SBS Blog > Do an MSc and hit the ground running by Fraser Graham

Do an MSc and hit the ground running

By Fraser Graham - Posted on 8 June 2022

Having graduated with an MSc in Digital Marketing Management, Fraser Graham is now Search Executive at digital transformation agency Equator. Fraser explains how the course enabled him to ‘hit the ground running’ in his new role.

I graduated from my undergraduate degree, a BA Hons in Business Management and Marketing from Heriot-Watt University, in June 2020. I knew I wanted a career in marketing, but at that time – at the height on the pandemic – jobs were few and far between, and it looked unlikely the situation was going to improve anytime soon. As a result, I decided to invest in further education, principally to improve my knowledge and skills so I became a more attractive candidate for recruiters. However, it also bought me more time away from the job market to give it a chance to recover. My hope was that by the time I graduated from my MSc the world would be in a much better place and there would be more opportunities.

It turned out to be a wise move. My undergraduate degree had been great at providing marketing theory, but the MSc in Digital Marketing Management at Strathclyde went one step further and backed up that knowledge by providing opportunities to put that into practice. It was this that really attracted me, knowing that this experience would make me more employable when the time came for me to enter the job market.

I had previously enjoyed work experience with Equator, an internship over the summer months in 2018. Partly due to this contact that I already had with the company, I was offered a role as a Search Executive in the marketing team and started the job two days a week in June 2021, while I was still finishing my MSc. After finishing my degree and handing in my dissertation, I was able to start full time with Equator in August 2021.

Taking the MSc at Strathclyde Business School has enabled me to ‘hit the ground running’ in my current role. I have needed far less explanation when tasked to deliver work, although the team at Equator are incredibly supportive, ready, and willing to help and are sure to explain the ‘why’ behind a job, not just the ‘what.’

While studying during the pandemic was not without its challenges, and all classes had to be taken online, given these constraints the course was excellent at providing an overview of the marketing mix, giving us an appreciation of off-line marketing techniques in addition to its main digital focus. We also benefited from hearing from experts within the field of digital marketing who lectured on the course. For example, various staff members from Equator were able to give us an insight into their world from a very practical point of view.

For any student considering the MSc in Digital Marketing Management, I would absolutely recommend doing the course, and I would also encourage you to do your own research alongside what you learn - with many elements of digital marketing, such as search engine optimisation (SEO), there is no one perfect answer, and different trains of thought are very much valued and appreciated.