“Surely any old Masters will do? After all, any Masters proves I’m fit to assume my rightful place amongst the top echelons of management, right?” Well, actually, not really.

It’s perfectly true that the basics of almost all Masters degrees are very similar. Undertaking a Masters should provide a participant with a set of disciplines, thought processes and leadership skills which will take them a long way. As a result of the course, they should have a greater understanding of risk, an internationality of outlook, an understanding of the applications of technology and the importance of relevant innovation, and, especially important in the globalised twenty first century, the ability to work with others across cultural divides. Yet this is no longer totally sufficient.

The point is that, whilst Masters degrees aren’t exactly two a penny, they are becoming more common, and therefore the possessor of what we might call a generic Masters degree is no longer differentiated from his or her peers in quite such an absolute manner. Market trends bear this out – the numbers seeking the generic qualification have stuttered, those applying for “specialist” MBAs have grown dramatically. Perhaps most importantly, employers, faced with a number of equally highly qualified candidates, are increasingly looking for relevance.

Marketing is a good case in point. As a discipline, it has evolved from a set of simple propositions essentially revolving around the profitable satisfaction of consumer needs into a science with a huge body of theory, research and practice underpinning its processes. The in depth knowledge and highly relevant case studies and collaborative projects provided by a specialist Masters in Marketing are clearly going to more fully equip a potential employee for a senior marketing career than the more generalised content of the generic product.

Of course, this is also especially true for the major multi national communications giants – the Interpublics, WPPs and Omnicoms of this world. Not only do they have to hire the brightest and the best across the board (their business is, after all, about adding value) but their clients, usually highly experienced marketing people themselves, need partners whose depth of practical and theoretical knowledge matches and preferably exceeds their own – people in other words who actually can both talk the talk, as well as walking the walk, who can convince as well as do.

For these behemoths, finding the right person with the right Masters is essential to their future success.”

Martin Bojam
Deputy Chairman JWT (Specialised Communications)