mid twenties and have a BSc. in bus: considering Trinity for specialised masters.

Hi there,

I'd like some qualitative feedback on a concern of mine.

I'm in my mid twenties and have a BSc. in business from an internationally recognized institution. I've been working mainly in sales & marketing during my studies and joined a large global consultancy firm upon graduating in 2009. Increasingly unhappy with my job I decided to leave the firm recently. I can't say that I know what I want to do, although I can say what I don't want to do. I have extensive international experience from work/internships, and studies.

I consider going back to school this fall (Trinity College) for a specialist masters that would set me back about 14K. Would this be a reasonable idea that would improve my chances of finding an interesting job or should I just continue looking for jobs? Would it pay off? Have in mind that I am thinking to broaden my educational background and that I am thinking internationally.

Tips and feedback would be highly appreciated.

Hi Mocco,
I think that you need to analyse why you left the first job, or outline what it was that you didn't like. It may be that you were unlucky with the specific choice of job, but without knowing yourself what happened you could end up with the same issue repeating again in a new job. It is hard for others to comment without knowing the specifics.

How are your language skills? Would you consider learning or improving your German. There are German state language exams you could study for. Spending time in Berlin working and studying might be very useful to you in the long run and would be a hell of a lot cheaper than a 14k masters. It might be an idea to hold off spending that kind of money until you're really sure what you want.

From experience I would recommend you see an occupation psychologist. They perform aptitude tests that identify your skills and strengths.

TCD have them, and if you contact one they may see you privately. I have a recommendation of a man I went to years ago when I wanted to change from Nursing. If you want you can PM me, however I am not sure if he still practices.

P..

Thank you gearoid & pinkyBear, I appreciate you taking time to respond.

Well, I have partly analyzed what I didn't like. I suppose one problem is that I compare my work to my internships during my studies. When I started working I was mainly put on a desk and phone job were I would spend most of my time working selling services on the phone. I didn't enjoy that. I understand that I had to start somewhere, but then again I felt that this job did not match my ambitions or even came close to the tasks I had during my internships where I had a lot more responsibility. To be honest I felt that the industry was not for me, and by that I mean product wise, not the sales & consultancy part.

My language skills are fairly good, 7 languages with 4 being fluent (no actual German skills though). I enjoy using my language skills. I find the international focus very important.

€14 K is a considerable investment to make if you are harbouring concerns about what you want to do workwise. You might want to consider what type of job you want first- not just something you might be good at, there is a difference. Set out a wish-list of what an ideal job would be like for you, based on what interests and appeals to you. Ie Travel, meeting people, working with figures, team--working, leadership, management etc. Use you experience in employment to help you figure out what type of work you enjoyed, and what you hated. Be specific and detailed so that you end-up build a picture of the type of person you are, and what will work profitably for you and your potential employer. There are various tests used to assess personality types like McQuaig, I'm not too sure if you have ever done one of these, but they are often invaluable insight. Some people use a version of a test called the Enneagram . I have used it, ( in a professional capacity) and found it very insightful. There are online versions available, but I don't know how reliable they are. From memory, there was a respected book on it by Helen? Palmer. You might get more info in the library, if it appeals to you.

language skills

Mocco said:

My language skills are fairly good, 7 languages with 4 being fluent (no actual German skills though). I enjoy using my language skills.

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I'm impressed! As a matter of interest what are they? Are they useful from a business perspective?

I was think of an Irish science or business graduate who has limited language skills.

I'm wondering whether you lack of patience regarding roles. You don't always get to do what you want immediately. Did you voluntarily leave the job without other work available? Why didn't you apply for other positions when you had the job as it would have been easier to move from one job to another.

Thank you all indeed.

I will look into the occupational psychology. I've tried some of those personality tests, not the specific mentioned though. The results vary from test to test, but they are still fairly consistent.

I would admit to lack of patience. I left voluntarily, which I understand can scare some potential employers, then again I was not feeling well with the job that I had. It wasn't easy, but it was a decision that I made.

As for the languages, I speak English, Portuguese, Swedish and Spanish, with passive skills in Danish, French and Norwegian. I suppose the potential usefulness lies in what one intends to do.