More and more students decide to study a master’s degree abroad. While studying in a foreign country sounds attractive to a lot of people, there are several reasons why this is a great way to grow personally and professionally. Studying in a foreign country is attracting more and more interest, not least of which is that it is a great way to grow both personally and professionally.
1. Learning a new language and understanding a new culture
Studying abroad is among the fastest and most efficient ways to learn a new language. By being surrounded by people who speak the local language, you are constantly exposed to situations that help you improve your language skills. On top of that, many of your fellow students have the same goal of learning the local language, which creates a positive learning environment.
Fully understanding people from a foreign country goes beyond speaking their language. By studying abroad, you also get to understand a new culture.
During your masters, you will have the opportunity to meet students from many different nationalities and backgrounds. This is an invaluable experience that you can only learn firsthand.
A better understanding of different cultures is the first step to becoming a global citizen and a great team player.
2. Becoming more independent
Making the decision to study in a foreign country is a great act of courage. It’s stepping out of your comfort zone, leaving your hometown, and saying goodbye to your friends and family. The decision empowers you to become a more independent and self-reliant person.
Companies are increasingly looking for profiles with strong soft skills such as these. In addition to the hard skills that you learn during your master’s degree, going abroad helps you to develop many essential soft skills. Becoming more independent also makes you a better candidate for remote work opportunities.
3. Becoming more open & adaptable
There are two more soft skills that every person who has studied overseas masters: openness and adaptability. Indeed, as mentioned earlier, studying in a foreign country requires you to adapt to your new environment, and to make an effort to understand others. Every day, you become more accustomed to the local culture and, by doing so, you become a more open person.
This experience is the perfect playground to build the resilience, the openness, and the adaptability that you will need in this changing world.
4. Enriching your CV
Another great reason to study a masters overseas is to enrich your CV. There is no doubt that working and studying abroad makes your CV more attractive to employers. It shows them that you were courageous enough to leave your comfort zone. That you had the opportunity to work on group projects with people from different cultures. That you have lived in uncertainty during one or several semesters.
On top of that, adding your international experience to your CV will instantly show that you have the skills mentioned above: independence, openness, and adaptability. No wonder why international profiles are so in-demand.
5. Building a new professional network
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. More than making your CV attractive, studying abroad will enhance your career opportunities by extending your professional network.
During your master’s degree, you’ll have many opportunities to start building your professional network. Job fairs and company visits, organized by the career services, are a great way to get exposed to highly competent professionals.
If, on top of that, you decide to do your work placements abroad, you’ll be able to build an even wider professional network.
To make the most of your master’s degree, get fully involved in the group projects, job fairs and networking events organised by the school and by the student associations.
6. Getting a job overseas
With an attractive CV, strong hard and soft skills, and a global professional network that you can reach out to, getting a job or an internship overseas is much easier after having studied in a foreign country.
In fact, you will be more likely to find an internship in a specific country if you are already there. You can check out your school’s career services and they’ll be happy to put you in contact with local companies.
Ready to study abroad?
As we’ve seen, studying a master’s degree overseas is one of the best ways to kick-start your career. If you’re looking for a programme that will allow you to study one or various semesters in a foreign country, ESCP has one- to two-year masters programmes that will help you do just that. During the courses, you can choose to study in one or several of ESCP’s six European campuses. Find out more about the choices in the following link -> ESCP – Master programmes
