Does A Masters Make Me Overqualified for Sports Jobs? Work in Sports Podcast - a podcast by Brian Clapp - Work in Sports

Hi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp Director of Content for WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast…Coming up this week – very excited to have Lisa Bregman, Seattle Seahawks Director of Marketing on the show coming up Wednesday. We are set to conduct our interview later this afternoon, and if all goes according to plan, and it should, Lisa will be Wednesday’s guest.Just to show you all I practice what I preach – I met Lisa at the Sports Industry Networking Conference, SINC, about 5 years ago. At that time she was the LA Galaxy’s Manager of Digital and Social Media, and we struck up a conversation. I didn’t have the podcast at the time, so I wasn’t working the angles for guests, it was just a chance to meet someone in the industry who was interesting.  We’ve stayed in touch over the years, and just last month I thought – Lisa, of course, she’d be a great guest!I don’t like the word networking… I prefer relationship building, but whatever you call it, it matters and it works. She needed to get the Seahawks approval for the interview, and I’m telling you, if we hadn’t met before and built up a contact, I doubt she would have bothered having to run through the steps of getting PR approval. Busy people in high-pressure roles don’t tend to look for ways to add more to their plate unless it’s worth it.So Lisa on Wednesday… it’ll be awesome, she’s great.Now, a little behind the scenes of the podcast. I never know what I’m going to talk about Monday morning. I really try to shut off work over the weekend, so I’m not brainstorming ideas. I’m not thinking about relevant sports industry questions while I’m at my kid's soccer game… I’m thinking about my kid's soccer game.Not to sound preachy but, be present in your moments people.I start my day Monday morning and look for inspiration – what am I feeling, what are people asking, where is the conversation going.I checked our private facebook group – again if you are not a member of that group what is wrong with you? 1,251 people all focused in on networking and asking sports career focused questions and helping each other out..plus many of our past guests are active in the group,  like Chris Valente Director of Sales for Fenway Sports Management, he literally posted something this weekend when group member Shawn Stewart posted a question asking if anyone had heard of SponsorUnited a company he was interviewing with.Think about that a second – you ask “Just had a phone interview for a Virtual Sponsorship Intern position for the LA Chargers with SponsorUnited. Has anyone heard anything about this company? Wish me luck!”And the Director of Sales for Fenway Sports Management responds:“They are revolutionizing the way teams get data on sponsorships. We (The Red Sox) bought their product. Great company”Um, hello! Where the hell else does that happen! So join the group already – search for the Work in Sports podcast in Facebook, answer a few easy questions, and I’ll let you in.If you say something nice about me, I’ll let you in even faster. Flattery works people, don’t think it doesn’t.Anyway, I bring this up, because checking our private facebook group I see this incredible question from Marlon Vigan,“Do you think an advanced degree works against you in getting a job in sports? I already work for teams on a part-time/game day basis, but looking for advancement within. Any suggestions/advice???”This question had 26 comments and clearly sparked some important conversation – so it seems like a great place to start today’s podcast, right?Marlon! My man let’s talk advance degrees.First I want to start with a message for everyone – you have to pursue a master’s with a specific intention. A Master’s, especially in sports, is not a delay tactic. I hear this all the time, “I’m about to graduate,

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