Postgraduate or Professional? Why not both!
My educational and professional journey has been a long, windy road of ‘figuring it out as I go’. Prior to choosing to study a Masters, I went through a range of different career paths that I thought appealed to me — everything from fashion designer, to clinical psychologist and now (hopefully) my final stop — Communications and Public Relations Specialist.
Why did I decide to study for a postgraduate degree?
The decision to apply for a postgraduate is something that has been in the back of my mind since graduating from my first degree in 2021. Before enrolling on the Corporate Communications, Marketing and Public Relations course at Leeds University Business School (LUBS), I studied Psychology and in my final year, I took a Psychology of Advertising module which inspired my switch to the world of marketing. While I was fortunate enough to land a dream role at a PR and Creative agency in London, a few months after graduating, the thought never really left my mind. I quickly noticed that while an educational background in Marketing and Public Relations was not required, the most dynamic and accomplished people I came across had some sort of training in this area. But as the story goes — once ‘adulting’ and increased life responsibilities came along it became less and less a priority as time progressed. That was until earlier this year when it dawned on me that I would be turning 25 soon and it was quite literally now or never and a few days later my application had been submitted.
Why did I choose the University of Leeds?
Returning to academia after 3 years in the industry was extremely daunting, however since joining the University of Leeds and getting to learn and interact with both my lecturers and coursemates has quelled most of my initial concerns. I chose the University of Leeds specifically for the programme. In the process of searching for a Masters course, I found it was rare that other universities explored all three areas (Communications, Marketing and PR) in detail, and I wanted to ensure that my foundational knowledge was foolproof. The lectures and seminars challenge me to think in new ways, my reading list is ever-growing and rewiring my brain to think academically again has been a process, but I wouldn’t change it for the world!
Life at Leeds looks a little different from what I have been used to the past few years. I’ve swapped client meetings for office hours, mornings tracking coverage in online magazines for evenings sifting through academic journals and busy event periods for weekends getting to explore Yorkshire and its surrounding areas. I especially appreciate how interconnected the entire marketing faculty at LUBS is meaning I get to regularly interact with students from different specialities, allowing me to build my network organically instead of mindlessly scrolling through LinkedIn.
I am certain that by this time next year, I’ll be looking back on this experience grateful that my personal fear of getting older pushed me to a place that most professionals tend to avoid and emboldened me to define success on my own terms.
By Yatta Feika — Corporate Communications, Marketing and Public Relations MA student
