By Andy Pacino

Once upon a time, if you had a Bachelors degree under your belt you could almost guarantee that you were a step ahead of the rest, but as we’ve moved on, and as education has become so accessible to more people, this is no longer the case. You need your degree, your internship experience, your knowledge and your interview technique. Even with all those attributes, if you find yourself in a position where you want to progress, you’re going to need more.

I’d like to take you back a few years to when I was the Site Director of an English programme in Saudi Arabia. I’d been doing the job for a couple of years and my staff were happy, the HoD was happy, the college results were good and ever improving, and best of all, our attendance was the highest among the colleges under our umbrella. Then, one day I got a call from my boss. It was nothing unusual, just the weekly chat about how things were and he signed off the conversation by telling me the new company policy was to only hire Site Directors who had Masters degrees. As I had a Bachelors, it meant I was going to be either fired or demoted. I was no longer qualified for the position I’d been doing very well (his words) for two years, and had spent a year prior to that training to get the role.

There are a lot of reasons to get extra qualifications and certificates, mine was to keep hold of the position I had already earned. Having said that, when I did my Masters (TESOL) I learned so much more than I already knew that it helped my management skills, my teacher training methods, and my all round knowledge of the subject widened. There are no two ways about it, it helped. What’s more is that there is a present drive within companies to hire the best qualified people for higher management roles, and if you want to get ahead of the rest and be considered for such, a Bachelors degree is no longer enough. Taking a Masters is a step towards moving up the next rung of your career ladder.

There are plenty of universities in Dubai that offer a number of Master degrees, and I am certain one of them could help you get ahead in your field. If you have any questions, give us a shout and we’ll point you in the right direction for the best Master degree options.