From career crossroads to academic clarity, MSc Marketing student Param Bhatia reveals how AMBS helped him redefine his future.
Hi! I'm Param. I’m the kind of person who is a nerd in the classroom but doesn't necessarily like studying outside classes. So, let me tell you how I ended up at AMBS, and what my experience has been like so far.
Finishing my undergraduate degree in Liberal Arts left me at a bit of a crossroads. I had a great interdisciplinary background with a major in Psychology and minors in Sociology, Anthropology, and Business, which successfully gave me a unique way of looking at the world. However, I lacked a solid avenue to build a career in serious research because I couldn't find the right start. Consequently, I pivoted into the workforce to get some practical experience in Marketing. I found I had potential there, but I eventually hit a wall.
It reached a point where it felt like a plateau; my ambition was outpacing my actual skill set. I realised I needed a programme that could connect the dots between deep academic theory, research, and real industry application. That search led me straight to AMBS at the University of Manchester. When I looked at the MSc Marketing curriculum, I knew the pedagogy here was the bridge I had been looking for. The whole process moved incredibly fast after that realisation. I started planning my application in September, spent a few months refining my approach, and submitted everything in November. By December, I had my offer, and I accepted it in January without a second thought.
I subsequently started connecting with people attending AMBS this year. It felt like finding my crowd. For a long time, having a "Liberal Arts brain" in the corporate world made me feel like a mismatch. I was often too curious for the daily grind but too practical to stay hidden in a library. It was the first time I looked at a programme and felt like they actually understood the balance I was trying to strike.
Then there is the reputation of the school itself. I realised early on that a degree is only as valuable as the doors it opens, and AMBS seems to have a key for everything. Employers know you haven't just read the textbook, they know you have applied the work. For instance, when the P&G team visited in October to introduce their graduate schemes, they expressed their confidence in hiring from AMBS. They made the degree sound like a stamp of credibility.
Despite that serious corporate reputation, walking onto campus didn't feel like entering an isolated ivory tower. It felt like plugging into a live grid. The transition was surprisingly seamless because the city has a way of pulling you in. My favourite part about this city is that people love going out; there are never dull moments. Unlike other cities in the UK that go completely silent after dusk falls, Manchester still feels alive.
It also helps that the cohort is incredibly international. I walked in expecting to feel like an outsider, but that feeling disappeared in the first week. Making friends here did not feel like networking, it’s been super easy. Everyone is in the same boat, eager to connect, and quite frankly, having people to lean on makes the intensity of the course much more manageable.
The journey so far has been intense, and coming back to my career plateau. It now feels like a lifetime ago. The pace here is relentless in the best way possible. I am not just absorbing theories in lectures; I am wrestling with them in real-time alongside classmates who challenge every assumption I make. On Wednesdays, I am conquering my fear of qualitative and quantitative analysis, and the next day we are dissecting a messy real-world business case in the Marketing Strategy classes. It is chaotic, loud, and incredibly stimulating. I have realised that my eclectic background isn't weird here, it is actually my greatest asset.
I am tired, but for the first time in years, my brain feels completely awake.
As for the next chapter? I didn't see this coming. I came here to get job-ready, but the depth of this course has reignited that old research spark. The difference is that now I actually have the skills to back it up. The thrill of digging into literature and research has been so addictive that I am seriously eyeing a PhD.
It is ironic that I came to Manchester to fix my career in industry, and I might just leave with a roadmap back to academia. And this time, I am not lost. I am ready.
Want to learn more about the MSc Marketing course? Reach out to Param on LinkedIn.
