc, then use the masters to develop your management skills (leadership, team dynamics, organisation etc) by picking a management focussed masters like Manageing Change, and vice versa- if you have been working in a management type role but feel you lack the formal technical skills of the field then try a more focussed MBS like Project Management or Accounting etc.

When I did my undergrad part time it was seriously full on, really stressful and basically took up all my time outside of work as lectures took up evenings and assignment work/study too up weekends. If you're in a relationship, this will definitely suffer.

In saying that, my undergrad was intense because we had to do all the same modules as the full time course at the same schedule. For a masters in Smurfit however it is cut in half ie as the full timers do 4 modules in a semester, the part timers do 2. From the part timers I knew they seemed to be able to balance it and they got on very well (well they passed anyway, not sure how they felt about the overall course).

Some of the problems you will face as a part timer in Smurfit ire;

1. Team based projects with full timers: As the class is mixed (ie there is no dedicated part time class) the high percentage of your classmates will be full time (I would say 90%+). Smurfit programmes generally have alot of team based projects/assignments and the fact that you will not be available for a big part of the day may detract from your team experiences. While part timers can bring industry experience the main problem is the simply arent available enough to share it with the group. In my experience part timers were generally given team tasks which suited their schedules, so while they could contribute, their contributions were usually restricted to a bit of research they did by themselves which may or may not be that relevant to the project.

2. Working with pre-experienced students: Its very likely (unless you're doing an MBA) that the majority of your class will have come straight from undergrad college ie have no industry experience. While you may feel you haven’t changed that much from your own college days its likely you have matured alot more than you think. Things like punctuality for team meetings, scheduling/time management, professionalism etc which you will take for granted may be new to pre exp students and this may be frustrating for you. For example your team may shedule a 1 hour long meeting in order to discuss an assignment- coming from industry, you may already expect to get X,Y and Z done in the meeting and outline the tasks, deliverables etc for the next meeting however you may have to contend with students who are in the "woohooo..party time.... spring break" mindset and spend 15 minutes telling you how drunk they got the night before, 15 mintues telling you jokes/showing you funny youtube videos, 15 minutes telling you what they like/dislike about their lectures and then 15 minutes actually talking about the assignment- this can be very frustrating especially if your time is valuable. Also pre exp students tend to rely heavily on academia for guidance - ie they tend to treat the models/steps in books as gospel whereas post exp individuals, such as yourself, will often be able to understand (or seek to understand) the gap between academia and real world practice. This can be frustrating for you as some pre exp may not be willing to "think outside of the box" ie challenge what they feel are set in stone models, which you may have your own take on. For team based exercises pre-exp individuals tend to rely heavily on social bonding rather than professional norms, which may be an issue if your not available for the whole social end of the course you may become somewhat of an outsider on team projects. (sad but true as team members who have no understanding of your professional experience are less likely to afford you credibility than experienced people)

3. Career Guidance and lecture focus: While you will be learning concepts which can be applied by any person at any stage in their career they will be delivered in a pre-experience manner. As said previously, the majority of students tend to be pre- experience so lecturers will spend alot of time explaining concepts in a way that may feel a bit obvious to you (and/ or beneath you). Alot of efort is generated toward preparing them for the "real world". Having already made that transition you may find some of this frustrating. Lecturers always encourage discussion but unless there are a few post exp students in your class you may get little from the discussions. The same goes for career guidance. You will be able to speak to a CG councillor one to one but alot of Smurfit is generated toward entry level guidance rather than your level.

My main advice would be to speak with the programme director of the course you want to do before you commit, they will also put you in touch with past students. In my experience lecturers are very helpful- explain the fact that you are experienced and your concerns and they should be able to provide some advice. Definitely speak to ex-part time students, they will be more than willing to speak to you and give their opinion- Speak to more than one though as some may have had very different experiences based on their own individual personality/background/expectations etc.

Sometimes part timers miss out on the networking part of the MBS and focus solely on getting the qualification because of their time constraints which is a pity as part timers often have alot of good industry experience and contacts to make them a valuable asset to the class. Try to build in time to socialise as it will also help with team projects, dont feel that there is any separation between part and full timers as generally full timers will be more than willing to include everyone and build relationships even beyond the students in one class.

dizzybridie

Thanks a million for the reply. Gave me loads to think about. Have opted for WIT programme in end. Close to work and saves me driving to Dublin. If course is intense I could do without the drive on top of everything. Chose MBS management of change. Sent it off and waiting on interview. Everyone of my friends thinks im mad and keep asking 'what will ya get for doing that?' Have no idea but why not!! Give me a focus for next 2 yrs and is what i did my thesis on so fingers crossed it all works out. Thanks agian for all your advice.