"The versatility of the degree programme has helped me significantly in my career."
I studied in the master’s degree programme in international business and entrepreneurship (IBE) at JSBE. The versatility of the degree program, the opportunity to practice working in a multicultural environment, and the fact that it is taught in English have helped me significantly in my career.
During my studies, I worked at Säästöpanki during the summers and alongside school, which I can definitely recommend to all because working at the bank gave me a lot of insight into the economy. Toward the end of my studies, I ended up joining Trainer4You as a sales manager. There I had a chance to learn what is it like to work in a modern and agile work environment.
Around the time I graduated, my thesis supervisor recommended me a career as a researcher and suggested I would stay at the university. After a little reflection, I decided to stay at the university and write a dissertation – despite the strong pull from the industry. The dissertation project took me to Switzerland for a year and thereafter to Tampere University, from where I finally graduated. After being a postdoctoral researcher in Tampere for a short while, I wanted to see what the world had to offer and I got hired as an assistant professorship at Maynooth University, near Dublin, where I am at the moment.
If you like to ponder your own ideas and find reading and writing enjoyable, then a career as a researcher is a very potential option: for example, it gives you much freedom, opportunities to work in teams to address interesting problems, and chances to travel and see the world. As an assistant professor, my work consists of 40% teaching, 40% doing my own research, and 20% administrative tasks – in my case this is related to managing a degree program. The career of a researcher is perhaps an option that comes up less often, but going down that path has been really nice and rewarding.
As a tip for all, I think it's important to put yourself out there, getting to know new people – going on an exchange, for example. My two exchange periods, first to Ireland and then to Switzerland, helped me to master the language and create contacts, both of which have played a surprisingly big role in my own international career.
