Lauren Heney was unsure what career she wanted to purse until her third year at university. After some research she did a MA in Human Resource Management. She tells us about finding her career passion.
Name: Lauren Heney
Course: MA in Human Resource Management
College: Dublin Business School
Deciding on a university course
When I filling out my CAO form in 6th year at school I was not sure of what career path I wanted to take. I decided that the best option would be to go for an arts degree in Maynooth. I decided to study my favourite subjects from second level: Music and Geography. This would result in becoming degree-qualified and gaining transferable skills simultaneously.
Thinking about a career
Towards the end of my three-year degree, I started to think about what path to take. Although I had really enjoyed my BA degree and had been interested in the course-work, I didn’t see a career in teaching. Nor did I want to direct my career towards one of the subjects I had studied. I decided to continue with my education by gaining a qualification in an area relating to my long-term career path. After a bit of research I decided on the areas of PR, marketing and HR. Encouraged by my family, I decided to undertake a week’s work experience during a term break from college. This was in the recruitment and selection division of the HR offices of an Irish financial institution.
It was here where I decided that HR was for me. I loved going in each day and working in the team. No day was the same as the next and I learnt so much. All in the space of a week!
Doing the MA in Human Resource Management
The following September I started in DBS to study for a MA in Human Resource Management. Initially I was apprehensive. I didn’t know of I would be able to keep up with absolutely no business or HR knowledge from my previous third level education. However, I soon got down to studying. Although at times it was challenging, everything was taught. The course started from the basics and moved up to the more complex details. There was also an emphasis on case studies and applying theoretical knowledge to real-life situations.
The class size for the Masters was significantly smaller than my undergraduate degree. As a result, there was more time to go over any issues the class was having and to look at particular subjects that interested the class, in addition to HR related topics that were in the news at the time. It also meant that we all got to know each other much better. We helped each other out during our studies as we got to know each person’s strengths and weaknesses.
Undertaking the Masters was vital for me in order to direct my career in a particular direction. The challenge was a truly worthwhile experience that enabled me to accomplish this.
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