Thread by @ViktorKubowski

So, I recently came across an extremely well articulated thread by @Phoonke suggesting that it was, in her opinion, not very useful for freshly minted university graduates to immediately embark on a masters degree, post-graduation. I completely agree!

A thread!

Let me start by somewhat telling a bit of my own story...

By the time I was close to graduating from Unilag with a degree in Engr. (Met & Mat), I was fairly sure I didn’t want to continue along the same path. This was primarily due to 2 distinct, albeit interwoven, factors:

(i) the fortunes of our family business and (ii) my relatively brief stint as an intern at Shell Nigeria.

I had watched my dad struggle to grow his engineering franchise all through my teenage years but couldn’t place a finger as to why. However, it wasn't until I joined Shell Nigeria's Western operations (Warri), during my 6-month Industrial Training, that I began to see road.

My involvement in the planning and execution of both routine and reactive maintenance activities yielded greater insight. The near seamless interplay between project economics and engineering resonated quite strongly with me.

So, you see... I had done courses on Materials Science & Corrosion, and was quite knowledgeable about these, or so I thought. But you see, certain things happen to test the depth of your grasp of theoretical concepts & bring things into sharp contrast.

I had this boss (Mr. Chris B) who sat me down one day to ask what I thought was the best method of preventing corrosion to company assets (pipelines, pressure vessels et al) at a flow station where some routine maintenance work was underway: anodic or cathodic protection?

I sha rattled off... yada yada yada. Uncle just comot one material (not quite a book, but a li'l more than an academic paper) issued at a short course he attended at a Shell partner university in the UK. Baba open the thing begin share deeper insights into things I thought I knew

Bottom line, this was a man who as far as I could tell, had no degree beyond his WAEC with which he'd joined the Nigerian police force (yes, olopa) in a former life, teaching me things that a combination of theory and experience gave him.

That, ladies and gentlemen, was my 1st light bulb moment!

Suffice to say, I hopped around a bit (3 departmental changes within that 6 months stint) in order to maximize the learning opportunity. Did I forget to state that my choice of Warri was just to get close to the action?

Anyway, IT came to an end... so, it was back to vanity fair, my favourite term for Unilag, at the time.

Then came another incident, not so long after, that also opened me up to a change of heart. This was a chat with a friend and later roommate regarding a recruitment test we

were shortlisted to write. His dad had worked and retired from this global oil servicing giant, highly regarded 4 paying armed robber salaries. The thing was, most recruits were typically seen to cycle out of the system in 5 years, burnt out by the impossible demands of the job.

What differentiated the guys who made it past year 5 into more senior roles and those that fell away on or before that mythical threshold? Alas, it was down to what they could do/get done. Skills, ladies and gentlemen!

So, per popsie's engineering business... I figured that a dearth of requisite finance skills and limited recourse to rich management experience were perhaps, the two critical factors that undermined what may have otherwise proven to be an extremely rewarding enterprise.

You see, I was on the verge of graduating with an engr degree into a market that was really only soaking up graduates into commercial banking & telecoms at the time. I was interested in advanced materials and their useful application in areas such as medicine, aviation & maritime

Knowing that I didn't really didn't have the skills for telecoms, wanted absolutely nothing to do with commercial banking meant that I actively considered heading abroad. Perhaps, if I got a masters in advance materials, I could either move into biomedical or aerospace engr.

I hit the web (those were the days of cybercafes throttling dial-up internet) in search of ideal locations for both my preferred area of study and potential for financially rewarding and career fulfilling work. Europe > Germany > [insert a few schools & potential employers]...

I also thought of the UK (easier transition I reckoned) due to english language skills, certain cultural affinity, etc...

Na so I begin fire applications.

But something happened right then...

Top 2 preferences in both UK & Germany returned with "We regret to inform you..."

With these, I turned my attention back inwards.

So, if I couldn't do banking or telecoms, what then could I do? I spoke with a much older man then who asked if I'd heard about management consulting. Alas, time for some more research.

I checked and found that the top 4 firms

...were an ideal place to start.

So, I honed in on the top 2 initially, with 1 of them more preferred for its rather quick/short selection process. & luckily, I got in.

I think that was one of the best things that happened to me. Now here comes the koko...

This particular firm essentially asked you at the very beginning (interview stage) what kind of career you wanted to build. If you wanted to rise to the top (attain Partner) or transition into industry somewhere along the way. I recall laying out my interests/intentions...

& ultimately found that it was documented and made a reference point as I progressed.

