Further study special

How do our MSc graduates feel now that the studying is over and they look back over the past 12 months. Did they sometimes doubt themselves and their decision or did further study provide the clarity and certainty that they hoped for?

As with every episode of the Multi Story Edinburgh podcast we wanted to better appreciate the diversity of the graduate experience. Life and decision making as a postgraduate student is often complex and based on more than just the needs and hopes of an individual. Family, finance, employability and motivation are all brought into much sharper focus.

What binds these episodes together is a desire to be better equipped for the world as it is now. From climate change to digital society, our graduates decided on an MSc because they wanted to make a difference.

Yao - Economics (Econometrics) MSc

Uncertainty, independence and talking through the past.

Yeah, so at that time I was really anxious, like I need to support myself. So I need to do multiple part time jobs which I don't have. So like all this struggle and all this, kind of like desperation even, and then I got a offer from my school and everything just sort out now.

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Maddy - Digital Society MSc

Growth, perspective and holding two emotions at once.

Heck yeah, I feel so proud of myself, which I think would have been harder for me to say before going through this. Allowing myself a little bit more grace and a little bit more self-compassion and kindness for when things are hard. Being like - you are going through an extraordinarily hard time - but then also being like - look at everything you've done.

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Sarah - Carbon Management MSc

Perseverance, passion and why it is good to share.

I'm being a lot slower with the whole employment process as well. Like I'm just giving myself time to breathe. I was always very wrapped up with wanting a career and having to have it now and if there was a gap on my CV, it was like this awful, awful thing. Now I'm just like - you know what, it's been traumatic. I feel as though I just need a bit of time.

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Gabriel - Bioinformatics MSc

Working life, support networks and doing something that matters.

I think the first week of working, I was thinking to myself - what if I did a PhD instead? Staying a student keeping the student benefits, student discounts and all? I'm not sure. I feel I kind of, at the end of fourth year, I kind of had that academic burnout. I kind of wanted to have the responsibility to make my own money and to be able to sustain myself.

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Tim - Environmental Sustainability MSc

Feeling lost, living in the moment and visualising climate change.

I think one of the things that helped me a lot in the past is this mindset of staying proactive and it sounds very simple but if you go out there and if you want to sort of take control of your life, if you see an opportunity, I always try to go for it no matter what it is. Try it out.

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Madhu - Bioinformatics MSc

Edinburgh in lockdown, finding balance and multiple communities.

I honestly didn't get a lot of time to reflect on what I was doing, what I would like to do. It was just me constantly bashing between assignments and time. I did not get any idea as to what to do next. So only after I finished my dissertation, I sat down and I was like - okay, now you're done, what do you want to do next?

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