Hi guys,

New to this forum but have to say it is wonderful. Wish I had found it sooner.

I am currently sitting here and my head is going round in circles concerning my dilemma.

I have just finished my PG Dip in Urban Design at Strathclyde Uni and have loved every minute of it. Have just started dissertation and have only 2 months or so to get it done. To make matters worse my advisors are away for just over a month (although still contactable by e-mail). The advice I am looking for is whether the to leave with just my PG Dip.

In the field I am going into (Planning) I already have an accredited MA(Hons) degree and was just undertaking the Urban Design course due to my interest and to add to my bag of skills. To work in planning the MSc is not required and most people I know in the sector left with diplomas. I have spoken to a few people in the field of Urban Design and they recommend to leave as the MSc would only really be necessary if I was pursuing an academic route.

I may have a couple of opportunities to get some work experience in London over the summer months too which I am very keen to take up as the firms that I may be working with are exceptional firms who if the chance does come along I cannot turn them down. This would add even more workload to an already ridiculously tight schedule and I have always considered work experience to be the most valuable thing.

What are everyone's thoughts on this as I think I want to leave and want to make sure that I do not make a mistake. I also feel that the topic I am looking at for my dissertation has been changed since my original proposal and now no longer interests me.

Thanks for any help, it would be greatly appreciated.

G

Hi GToon84,

Can't really offer advice in terms of your specific area but I will say that if you are thinking that academia might be something that you are interested in pursuing a few years down the track then completing the MSc dissertation now would make that pathway easier later on.

My experience is it is never too late to go back and do things or redo things, but once you enter the professional workforce (which is great-not making a judgement either way here-meaning I am NOT saying that academic is better than professional OR that professional is better than academia-both are good) - anyway to get back to my point...

once you do enter the full-time professional workforce, doing proper research part-time while you continue to work as a professional is quite a challenge. It certainly can be done but it takes a lot of energy. So if you think that you really wouldn't want ever to go the academic pathway, then the diploma sounds really good-but if you think you might like to do that Phd later on, then a couple of months of sweating over your dissertation now, might save you years of part-time research while you work later on...if this makes any sense. However, this is just once perspective on it...cheers and good luck

I would echo what has already been said. There is an assumption that a DGDip is a failed MSs (a bit like the assumption that an MPhil is a failed PhD) - yes you can explain it away but you might not get the chance - short listing decisions are often made by HR peopel who don't understand the comparablity of qualifications. I woudl stick with it. (I was in a similar position when I did my MSc - due to personal problems I didn't know whether I could get my dissertation done and as I already had an MA (with distinction) I contemplated taking the PGDip but my supervisor counselled me against it and I am glad I did as I got another distinction)