Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Considering Graduate School

With the job market being so tight, I hear a lot of people are attending grad school. Is this a good idea?

1 comment:

USDCareerBlog said...

Good question.

The answer very much depends on your personal situation and career plans. In other words, graduate school may be a great idea for one student, and a poor decision for another student.

There are many factors that come into play when considering graduate school. Among them:

• Can you afford it and how long will it take?
• How good a program can you get into?
• What will your job prospects (and your debt) be like when you graduate?
• Is graduate school mandatory, preferable, or unnecessary to your career?
• Will working for a while prior to graduate school help you finance the program (or pay off current debt), improve your chances of getting into a good program, and/or enhance your opportunities after graduating?
• Do you know exactly what career you want to pursue after graduate school? (You’d be surprised how many students considering graduate school answer “no” to this).

You need to reflect on these and many other questions before making the decision to attend graduate school. In other words, “look before you leap.”

Thanks for the question and feel free to schedule an appointment with a career counselor to discuss your options.