Master of Science degree
When I walked out of the door of my university today, I left it no longer as a student, but (perhaps a tad cynical to say) unemployed and ready to face new challenges. In my hands a stack of gifts and papers, most importantly of all: my master’s degree in industrial design engineering (MSc.). With a cumulative total of 342 out of 300 required EC (study credits), an 8 out of 10 average for my master subjects, and a 9 out of 10 for my final master assignment, I am quite pleased with the result. Hopefully it will help me open doors and give me a chance to demonstrate my skills and prove myself.
I quite liked the master track coordinator’s explanation of his grading system for the master assignment. The grade for the master assignment is comprised of several grades: presentation, report, defence, and quality of the final design. He, an experienced product designer, explained the grade for the quality of the final design as follows: “I give a design a 7/10 if I think I could’ve done a better job; an 8/10 if I think I could’ve produced a result of similar quality; a 9/10 if I think I perhaps could’ve produced a result of similar quality with a lot of effort; and finally a 10/10 remains for a product design I consider out of my league.” – my design received the full 10/10 score.
The past few months leading up to my graduation have not been exactly easy due to personal circumstances. It all started several months ago when my now ex-girlfriend started having doubts about starting our life together, with the nearing graduation date being the catalyst for these doubts. I’ve supported her and urged her to explore those feelings, for it could not be left unresolved. As time went on, we both started to realise that she is in fact lesbian. Not an easy thing to deal with for her, so I have tried my very best to support her in this life changing realisation, losing track of myself in the process. This was last month: she has moved on now. I’ve only just begun picking up the pieces and taking care of myself.
Anyway, back to the original topic: getting used to the idea of not being a student anymore shouldn’t be an issue, as I’ve been working at Benchmark Electronics for the past two years now. It’s just a bit of a shame that due to confidentiality I cannot share any of my work of the last two years; I feel I have really progressed with Benchmark’s guidance and of course I would love to show that. Before looking for a job, I think I’ll take some time off to relax and figure out where to go from here.