The structure was extremely supportive, with a counsellor (life coach) and many career coaches assigned to ensure my professional development. This ultimately proved invaluable, & I'll explain

One of the requirements (a perk, perhaps) of the job was the support provided by the firm to enable staff obtain professional charter in accounting. Paid tuition, free books, exams fees and time-off (excluding annual leave) for you to just sit and pass exams. Wawuu...

Great as this was though, I sha just trudged along, mostly because I wasn't feeling it mehn. I eventually abandoned it cos I just fitn't do'ed it any longer. I didn't feel I was learning cos all I was just crashing the exams and passing by using cheats (use of past Questns, etc)

At the time I decided to leave the firm for another some 3 years since joining (precisely as I'd planned), I had a long chat with my counsellor about this issue.

Do I continue with the exams since I wasn't learning, didn't think I'd need the charter for where I was headed, etc?

This was how he broke it down for me:

The way their career map was designed, you were expected to spend the initial part (typically 1st 5 years) of your career drilling roots, the foundation of your career, or else you won't have staying power. The 1st 2-3 years was 4 building

deep, relevant, industry specific/technical skills, knowledge and attributes for your chosen profession, and the next 2-3 years layering managerial & leadership capacity on top of those tech SK&As.

& me, I was like hmmmmm....

Recall: I was an engr grad building a career in finance...

So, I then asked... when should be the best time to head out for further studies/an advanced degree and which precisely, would be most ideal for me?

Again, he laid out options. I could decide on the CFA, go do an MBA..

...or perhaps, just do an MSc in Finance.

But that the choice would depend on what area of finance I wanted to further pursue... Investment Banking, Private Equity, Investment Management/Research, Consulting or Financial &/or Operations management.

...And, that it would also depend on which geographies I would like to work.

Gengen... see complexity!

Anyway, I sha determined I'd wait another 3-4 years before actively considering my options. In hindsight, that was fortuitous!

I had a couple of bosses in my new gig... one was a medical doctor that sha just dropped his stethoscope + MBBS and jumped headlong into banking and finance. Never looked back one bit. Interestingly, he had no other qualification beyond his MBBS yet, he's held key roles across

leading institutions, from Commercial Banking, to Professional services, Investment Banking, Private Equity & Principal Investments...

Another, was a leading City Investment Banker, again with leading bulge bracket firms, 2 top 4 firms, and ultimately now an entrepreneur.

The koko of the gist was that I must aspire to the top programs &/or certifications, given my trajectory and emerging profile... & that for this to happen, I would have to have a minimum number of years of relevant, cognate work experience under my belt.

If my sights were set on running a business someday, an MBA would be most ideal. If however, I was more drawn towards sell/buy side research or investment management (PE/VC/PI/Family Office/Pensions/Infrastructure Funds, etc), then the CFA &/or Master in Finance would be more apt

If I thought a Finance Director/CFO role was more in line with my strengths/traits, then it would be useful to go back and finish that accounting charter that I had earlier abandoned... plus of course, topping that with an MSc.

I eventually decided on the MBA as the preferred option, considering my long term interests, and then went on to obtain one at one of the world's top B-School, @IEbusiness. That experience remains perhaps the most transformational things I've done, other than marrying my wife!

It was clear to me, during the entire application and interviewing process, that it was very extremely unlikely, if not simply impossible, to gain admission into any one of the worlds top (Ivy League) advanced programs - MBA, MSc Finance, MSc Fin & Mgmt - without at least 4-6yrs

Having made it into one such program, it became even more obvious why that was the case. The whole point of a masters degree was to aggregate high caliber candidates with a wide variety of professional expertise &/or work experience, geographical (nationality) spread, languages..

Thus, it is a lot about what value your candidature brings to the quality of the cohorts & the program, based on your work experience across industry(ies) and living country(ies)/geography(ies). This ensures you get as much as you give, enriching the overall experience for all...

Rushing off to a masters therefore, immediately after your undergraduate studies might be beneficial, but may not be expedient. You really can not demand or expect to command a premium on remuneration, simply on the basis of having written another thesis/dissertation.

I think, given what I know of most folks within my network and circle, that arguing in favour of immediate MSc is rather moot.

If the question however is really one of how to effectively differentiate yourself in a packed, or should I say choked, playing field in order to land

...a job or role, I think there are more useful/practical ways of doing so.

You have to invest time, intellect & physical resources (cash/energy) in order to gain even the most basic understanding of the sector/industry & its key operators. It often does sound cliche & maybe

exploitative even but offering to work for nothing/next to nothing almost always indicates a certain desire, a hunger, drive, passion that most progressive, merit-driven, and forward-looking companies look for. I tell you, it's difficult to overlook such candidates.

In the final analysis though, YOUR career is really YOUR choice. This, is still only just my opinion.

Last, last, DO YOU!

...Thread, The End!