It is common to be disoriented when finishing university studies or a higher degree. Many people are clear about where they want to go when they finish their degree, but many others don’t know where to start.
One option to continue training, even if you have found your first job as a junior, is to do a master’s degree, a postgraduate degree, a specialization or a doctorate. With these studies, you greatly expand your options in the demanding world of work and differentiate yourself in the market.
However, depending on your needs, you should choose the training that best suits your situation: either to turn your professional career around or to expand your resume.
A postgraduate is a type of higher education oriented to a very specific field of knowledge, and they are titles specific to the university or educational center that imparts it.
It usually lasts like an academic year (1 year), and has between 15 and 60 ECTS credits. It is a more practical, more specific and specialized training.
A master’s degree is a specialization course in a certain subject, which can be accessed by university graduates who have a degree or bachelor’s degree.
These training programs have a study load of between 60 and 120 ETCS credits, lasting one or two years.
Doing a PhD is about creating new knowledge, discovering new things and developing new skills. Although the term may make us think that it is a title for doctors, it has nothing to do with it.
A doctor is someone who has produced an original research paper, known as a “doctoral thesis.” This title is the highest that someone can have on their resume.
Doctoral theses can deal with an infinite number of topics: human diseases, new technologies, economics, behaviors… but they all have something in common: the result of the research is new. Hence the value of a doctorate.