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If you get a masters you’ll be lucky to be taken to lunch to celebrate. On the job experience is what’s most valuable now…
As someone with a masters I agree 10000%. The other day my boss was like oh, you have a masters?
The best advice is for try to get on pieces of business that work on CSR or DEI client programs. Find agencies that specialize in this and shift so you can get into those agencies and ultimately that client work. Also, DEI and CSR are not always under the same practice. Do you have an interest in one over the other? I currently work in DEI and happy to answer any questions you have. Mirroring what others have said, an advanced degree in PR won’t do anything for you.
sorry for the late reply. thank you so much! And yes, I would love to send you a few questions!
An advanced degree in comms/PR would be great to build a strong network, mentors - and get a long-term leg up in your career.. Particularly if you’re in-house, but I don’t see the benefit as much for agency roles (or that as a means to get into csr and d&i comms). If you’re already 5 years in, get some relevant comms experience on your belt and that’ll make you more appealing for those avenues.
Echoing others… it really won’t make much difference. If you really want a grad degree (I come from a family of advanced degree holders so I get it if so) then either do it as a night course or get something like an MBA or other broadly applicable degree. Something like an MPP could also be useful for CSR or DEI.
That said, as others mentioned it’s easier to just look directly for roles that can get you into that space. I currently do a ton in both areas and it came from 1) my having a background in crisis / strategic comms and in advocacy and 2) my clients increasingly placing emphasis / budget on those areas, and asking us in turn to give more time and energy to them.
If you're dead set on a master's, go for an MBA and transition out of Comms.
Agree, only advanced degree I'd recommend in this field is an MBA, and that's only needed for some in-house roles, mostly marketing not comms. In comms, experience is king.
Don’t waste your time on a masters for in house comms or PR agency; where it might help / be recognized as a benefit is if you target an environmentally-based masters program and shift into sustainability consulting (eg look up backgrounds of folks who work at BSR, RLI, FrameworkESG, etc) .
You could consider targeting an MBA as well, but that will aid more with in house recognition by the business.
Best comms CSR/ESG and DEI leverage will come from working on dedicated projects under these focus areas.
(Source: previously at a large agency and have worked in house for two US-based multinationals in different industries)
Something else to look into is a certificate from a good accredited university in the field(s) that you are interested in. A lot more prestigious colleges are offering these now especially after COVID.