Choice of Master’s and the job market

What does a Master’s get you?

A successfully completed Master’s degree programme provides proof to employers that you have academic and analytical capabilities, are able to conduct research independently and can report on it at an academic level. You learn how to examine, explore and potentially tackle complicated current or future problems from a range of different perspectives. This skill can also be applied in other employment settings.

Every degree programme has specific learning outcomes and exit qualifications that indicate what you will learn on the programme. For details, see the Teaching and Examination Regulations (OER) for the specific programme. 

Does your choice of a Master’s determine your future career?

This is not mostly the case. Each programme does, however, provide an outline of its corresponding career prospects. Most university graduates in the Netherlands will go on to do a job that is not directly related to their degree programme within five years of their graduation. Differences in terms of Research Master’s or regular Master’s programmes may potentially be relevant to your opportunities on the job market. If you are looking to pursue a doctorate, for example, in most cases a Research Master’s will be required.

For more in-depth articles about the relationship between choice of degree, choice of Master’s and the labour market, take a look at The Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA)External link.

All your experiences are relevant

Finding a suitable position at your level, and how quickly, rarely depends solely on your Master’s. All your previous experiences, whether that would be work experience, your extracurricular activities, the link between your interests and attributes or, last but not least, your job-hunting strategy, play a crucial role in finding the right job.

Getting oriented on the job market using vacancies

There are many ways to get oriented on the job market after your Master’s. The vacancies provided by the UvA Job boardExternal link, which is regularly updated, can help you get an idea of the current and visible job market. The Job board is only accessible to current students or former students up to two years after graduation. Other Master’s students will find LinkedIn Jobs or Indeed to be useful tools.

Getting oriented on the job market using alumni

One way to get oriented on the job market is to get in touch with alumni of the Master’s you are interested in taking to see what line of work they are in. LinkedInExternal link is the perfect tool to help you do that. You only need to create a profile to be able to use LinkedIn.