My background

I started my Bachelor’s when I was 17 and like many at that age, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to become. I opted for law simply because I liked history and social studies at school. The result was, I got into the Siberian Institute of Management (the branch of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration) in my hometown, Novosibirsk. Though it wasn’t my most conscious decision, I enjoyed studying. However, once I got my first job after graduation, it didn't feel right. I was a legal assistant, and I learned that this job is rather monotonous: you have to choose one specific field and solve routine tasks. That was hard for me. 

Yet, I stayed in this field for three and a half years. In my last job, I also got to gain some experience in finance, management, and HR. I didn’t earn much there but I liked the diversity I had. I knew I had to switch my career and find a new niche, so I decided to try myself in project management and marketing.

How and why I got into a Master’s program

To succeed in the new field, I needed to expand my expertise in economics, finance, business, and even psychology – that's what I figured at my first job, which included multiple roles. Since my Bachelor’s was rather narrowly focused, I decided to get a Master’s. There, I could gain more structured and fundamental knowledge than if I took some online courses, and I also saw university as an excellent platform for networking. And last but not least, I knew that many large companies now require degrees in marketing or management. 

I was ready to move and was choosing among major cities in central Russia. I didn’t want to live in Moscow because the city felt too big for me. St. Petersburg, however, seemed like a great alternative – it’s close to the capital and bigger than my hometown, yet it’s not as hectic as Moscow. 

I found out about ITMO by chance. My sister sent me the link to ITMO Mega Contest’s website – this is an entrance contest that allows Bachelor’s students and graduates to enroll in the university’s Master’s programs without exams. Out of curiosity, I decided to try my luck in the Intellectual Property track and even got to the final round, butI was a few points behind to win. 

Soon, I got a second chance. In 2023, ITMO hosted its first-ever Mega School – a part of Mega Contest that provides enrollment advantages to all participants. That was a great chance for me to meet new people and learn more about the program. At the school, my teammates and I worked on a health app. It was a new and memorable experience. Our project won, and I applied for the High-Tech Business Management program at ITMO.

I submitted my contest diploma to the admission office and got into the program on a tuition-free basis. 

Before I got in, I talked to other prospective students and read faculty reviews on social media. I chose this program because it’d just launched and it covered management, economics, and business.
 

What I gained by doing a Master’s

Switched my career and increased my salary

My last job as a legal assistant in Novosibirsk brought me around 20,000-25,000 rubles a month. 

A week after my move, I found a job as a coordinator at a large manufacturing agricultural holding in sales and analytics, and my salary went up to 55,000-60,000 rubles a month.

By the end of my first year at the university, I was promoted to a trade marketing specialist: I worked in finances, stock performance, and pricing and earned around 90,000 rubles a month. 

I got this unexpected yet amazing promotion because I did great at the company’s redesigning project. There, I was in charge of marketing studies, which I learned to do at ITMO. It came very handy that I knew what to pay attention to during such research and how to do client observation. 

Since April, I’ve been working at a new company; there, I specialize in loyalty programs, as well as the development and implementation of new sales mechanics in the food industry. 

Getting a job in marketing wasn’t that hard; I had some experience and I’m also quite responsible and hard-working. What I believe was most helpful is my ability to defend my opinion, work in teams, and manage projects. I’d recommend graduates to not be afraid, jump at all opportunities, and be proactive. 

I like that as a marketing specialist, I stay in the loop of what the society is up to and know how to work with people more efficiently. On the one hand, I help people by creating and promoting quality products, but on the other – I help companies make sales, as well. My experience in law also comes in helpful: advertising laws in Russia change very often, but luckily I can easily navigate these changes.

Acquired relevant knowledge and skills

One of the most important skills I gained that I now apply in my work is the understanding of a customer journey map (CJM), i.e. a visualization of the journey a customer has – from recognizing their need to actual purchasing of a given product. Marketing specialists study customer experiences to better understand which “journey” will lead the customer to reach the goal faster. In my work, I use CJM to track our clients’ touchpoints with our advertising materials to find out the most profitable locations. 

I also learned to do a SWOT analysis (a technique to identify an organization's strengths and weaknesses for better business and project performance – Ed.), as well as competitor and market analysis.

Also, I boosted my soft skills and presentation skills; I’m way more confident now when giving a public speech or presenting my projects. I learned to trust people. When I just got to ITMO, I had a hard time asking for help – I believed I had to do it all by myself. Thanks to my courses on complex communication and work ethics, as well as product workshops, I advanced my teamwork skills and learned to seek compromises and get my point across.

During my studies, I grew interested in the psychology of management and in the future, I’d like to learn more about why people act this or that way in different situations and what kind of decisions they make.
 

Worked on real-world business cases 

Most of our studies, we had practical classes, worked on projects, and communicated with professionals who in fact know how business works and what’s happening on the market. As someone who studied in a classical university before, I found this very interesting and valuable for my career. Business and marketing trends are changing quickly; therefore, marketing specialists should not only master the theory but also routinely interact with their professional environment. 

One thing I remember the most about my Master’s studies are project and product workshops – we had these instead of term papers that students usually have at other universities. Led by our managers, we were working in teams on a business case for six months: we implemented and tested different solutions to find out whether they worked for us or not. To do that, we did customer development and financial calculations, surveyed our clients, analyzed the market, and then filed reports for businesses. 

In my first semester, I worked on the university’s career guidance project – namely, the recommendation service ITMO TRACK for prospective students. The service helps applicants build their individual learning tracks, taking into account their dream career and additional skills they would like to have. For the project, I talked with prospective students and studied their user experiences.

Then, in the second semester, I started working with VkusVill – my team analyzed the fermentation market and provided this data to the company.

In my last semester, my team and I worked on an AI-based CRM system for Baltika. This is a customer relationship management system that organizations use to manage their client base, collect and store data, track interactions with their customers, and automate business processes. Our task was to talk to the staff to learn what functions they need and create a CJM. Then, we presented a model of our system in Figma. 

I had my thesis defense early this June. Now, I’m planning to deepen my marketing competencies and go to more field-specific conferences, webinars, and workshops. I want to grow more horizontally – rather than vertically – to be better at my job. I think in the coming year I will devote myself fully to expanding my expertise at my current job.