SBS Blog > MSc is springboard to digital marketing career by Lewis Clennan

MSc is springboard to digital marketing career

By Lewis Clennan - Posted on 3 August 2023

Lewis Clennan has completed the MSc in Digital Marketing Management and decided to embark on the course as a springboard for his dream Marketing career. Here, he shares his insights into the programme.

Before studying my MSc, I was in a bit of a career slump. I had worked hard during my undergraduate degree and graduated in 2020…directly into the pandemic and competitive job market.

I had a few marketing jobs, but they were all on short-term contracts, so I ended up working in call centres. This master’s degree was a way for me to get back to my career goals in marketing.

What drew me to MSc Digital Marketing Management was the course itself. I studied marketing in my undergraduate degree, and I wanted to gain skills in digital marketing as it was the thing I kept seeing repeatedly when I was applying for jobs. I had worked in a few social media jobs but just lacked the confidence in other areas of digital marketing – so it seemed like the ideal course. I also knew of the University of Strathclyde’s reputation as one the best business schools for Marketing in the United Kingdom so I knew the course would be filled with contemporary and well-taught classes.

The classes on MSc Digital Marketing Management have been practical, offering hands-on practice of tools you would use in the industry. I’ve recently started a job in a marketing agency and in the interview I was able to talk about my knowledge of using different tools and systems I had used on this course.

Some stand out classes included a class in semester one where we had to conduct real research into the creation of an app. It was useful not just to learn about research methods but put them into practice and use them for us. The second semester we had a module where a digital marketing agency came out and taught us about different e-marketing tactics and how they used them. It was insightful to hear directly how digital marketers are currently working and what lessons they had learned.

The environment within the business school is really encouraging and supportive. I had been away from university for a couple of years and honestly, I was so nervous to go back. I thought I had totally forgotten all the basics – how to write an essay, how to reference, how to take notes for a lecture - but the class co-ordinators were great at uploading content onto MyPlace (the University intranet portal) so it felt like I could learn at my own pace. I also have a neurodiversity and found it really easy to get the support I needed from both the business school and the student support team as well.

Right now I currently work for a digital marketing agency in the centre of Glasgow. I remember when I was graduating from my undergraduate programme years ago I would have died to be able to say that; now though, I think it’s just the beginning. The course was my introduction to some marketing tactics – like SEO - which is now something I specialise in within my job. I hope to use all the fundamentals that I have learned from this course to be able to keep progressing my career.

I won’t be the first to have said this, but Glasgow really is such a special city to live in. There is always something going on and there’s a vibe to the city that is unmatched. Yes, the weather isn’t always great, but it doesn’t matter when you’re in the city centre and everything is so close-by. The University is so close to loads of little cafes and bars to study in or meet up with friends. It’s easy to get to by bus or train if your accommodation ends up being outside the city centre.

 My biggest advice would be to know for certain that this is the course you want to do, and if it is, fully commit to it. My experience here has been great but that’s because I was sure I wanted to do this course. There was no second or back-up option. Doing any degree is a big commitment so I think it’s important to get all the facts and know that this course is what you want to do for a whole year. If you do it, I’m sure you’ll have a great experience. Enjoy it and put in as much effort as you can. It’s probably the biggest cliché, but you really will get out of the course what you put in. So do your best, have fun and work hard and I’m sure you’ll have an excellent time on this course.