To Grad School Or Not?

Dear Christine,

I graduated from college three years ago, and have made my way through a couple of different jobs in the working world. I still haven't found what I really love doing and I'm unhappy in my job. I'm thinking about going to grad school so that I can hopefully increase my earning potential. Plus, I just don't know what else to do. I see friends who went directly to graduate school or law school are now heading towards their dream jobs and high salaries. I feel like I've gotten left out of some loop. Should I go to graduate school too? Or keep plugging away in the real world hoping that I'll figure it out and make it too?

~Prospective Grad Student, 25, Sacramento

Dear Prospective Grad Student,

I have noticed a trend: twenty-somethings attending grad school because they "don't know what else to do." In my opinion, this is not a good reason to go tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. Plus, grad school does not come with a guaranteed epiphany regarding career direction or higher earning potential.

Furthering your education is not a decision to be undertaken lightly. I recommend some investigation. Have you even thought about what field and specialty you would study? Are you prepared to devote years to get your degree? Are you willing to take on some serious educational loan debt? Are there schools you want to apply to with programs specifically tailored to your studies near you? If not, are you willing to relocate? These are some important questions you must ask yourself and answer before applying to grad school.

Peter Vogt, a contributing writer for Monster and MonsterTRAK and author of Career Wisdom for College Students: Insights You Won't Get in Class, on the Internet, or from Your Parents advises "Graduate school isn't the place to find what you really love doing; it's the place to go when you've already answered that question (many career paths don't require a graduate degree of any kind). So no, don't go to graduate school, at least not right now. Wait until you have a solid, unmistakable reason for taking that route. Instead, start talking to people -- in person or via email or phone -- whose careers intrigue you so that you can not only get a better sense of what possibilities exist, but also get a firsthand glimpse at careers that tap your unique passions and values. In other words, instead of risking thousands of dollars and a year or more of your life on something you're not even sure you want or need to do, invest a little of your time and energy in research that will help you crystallize the best path for you, whatever it may be."

So put out feelers to friends and contacts to see if they know people in those fields that might be willing to meet with you. Perhaps the career you want won't require you to have a graduate degree - or maybe gaining on the job experience would be preferred and might actually benefit your salary more than the degree. You can also check out contacts through your alma mater's alumni office. The more information you have in your arsenal, the more informed and concrete your future decisions will be. When you open yourself to asking for insight, and refrain from making any requests, you may be surprised by how many people come out of the woodwork to assist you.

And in terms of your friends who are acquiring more letters after their names, stop comparing. You are an individual with a unique past, present, and future. I know it's tempting when lost along your career path to follow the crowd, but stop to evaluate before you jump off that major-debt-inducing cliff.

For some, going to grad school right after undergrad is a perfect fit. Others may just be going through the motions, postponing the plunge into the real world. Sure, your friends may seem to have their careers lined up; but some may be harboring doubts you don't see.

If it turns out that graduate school is right for you, then go for it! It can be an incredibly rewarding, career building experience. But if you are not sure, then it can be an expensive, time-consuming, energy-zapping process. While we can't know if every step we take is the right one, leading us to that dream future, there is a difference between a calculated risk and a blind one. Step wisely.

-Christine

Please send me your questions by posting them in the comments section below. You can also email me at [e-mail]

Comments

[Amalek]

I have been a grad student most of my life. It sucks, but it sure beats working.

[dora_rice]

OUR DAUGHTER IS 50 AND WILL BE GRADUATING THIS YEAR WITH A PHD. IT'S NEVER TO LATE AND ALWAYS WORTH IT.

[dora_rice]

GRADE SCHOOL SHOULD BE ABANDONED AND REPLACED WITH GRADE COLLEGE. IT'S TIME WE TREAT OUR CHILDREN AS LITTLE ADULTS INSTEAD OF CHILDISH BOZOS.

[derik]

Back in the eighties I went to grad school for the joy of learning. I had worked for three years after my BS. I kept working while going to school and the company picked up the cost of tuition etc. So, all in all, my going to grad school was not directly tied to any long term career goals or for that matter making money, at least back then. It did turn out that my BS gave me the science while my masters gave me the art (of business). Now, thirty years later, I tend to think that learning and careers are two independent pursuits. At the same time, they should be loosely linked. At this time, it would be cool to go back (hmm, at fiftyish) and learn something. Obviously, the logistics and working and learning and living could be a challenge.

