Management Studies PgDip/MA top-up: After you graduate

"I was struggling with growing a translation business and in particular finding it hard to market the service. What we needed was a consultant but that would cost money and be far too expensive. One day, I saw an advertisement for the DMS. That's it – I would become the desperately-needed consultant myself!

"Two years or so down the line, the DMS had made me see things which I had never seen before. I had not only analysed the business and the industry but also myself. After the course I moved to Spain and eventually set up a business exporting poultry products around the world, which is going great and suits me down to the ground.

"The DMS gave me more than just knowledge – it gave me the confidence to follow my gut-feeling and take a risk. Not only this but, if you do the course, you'll meet interesting people and develop good friends and contacts for the future. I certainly didn't find it easy, especially having dyslexia (diagnosed during the course), but doing the DMS was one of the best decisions I've ever made."

"Having worked within horticulture for over 20 years and in a wide range of gardens, with the last being a restoration project worth over £1.5 million, I needed a new challenge and something higher to aim for. I wanted to set myself apart from other professionals within my peer group so that I could tackle something others could not.

"After careful thought, I decided that a business course would offer me the skills that would take me further. I chose the DMS course at Kingston Business School to give me an overall grounding in business practices and funded the course myself. The course truly whetted my appetite and I devoured the content, which fulfilled my need to gain a greater understanding of the elements of business. The programme was well documented and each step built upon the last taking me quickly to the higher ground that I desired.

"After completing the DMS, I took the opportunity to take the next step and went on to complete a masters degree in the Business School. The knowledge that I had gained doing the DMS at Kingston Business School enabled me take up the challenge and start my own business. I now run my own successful consultancy and without the skills learnt on the DMS course it would have taken longer to develop to the level that I have now achieved."

"After working within the electronics industry for several years, initially for a start up and then for a global corporation, I began to learn that experience is advantageous but adding theory to this would enable me to take my career to the next level.

"After building up the confidence to return to study after so many years, I thought it would be difficult, but the structure of the DMS programme at Kingston Business School and the study materials provided made it easy to follow. The course filled in my knowledge gaps and made my day to day role so much easier – there always seemed to be a matrix or model that would lead me to an answer.

"I related my assignments to business problems, which maximised my education and enhanced my position within the organisation. After the DMS I took the Management Studies MA top-up in order to fulfil my studying needs – I was beginning to find it addictive!

"What has it done to my career? Well, having been promoted as far as I could within my organisation, I was headhunted to join one of the strongest brands in the world. Considering I specialise in retail brand management, this is a great career move."