Contemplating a masters?

ecoli

Hey Guys
Im a pretty average student in my final year doing classics and philosophy and came across the requirements for a masters in classics to be only a two two not a two one as i had first thought. Ultimately I want to go on and do a post graduate in primary teaching but as i am still young i was thinking would it be more beneficial for me to get a masters before applying?
Just said i would ask peoples experiences in it and whether or not a masters in classics would be worth anything to me in the long run or possibly look more favourable upon my application to the post graduate course.
Any feedback would be most appreciated

gravensteen

definately do it.
it's socially awesome, apart from anything else.
And classics is a good, small dept to do it in.

dyl10

Good one

Riamfada

Unless you want to be in for the long academic haul any arts MA is pretty much useless. However if you are set on doing something the classics one is alot of fun and the department and postgrad students are very welcoming and alot of fun.

delta_bravo

Well as a teacher in 2nd level an M.A. adds €5,000 onto your salary per annum so its worth it in the long run if you want to be a teacher

Mr.Nice Guy

delta_bravo wrote: »

Well as a teacher in 2nd level an M.A. adds €5,000 onto your salary per annum so its worth it in the long run if you want to be a teacher

Are you sure it's not €500?

Jev/N

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Are you sure it's not €500?

5k is roughly correct AFAIK

Powerhouse

This is a common mistake. A Master’s degree is worth just €608 per annum in terms of the allowance. Yes, you’ll see €5k quoted as the allowance but on closer inspection people will find that you are entitled to either that or the Primary degree allowance – not both. So when you subtract what you would have gotten anyway for the Primary degree it amounts to small money.

Let’s put it this way – the extra allowance (which is a gross figure) is not a good reason for doing a Master’s. When you consider the actual cost of a Master's + opportunity cost, you could be working for decades before seeing the benefit. And that’s assuming that in the current environment such allowances will last.

RandomName2

Powerhouse wrote: »

This is a common mistake. A Master’s degree is worth just €608 per annum in terms of the allowance. Yes, you’ll see €5k quoted as the allowance but on closer inspection people will find that you are entitled to either that or the Primary degree allowance – not both. So when you subtract what you would have gotten anyway for the Primary degree it amounts to small money.

Let’s put it this way – the extra allowance (which is a gross figure) is not a good reason for doing a Master’s. When you consider the actual cost of a Master's + opportunity cost, you could be working for decades before seeing the benefit. And that’s assuming that in the current environment such allowances will last.

That's assuming you get a job in the first place :rolleyes:

Happy hunting

An MA on your CV is no bad thing when going into an over-saturated educational market.

RandomName2

lukecoleman wrote: »

or even a sequel to the iliad

The Odyssey... :pac:

V480

Well reading all this has put me into a good mood (currently in the middle of an MA)

dyl10

On the other hand your MA could turn out to be an unforgettable experience, grow you as a person and change your life forever in unimaginable ways, in which case it would be priceless to you.

That being said, I did say "could".

Riamfada

dyl10 wrote: »

On the other hand your MA could turn out to be an unforgettable experience, grow you as a person and change your life forever in unimaginable ways, in which case it would be priceless to you.

It wont, that line is what UCD say to you to get you to cough up 5000. IMO its just another year in college and an extension of your BA. Sex with Cheryl Cole is an unforgettable experience, war will grow you as a person and transgender surgery will change your life forever in unimaginable ways. An MA is a few more essays and a thesis and if you think it will help you get a job your very very wrong.

I call cadswallop on your post sir.

Shantih

Grimes wrote: »

It wont, that line is what UCD say to you to get you to cough up 5000. IMO its just another year in college and an extension of your BA. Sex with Cheryl Cole is an unforgettable experience, war will grow you as a person and transgender surgery will change your life forever in unimaginable ways. An MA is a few more essays and a thesis and if you think it will help you get a job your very very wrong.

I call cadswallop on your post sir.

I would be inclined to agree with this. In fact, having an MA that is not associated with a job that you hope to apply for may be detrimental to your chances. I experienced this recently in an interview for an admin job, when they asked at the end why I wanted to go into administration when I had a Masters. Obviously this is not the case for everyone and I suspect there were other reasons why I didn't get it (not enough experience mostly - something it seems many graduates are facing i.e. educated but under-experienced).
Personally, I think if you really want to do primary teaching you could still take a year before you apply but use it to give you an edge in the application, as it seems to be quite competitive these days. Maybe volunteer to work with children, in a homework club or organisation like Fighting Words. Or anything that will stand to you if you want to be a teacher. If you do the MA there is a risk that it looks like you then decide to do the primary teaching because there is nothing else available. Anyway, just a suggestion, it might not be viable. Best of luck with the decision!