Shift gears with postgraduate study

Further study is a huge life commitment. Further study overseas? It's the opportunity of a lifetime. 

_{When Lucas Lee travelled to Australia 11 years ago to continue his studies with a Master of Commerce at UNSW Sydney, it wasn't just the natural next step in his career. It was also the first step in a brand new journey that transformed his personal and professional life.} 

Feel empowered to expand your horizons 

For Lucas, his Master of Commerce was fundamental to enhancing his skills in sales and marketing. As a postgraduate student, you’ll learn tangible job skills that will help you rise to your career ambitions, as well as how to approach and lead challenges with curiosity and confidence – making you an expert in your field. You’ll also learn the deeper critical thinking skills that Lucas has carried with him throughout his career, and through to his personal life.  

“In a master’s degree you learn deeper thinking – like critical thinking – because you need to think critically to gain the insight [into the] good and bad thing about the decision you make,” he says.

Lucas has used the decision-making skills he learned during his time at UNSW to critically reflect on his problem-solving in the workplace, ensuring he is always striving to improve. In doing so, Lucas empowered himself to take ownership of his career journey.

"It's a treasure hunt, you plan your own journey, and you take as much risk as you can.”

Part of this treasure hunt saw him hit gold - when he connected with UNSW’s huge student and alumni network. While he may have been in a new country, being surrounded by like-minded individuals inspired Lucas to push himself even further to reach new career ambitions. 

“In my course in UNSW, I had a chance to meet a lot of talents there and when you meet a lot of talents you get a spark. You have chemistry when you work with them, when you study with them, when you run a project with them; that’s a good thing about studying abroad.”

Whether it's through classwork, industry projects or student-led societies and recreational activities, the relationships you build at UNSW will stay with you for life. And, with a global alumni network that spans over 140 countries, you’ll build a professional network that inspires you throughout your degree and beyond. As Lucas says, it just takes a spark. 

Your next step

New skills and a valuable network aren’t the only things to gain from a postgraduate degree. For many, it's an opportunity to make a tangible change in their life and career to discover their real potential.  

As an international student from Taiwan, Lucas’s decision to choose further study at UNSW Sydney was the start of a "totally new journey in Australia”.  

“If I didn't do my postgraduate degree, I think I [would] probably still stay in Taiwan,” he says.  

Far from home, Lucas was expanding his horizons in a new country and in his career. His studies were the launchpad for a myriad of exciting opportunities that allowed him to “shift the gears” in both his professional and personal life. From his Master of Commerce to his current role as a digital sales representative at Microsoft, it’s been an experience that will stay with him forever.