Hello,
I’m junior marketing professional with a couple of years under my belt in financial services. My goal is to work in a top creative agency or as a marketing director in a gallery or museum. I have decided against a MSc in Marketing /Management due to the high cost and belief that my heart should be in it if I choose to spend that much money, time and energy studying.
A bit of background on me –
I went to college on a government grant (help from family not an option) and graduated in 2013 with a BA Honours degree in Public Relations from a small college, which was a close as I could get at the time to my ideal education– an English / History / Arts based BA Hons from a university. I found it very difficult to find a job after graduation (like most people) and can only now afford to support myself and postgrad study.
Question: Is there any point in doing an MA in Literature or Art History at this stage? Or is it just a waste of time?
I’m usually a practical person but I can’t really see the woods for the trees on this one. I’m not sure if I’m chasing something here that I wish I could have had or if a MA will genuinely help me become a better writer, give me an advantage over another applicant who just has a BA or give me an edge in creative industries (as so many of them have this background).
Appreciate any advice you can give.

I can't speak directly about being a marketing director at a gallery but I can from an employer perspective. Will an MA/MSc give you an advantage over someone with 'just' a BA? Purely from a cv v cv perspective, maybe and I mean a very slim maybe. What would give you an advantage is you learning from your MA/MSc and taking that with you to your next role, your subject being relevant and you having the ability to utilise it.
If your career was in academia then qualifications are a must i.e. a pre-requisite of a PhD etc in business? There is a minimum (usually) and then the rest will come down to your ability in the interview (and subsequently in the job). I have seen the question "will soandso qualification help me get a job?" - not if that's all you rely on!

Good luck.

Hi. I have a perspective on this.

Years ago now, I worked in marketing / PR with a plain old BA in English. I got in through a little bit of voluntary work, and turning a temp job into something permanent. I found that people without a specific marketing degree often did a professional qualificatiion - Chartered Instititue of Marketing, CAM foundation, CIPR etc. Because my role was public sector, and lots of dealing with the press / stakes holder communications, my employer paid for me to do the CiPR qualification. but you already have a PR degree, I'd say that should do. It just ticks a box. Marketing is such a fast moving field, with digital and mobile etc (when I did it, twitter wasn't even a thing...) you'd be better making an effort to stay abreast of stuff like that in your spare time than any course. Find a local charity, do some pro bono work setting up a blog or social media campaign, something like that.

A masters is a lot to spend in both time and money and honestly, employers are often not that wowed by them, especially non-vocational ones and would rather have experience. I wouldn't imagine that dong one would automatically make someone a better writer in the way you're hoping for. I did become a better writer doing mine, but only a better academic writer and honestly, that means very little in marketing. Customers tend to like the snappier end of the spectrum! Remember marketing is very results orientated. Someone with no qualifications but who gets results will get a job over someone with all the qualifications but no results.

I hope that helps. I'll qualify all this by saying I left marketing a long time ago for something totally different - didn't float my boat in the end, but that's just me, many people love it - but I think it all still stands!