Is a Masters in Digital Marketing worth it? A leading content strategist gives his advice on the return of investment on studying a higher level qualification

What is the ROI from completing an MSc in Digital Marketing?

Many doors opened up with the MSc in Digital Marketing

For me, the MSc in Digital Marketing has a double-sided benefit. Firstly, I can give you evidence that shows that the investment into the MSc has paid back many, many fold. Completing the degree opened up many doors for me, I have been able to complete client projects and tasks that I definitely would not have been able to do otherwise. Therefore, it was worth doing in the kind of financial sense.

Powerful relationships built

Personally, the second major benefit of the MSc for me was the kind of relationships that I’ve made, and the people that I have come into contact with that I would not have otherwise come across. They just wouldn’t have been in my sphere of contact. I’ve now had the pleasure of teaching these successful students undertaking the MSc, which I would not otherwise have done. So for me, it’s a many-sided sort of benefit. It’s not just the money.

Where the MSc took myself and other Graduates

“It was the start of their journey”

Everybody who graduated, it wasn’t the end of their journey. It was the start of their journey. They’ve all gone on to other things because of the MSc qualification. The cohort that I completed on the MSc was in 2013, and quite a number of people that finished with me I’m still very close to, and they’ve gone on to do some amazing things. Many of them have gone on to really take big steps forward in their digital careers. Some have moved on to CMO roles, others starting a digital training agency.

“I’m probably the black sheep”

Then there’s me, I’m probably the black sheep, that has used it to actually move into a different kind of marketing consultancy. In terms of my experience of the course, it was a real pivot for me, because my experience prior to completing the MSc was in traditional marketing. This qualification allowed me to build almost a new stream to my career around digital marketing training and digital content. I’m convinced I wouldn’t be in the content-marketing space if I hadn’t completed the MSc because it just wouldn’t have crossed my path. For me, the MSc was a life-changing experience in a really good way. If I hadn’t done it, goodness knows what I’d be doing now.

Geraint Holliman

A commercially-focused, board-level marketing specialist. I’m a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and a Chartered Marketer with extensive international experience in both client and agency-side roles including 14 years as agency Managing Director. Classically marketing trained and highly digitally literate with an MSc in Digital Marketing Communications majoring on B2B Content Marketing. Broad multi-sector, multi-channel experience across B2C and B2B operations including new business acquisition and existing client development.