Hi, thanks for your reply! I have seen a number of courses that I am interested in at the University of Sussex and was there yesterday for an open day. I studied Business Studies and within that did modules on International Business Economics (which touched upon classical economics and political economy) and another Economics module. Whilst I didn't love the other business modules the political economy stuff really inspired me and made me wish I had done a more specific course. But the courses I'm looking at include Anthropology, Human Rights and Globalisation, Ethnics and Culture, so they're not necessarily directly linked to what I found interesting on my BA course. I got a first in my degree but I am aware that to stick my head out above the others (I've read that 50% of our generation have a degree, 12.5% of which have a business degree!) a Masters degree would help. My reasons therefore would include studying as a hobby because I love learning, furthering my education and sticking my head out from the crowd a bit more, and to delay making a big decision on my life! Another idea is that a Masters could point me in the right direction in terms of career or jobs. I wouldn't like to go into a research degree, PhD/DPhil etc.

I graduated last summer and have spent a year saving and travelling. I'm now in the position where I want to do something more constructive, but I don't know what to do. I don't know what I want to work with when the time comes so I find the idea of getting a job daunting. So I thought I'd look into doing a Masters degree. But I wonder if I'm doing it for the right reasons? It would nicely delay that Big Decision on my life by another 12 months, but I wouldn't be doing it to help me out in my chosen career (because I don't know what that 'career' might be). I get the impression that people who do postgrad studies know where they want to go and how the postgrad course will get them there...

I'd love to hear from others on why they went on to do postgrad studies and any advice from those who did a Masters because it is the natural next step in education.