Lucy Müller completed her bachelor’s degree in Media and Creative Industries Management in 2015 at accadis. She always had an affection for Dublin, therefore it was not necessary to convince her of doing a master’s in the beautiful green country of Ireland. In the following interview she will narrate her experiences with her master’s in International Management and about the life in Ireland.
What was your intention in doing your master’s at a university in a foreign country?
I did my master’s mainly because I felt like I was stuck in a niche and needed to rebrand myself. What I had done before was very specialized on one particular industry: film. Although I had a business degree and always worked in a business-type of role, none of my applications outside the film-universe were even close to being successful. I decided that if I was going to go back to university, I might as well do it in a foreign country and get not only a higher qualification, but also the sought after an “experience abroad” added to my CV.
Why did you choose this country, this university, this course?
For rather trivial reasons if I am being honest: I always had an affection for Dublin as a city; and I had visited Trinity College during my final year trip in secondary school and fell in love with the campus and the idea of studying there myself. Besides this, I obviously also took into consideration that both the university in general and the course I was taking in particular have an excellent reputation, with the International Management Master’s being ranked 5th in Western Europe. Another factor that came into play was the duration of the studies - other than in Germany, a master’s degree in Ireland and the UK only takes one year.
Do you think that accadis prepared you well for a master abroad?
Yes, certainly. A lot of the modules that were vital for my master’s had been part of my studies at accadis as well. Especially the economics, international management and marketing modules had proven to be very helpful during the course of my studies.
What are your plans once you have finished your masters degree?
I already finished my master’s in September 2017 and decided to stay in Dublin for a while to get some work experience abroad. I got various job offers during and after my studies. For instance, I applied to all of the big four consulting companies and progressed through the interview process with each of them except one. This was a major success compared to my rather frustrating experience prior to getting my master’s degree. In the end, I opted for a job in tech and am now working for LinkedIn as a Regional Account Manager.
What is the best part of doing a master abroad?
As cliché as it sounds, I would say it is the people. The year I spent at Trinity was hands down one of the best experiences of my life so far. Although it was very tough and demanding, I made a lot of precious connections, broadened my network and my horizon, and of course also improved my language skills significantly. I would say everyone should spend some time abroad at some point in their life, because it is so far away from the comfort zone, that they will inevitably grow massively through this experience. I guess it really shapes the character!
Is the application process very complicated?
That probably depends on the university, so I can only speak for Trinity. It was not complicated per se, but it required a lot of time and I needed to get academic references. I was very grateful for the support I got from my accadis professors in this regard!
Did you have difficulties in finding an apartment?
That is a clear yes! The housing situation in Dublin is terrible, with rent prices being higher than in London by now. A few fellow students secured places in nice and very modern student accomodations in the form of shared apartments, so this option exists, it is probably just a matter of timing and mostly budget.
All in all: Would you do a master’s abroad again?
Yes! The experience I had was one of the best and most formative experiences I had so far and I would recommend it to everyone!
Thank you again Lucy for sharing your thoughts and experiences!