Written by Munawwarah Azmir
Living in the globalized world, it’s hard for us to keep up with trends and also demands. Our life must be at par with the development and advancement of technologies and that makes life harder. Some may be lucky enough to secure a job while there are some who are still struggling in finding one. However, can pursuing a master’s degree help an individual to secure a job? How about joining a graduate certification course?
A master’s degree is a graduate degree awarded by a renowned accredited institution to show that the candidate has achieved mastery in any field of study whilst a graduate certificate is a short period of courses offered for professionals in order for them to acquire additional skills and knowledge that would help boosting their career life. There are a lot of differences between a master’s degree and a graduate certificate that a candidate might want to consider before pursuing their dreams.
The reason why one needs to set goals if they are interested in pursuing a master’s degree or joining a graduate certificate course is because, there are a lot of sacrifices need to be done such as; time and money. The first and main thing that needs to be considered is the fees. It is obviously not cheap for a master’s degree programme, however, graduate certificate courses happen to be cheaper. Apart from that, time is another thing that an individual needs to take count. A master’s degree may take up to a minimum of 2 years of study whilst a graduate certificate might be shorter than that depending on the type of course or field of study chosen.
Nevertheless, a master’s degree and graduate certificate vary in a way that a master’s degree could help a particular individual to earn more in comparison to the graduate certificate. It also somehow opens more career opportunities. In Malaysia, a graduate certificate is not that popular as not all fields require a certificate in comparison with a master’s degree where nowadays it has become some sort of a trend among graduates to further their studies to secure a better career life.
In conclusion, interested candidate may want to do some research in considering which path is the best and what are the main goals in obtaining both master’s degree and graduate certificate. Both have their own strengths and weaknesses that would bring benefit at the end of the day. So, think wisely and make the right decision. Good luck in choosing the right path!
