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Resets in your adult life can happen for many reasons. For parents, and perhaps in particular mothers, one reason may be the decision to take some time out to raise a young family.
That was the case for UL MBA graduate Siobhan Ryan. She explains:
“My decision to go back to education was because I had taken close to six years out of the corporate world to spend time bringing up my kids when they were really small.
“When I wanted to go back to work I kind of realised that I might need to refresh my skills and frankly rebuild my confidence and make sure that I felt still relevant to the workplace, and very importantly that I had a stronger hand in negotiating the right salary going back.”
Knowing she wanted to refresh and upskill was one thing. Next came the decision on how to go about it. Luckily for Siobhan, the choice was clear.
“So I went into this as a stay-at-home mom looking to say how do I get more control. How do I begin to steer the right path for me to go back?
“Having such a world-class University on my doorstep made that decision really easy.”
The opportunities began to unveil themselves even before Siobhan completed her time in the MBA. She explains: “In the middle of the MBA I did an interview with a software company that was headquartered in the US and looking to set up their first office in Europe.
“That company selected Limerick as their first location outside of the US and I became the Sales Director for EMEA.”
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“Having such a world-class University on my doorstep made my decision really easy.”
Looking back at how returning to study empowered Siobhan to reach her goals, she said: “The MBA has helped me in sales because it gives you that rounded perspective of what other stakeholders in the business are looking for.
“I think part of what you're showing a prospective employer with an MBA is it's not about being the smartest person in the room. I think what it proves is that you have the grit to do all of the work that's involved.”
Siobhan made the move at the time that was right for her and her family and hasn’t looked back since.
“I'm sitting here in Limerick in my home office. I'm able to work with one of the fastest growing software companies in the world and I'm able to successfully drive our commercial strategy in Ireland from my back garden.”
If you’re curious about what you might achieve through postgraduate studies, you’ll have all the support you need at University of Limerick. #StayCurious
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