[avicenna]

I definitely think Americans need more time getting an education - one in which they are involved in critical thinking (like graduate studies) rather than passive recipients of force fed and socially tailored information. Graduate studies don't have to cost a fortune (I recently completed all my studies - from undergrad B.Sc. in Immunology and Psych minor to a PhD in Experimental Medicine without spending a dime - and landed with a small profit at the end of it). Having said that, it is probably less easy to get funding or a stipend in the social studies or humanities then it is in the sciences - and it helps to have a passion - or at least a festering interest in a subject. If going for a doctorate - there should be some desire to contribute to the knowledge pool and to become an indentified expert in a given field. I don't recommend graduate studies as the best way to ensure easy money (I speak as postdoctoral research fellow - therefore with experience) - but I do recommend it as a great place where you will learn to problem solve and view the world in an entirely differen perspective - one in which you have influence over your own trajectory rather than be an object of circumstance.

[kardwell]

It is terribly unfortunate that seeking self and professional development through advanced education come with such a high price tag. Education in this country is treated like a means to an end to get 'the job', a commodity that is exploited by the student loan rackets, and a privilege for the wealthy, rather than being an accessible and affordable vehicle to benefit the society as a whole, not only the select individual.
Like the questioner, there are many of us out here who would love to expand our body of knowledge, explore ourselves and the world of ideas through university but we don't dare because we know this proposition results in a hefty tab that could take up to 30 years to repay. We not only lose out, as individuals, but society loses as well. The US cannot stay competitive as long as university remains unaffordable and out of reach.

[cktirumalai]

I went to Graduate School, got a Ph.D. in English and was an academic for 21 years, when, for a variety of reasons, I voluntarily gave up my Professorship. I was more or less happy with my career path for three decades, and then decided that that path was no longer for me. I developed new interests and directions. Were I do it again I might choose differently but that is easier said than done.
There are "professional" schools, principally Law, Medicine, and Business, which point in a clear direction to what is to come after, though everyone has to make an individual career. But graduate school in History or English or Sociology, unless one wishes to go into academia, requires more flexibility and improvisation in terms of what is to come later.
One may wish to decide for oneself between the "professional path" and the more purely graduate school one. There are distinctions in Medicine as well. Most become practising doctors, but some go into pure research.

[desertdweller]

I disagree. In 1981, at 29 years of age, I left a low-paying teaching position and went to graduate school. Five years later I emerged with a doctorate in chemistry (at no expense to me; plus I received an adequate yearly stipend). I re-entered the workforce earning four times what I did as a school teacher. I have had a highly-successful, six-figure career and will likely retire early as a result of the considerable savings that I have accumulated. Attending graduate school in the sciences is essentially free (if you agree to be a teaching assistant) and well worth the investment in time and sacrifice.

[jvarga]

Things may have changed in the last 27 years since you entered graduate school. For example, my $15,000 (starting) assistantship covered rent and utilities, but not food (and imagine if you are going to grad school in an urban area?). It would have also covered food if I had lived in a slummy apartment or shacked up with 3 or 4 other people.

Yes, your job might have paid more than a high school teacher in 1981, but I can tell you that in 2006 my starting pay as a post-doctoral fellow was ~60% of my cousin's starting pay as a long term substitute teacher (5 years total in college for her). I can tell you that in 2006 my post-doc pay was 55-75% of a technician at the research institute that employs me (based on their eduction bs or ms and experience).

[AfricanLived]

I am 27 years old and in grad school at Hopkins. I even served in the Peace Corps for 2 years... So in the end, I will have an extra 4 years of education on top of my 4-years of school... I am getting a MA in Security Studies... (foreign policy) in order to get managerial positions with government security agencies... I really hope that all of the education is worth it...! I am lucky that my employer pays 100% of my tuition at Hopkins ... their classes are $2500 a piece!

[pc51]

I agree that it's all about knowing, or at least having a clear idea about what you want to do and where you might want to go with it after you have achieved the degree. We have all levels of college and post-college graduates working for us at near minimum wage levels in administrative positions because they "can't find "anything else and we have kids with only HS diplomas and computer certifications that are making $60,000- $80,000 after a couple of years. The computer kids seem to have always known that path was what they wanted though. The really educated kids seem to tend to spend a lot of time bar-hopping and breaking- up with each other after work, but our main office is in a beach-town.

[jvarga]

Yeah not to paint too sad of a picture but I went to grad school and it got me $40,000 further in debt and a smaller pay check than my coworkers who have a BS (can thank the federal post-doc payscale for that one). Going to grad school simply so you can earn more money is the wrong reason and it'll make you miserable.

[sizzla]

Thanks for the advice. I'm an indecisive 30 something who dropped out of college at 20 and returned at 24 to get a degree in something I actually wanted to do. I finish school this year and am having a mid life crisis as to what I want to do. Your article was insightful and helpful. Thanks.