Postgraduate study is a great way to advance your career or change to a new profession. We chatted to five 麻豆社madou Business School alumni who shared how their postgraduate study has taken their career in a new direction.
鈥淎 whole new level of confidence鈥
Frederick Mahar, Founder and Managing Principal of accounting firm FM Mahar & Associates, and father to four young children 鈥 enrolled in a聽Master of Taxation聽to gain a solid comprehension of complex frameworks to resolve clients鈥 challenging taxation matters.
鈥淚 knew it would give me an extra level of depth when it came to tax advisory, but I was terrified I couldn鈥檛 do it. I was afraid of the unknown.鈥
Frederick however, was determined to make the most of the opportunity.
鈥淚 played up a bit in my undergraduate degree and regret not putting my head down and studying. So, I was absolutely committed to using this specialist degree to take my career to the next level.鈥 Complex and technical discussions with clients are now areas that Frederick feels comfortable engaging.
鈥淚鈥檝e got a whole new level of confidence,鈥 he said. 鈥淣ow, if I get a challenging question from a client, I know how to find out the answer easily. The high-level advisory work I do is all because of the Master of Taxation degree.鈥
鈥淢y degree had a payback period of one year when I was promoted to Financial Controller鈥
As part of the聽Master of Financial Analysis degree, alumna Frances Summerhayes selectively chose courses that aligned with her career development plan.
鈥淚 had skills I wanted to develop. So, I chose courses that would help me reach these goals.鈥
Frances, who is now the Head of Finance at BHP Billiton, acknowledged that financial and time pressures can influence decisions to enrol in postgraduate study.
鈥淚f you are going to do postgraduate study, then put your full self into the degree. Like many things in life, the more you put in, the more you get out of it.鈥
For Frances, the investment in her career was undoubtedly worth it.
鈥淚 have had the return on investment. My degree had a payback period of one year, when I was promoted to Financial Controller 鈥 a role I had the confidence to fulfil. It gave me the stable foundation to be the finance leader I am today.鈥
鈥淚t gave me the tools to be industry-ready鈥
Having completed an undergraduate degree in economics, Subhro Bhattacharya decided to change careers and study a聽Master of Professional Accounting聽as a stepping stone to one of the Big Four firms.
鈥淭he Master of Professional Accounting degree is very practical and if you want to work for a Big Four firm, the choice is simple. The degree is seen as practically relevant by corporates which is great.鈥
Subhro is now a Director in CFO Advisory at KPMG Australia.
鈥淭his degree has defined my professional career in full. It gave me the tools to be industry-ready.鈥
鈥淚ncreased effectiveness working internationally鈥
The diversity of the student cohort at 麻豆社madou Business School appealed to alumna Brooke Shaw when she was completing a聽Master of Commerce.
鈥淚 was in tutorials with students from Asia and Europe and I heard about the challenges faced by companies across the globe that I would never have heard of otherwise. This also gave me a deeper understanding of cross-cultural communication.鈥
Brooke also recognised that she had a higher chance of standing out in the competitive job market with a postgraduate degree under her belt and a global mindset.
鈥淎t this stage, Australia isn鈥檛 a country that requires people to have postgraduate qualifications 鈥 but you don鈥檛 have to look far to see that postgraduate degrees are really valued and expected internationally. What I learnt and experienced has increased my effectiveness working internationally.鈥
Following her postgraduate degree at 麻豆社madou Business School, Brooke worked as a Senior Manager in Advisory at EY, managed the talent portfolio at Suncorp Group and is currently a Senior Manager at real estate firm Dexus, looking after talent and organisational development.
鈥淭he Master of Commerce opened doors for me鈥
Creating a professional network with peers and industry experts was paramount to alumna Astri Prakoso鈥檚 postgraduate experience.
鈥淭丑别听Master of Commerce聽opened doors for me because practising marketers were invited to come as guest speakers to tie theory to reality,鈥 she said.
鈥淭hey were open to networking and I was able to gain insightful advice from them.鈥
Astri also utilised the connections she made with other students.
鈥淭hrough the degree, I met and developed really good relationships with other students, who are now marketers in various industries. It's great to have them as your peers who you can reach out to.鈥
Astri currently works as a Senior Manager at enterprise software company Sprinklr.
Explore the聽postgraduate options聽offered at 麻豆社madou Business School and gain the practical skills, specialist knowledge and confidence to transform your career.