Ella had just completed her third year of university studying for a Bachelor of Management degree when she was offered a fully paid, one year graduate internship with a leading software company. She had to decide whether to abandon her Honours study to take the internship or stay at university. After the internship ended, she was offered a full time job but now had to choose between returning to university to complete her degree or staying in her well-paid job. The document discusses the pros and cons Ella had to weigh regarding career experience, financial independence, remaining broad in her career options versus specializing, and completing her degree.

1. Decision time for Ella
Ella went to university straight from schooland spent four years working
towards a Bachelor of Management Studies degree. She was a highly
motivated, ‘go-getter’ student, Dux of her school. At university she set her
sights on getting First Class Honours. From the first semester, she looked for
every opportunity to gain experience bothon and off campus. She got involved
in research for a lecturer which led to a co-author paper. She worked part-time
in a fashion outlet in the city (where she also spent most of her salary!). Ella
believed that the key to success was to differentiate herself from other graduates.
She set out to dress ‘business-like’ which did not always endear her to her peers.
Looking good, travelling and studying meant that by the end of her third year of
study she had built up a student loan of $50,000.
While looking for full time positions at the end of her third year Ella came
across a one year, fully paid graduate internship with one of the world’s leading
software companies. Ella thoroughly researched the company and applied for
the position and as the candidate list dropped from 48, to six and finally to two,
her optimism increased. Within an hour of the final interview, she received a
call offering her a marketing internship with the company.
The decision however was not straightforward. Taking up the internship meant
abandoning, even temporarily, her Honours study. This meant that at the end of
the internship she would not have completed all the papers for her degree. She
was also concerned about whether she would ever complete her degree after
experiencing the financial freedom of working. She was also worried about the
high level of specialization that went with the internship in the IT marketing
field which might narrow her prospectsand wondered if she would be better to
maintain a broader approach to developing her career. On the other hand, given
the competitive nature of the graduate market, suchopenings were few and far
between. Ella decided to take the plunge, leave university and take up the
internship.
One year later Ella had another major decision to make when she was offered
full time employment with the company including six months further training in
Sydney. Ella was in a quandary; should she take up the permanent position with
the company or return to university? She had enjoyed being a well-paid
employee and the prospectof again becoming a penniless student again did not
appeal. On the other hand, the unfinished Honours qualification would help her
leverage the years’ work experience and create options.
But how should she weigh up the options? Return to her studies? Stay and gain
more valuable experience, building a career in a top company? What other

2. options might there be?
Last year’s task
1. Put yourself in Ella’s position; how would you go about making the decision? What would be the key
issues for you as an undergraduate student? How would you identify them? How would you weight
them?
2. Using this information, create a decision tree to help Ella reach a decision.