As
my masters course comes to a close, I have begun reflecting on how I’ve changed
as a person, both socially and academically. Thinking back to last year, I
remember being nervous about starting the course. I felt that my time as an undergraduate had been a disappointment. Although I’d graduated with a 2:1, I felt I had
failed socially and hadn’t gained any work experience. I almost felt like I was
doing a masters just to keep in education and that, in terms of making
progress, I had to treat it as a last chance saloon.
While
I'm not the greatest person at being able to recognise my own achievements, I
can safely say that the masters course has been a success for me socially, academically
and for my future. As mentioned in a previous post, I’ve made more of an effort
to make friends and socialise this time round. I have also changed a lot
academically. The two are tied together, as I have gained more confidence in
meeting new people as well as talking about my research interests. Being able
to discuss work with others on my course has directly helped to improve my work
and overall knowledge of social research.
The
key to this change for me has been to push myself and look for opportunities, wherever
possible. I began to develop my academic skills and knowledge by engaging with
others on my course, not just in a practical way (e.g. getting feedback on my
work) but also in the social way of learning from other people's experiences
and ideas. For me, there has been a direct correlation between improving
socially and improving academically.
Improving
socially has also helped my mental well-being, and having the ability to
socialise more has helped me to understand myself better as a person and
understand what I want to do with my future.
Doing
a masters and completing it has (if nothing else) showed me that I can do a
full piece of research and it has given me the confidence to believe that I might
be able to do a PhD, something I hadn't previously considered a possibility. I
didn't think I would be able to do a sustained piece of research. Now I feel
confident and have developed a love for doing research and being in an academic
environment. I don’t want to leave it!
For
anyone considering a masters or starting one soon, I would say that while the
course can be tough and a lot of hard work (particularly the dissertation), it
does provide a fantastic opportunity to meet new people and move forward
academically. Being able to design and conduct my own research has been a
brilliant experience and I have no doubt that choosing to study for a masters has
been a huge success and one I have no regrets over doing.
Peter Shaw, MA Social Research
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