Graduate Prospects - January 23, 2008 - (Page 16)

16 PROSPECTS GRADUATE Issue 59 · 23 January 2008 · Fortnightly www.prospects.ac.uk POSTGRAD BLOGGER ‘I have been chasing teaching, hoping to earn enough money to cover my unfunded study.’ GRAHAM FOSTER HAS MORE DISTRACTIONS ‘You wonder how you found the time to sit down and complete assignments but once you’ve done it you feel so proud of what you have achieved. When you’re doing it, you need to be focused and try and relate it to your work. It makes studying easier,’ she says. SUPPORT Many postgraduates opt for part- UNI ON A SALARY DANIELLE PLESTED’S PART-TIME STUDY PAID OFF HARD WORK IT MAY BE BUT STUDYING A PART-TIME POSTGRADUATE COURSE ON TOP OF A FULL-TIME JOB CAN BE EXTREMELY REWARDING FOR YOUR CAREER. time study: 311,150 out of 545,370 postgraduates in 2005/6, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency. As a result, universities have a lot of support for part-time students to help them manage their work and other commitments. Students have all the resources of full-time students available to them, including online resources and journals, which means you don’t even have to visit the library. Most courses have supervisors and tutors available throughout the course to support students and offer advice, which is useful for those whose courses do not require contact time. ‘We didn’t have to attend regular lectures,’ explains Danielle. ‘We met once a year for a week of lectures and the rest of the time it was up to us. But the support was fantastic. ‘A guy called David Lever who headed up the whole programme was just fantastic. He gave up so much of his time and kept us sane through the whole process. And my third year tutor, John Pal, always made time for me.’ REWARDS Having successfully completed her Masters, Danielle is now employed by Homebase as a store support manager and was named as one of ten ‘Rising Stars’ by Retail Week last year for her hard work and commitment to her team. She says her Masters made a big difference to her work. Danielle Plested took up a part-time Masters in Retail Management at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), study she combined with her role as a store support manager for Sainsbury’s. ‘I joined Sainsbury’s trainee management scheme as an A-level entrant. I was the only successful A-level entrant that year, so I trained alongside the graduates,’ explains Danielle. After a year’s training, Danielle worked in various positions in stores across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Three years on, she decided to opt for a field role. ‘This was about the time Sainsbury’s was going through their invigoration programme, doing up all their old stores,’ she says. ‘I went to be an investment delivery manager, which is basically a project manager overseeing new stores’ extensions, refits and downsizes.’ BACK TO SCHOOL With several years’ experience under her belt and a new job role, team manager for store investment, Danielle’s thoughts returned to university. ‘I was always going to go to university,’ says Danielle. ‘I was just going to have a year out and then start my degree. But that year kept getting extended and I liked the money too much.’ But a programme sponsored by her employers seemed too good an opportunity to miss. ‘Sainsbury’s was offering an MA in Retail Management, which was run in partnership with MMU, and I really liked the idea of it. The programme covered topics that were relevant to my work, so I could plan my assignments around it.’ TIME MANAGEMENT One of the biggest benefits of part-time study is the ability to balance study with part-time work or a current career. But you must not underestimate the hard work involved. Studying part-time on top of a full-time job is ‘one of the hardest things you will ever do,’ says Danielle, who completed her Masters over three years. ‘When you’ve worked a 50 or 60-hour week, finding twenty hours or more at the weekend to study is so difficult.’ Danielle says despite the hard work, the achievement you feel is really rewarding. ‘My dissertation is the best example of how my course helped me with my job. It looked at how middle managers affect change management. I was leading a restructure of about 120 people at Homebase, merging two teams together, and this really helped me. If I hadn’t done the course I don’t believe I would be where I am now in the company.’ INFORMATION AND ADVICE www.prospects.ac.uk/findcourses POSTGRAD FUNDING FACTS www.prospects.ac.uk/links/fundstudy LATEST POSTGRAD COURSE OPPORTUNITIES www.prospects.ac.uk/links/latestcourses SEARCH THE POSTGRAD DATABASE SEND YOUR VIEWS, SUGGESTIONS AND COMMENTS editorial@prospects.ac.uk http://www.prospects.ac.uk http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Feature_Articles/Feature_articles_2008/PhD_blog__5/p!ecadLbb http://www.prospects.ac.uk/findcourses http://www.prospects.ac.uk/links/fundstudy http://www.prospects.ac.uk/links/latestcourses

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Graduate Prospects - January 23, 2008

Editorial - Opportunity Calls Editorial - Bloggers at Work Axa Lost In Admin Springfield Fuels Limited Huntress Search Ltd SeQuoia Partnership Hewlett Packard Ltd Standard-Life Investments Propeller Training Contact Singapore Landsbanki Salmon Ltd Thales Group Warwickshire County Council National Audit Office Royal Household Russell Finex Ltd National Graduate Recruitment Exhibition LogicaCMG Majestic Wine Warehouses Ltd Graduate Prospects Aston University Matson Driscoll and Damico Shape Media Editorial - Uni on a Salary

Graduate Prospects - January 23, 2008

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