Grad school vs. Full-time job after graduation

[Double J]

Hey everyone,

 

Quick question, mainly for those who pondered whether to go to graduate school directly upon getting your Bachelors as opposed to getting a full-time job right away.

 

What did you end up choosing?

 

I've heard both sides:

1. It may be better NOT to attend graduate school right after because it's important to get sufficient work experience in the work world before investing so much money.

2. It may be better to attend grad school right after because once you get a full-time job it becomes very difficult to go back to school later on while working (tired after work, etc).

 

For the most part, I've heard that going straight to grad school is a wrong move if you're not 100% sure you want to work in that particular field.

In my case, I'm sure I want to major in marketing and I do have some work experience (about to finish a 14 month internship for a well-known ad agency and worked somewhere else before that).

 

Another consideration deals with companies that have tuition reimbursement programs. If I am lucky enough to find one of these, I would have to attend grad school part-time and work full-time on a concurrent basis, but I'd be reimbursed for tuition.

 

What do you guys suggest I should do? I'm sure many of you who have received your degree thought about this at one point or another.

[Batya33]

I did not go straight to grad school because I was afraid of failing the entrance exam and of failing in graduate school. Also, I wanted to try teaching for awhile after college.

It turned out to be the best decision - I worked for 3 years and saved up enouch $ to pay for half of my grad school tuition. I was definitely more prepared and ready to go back to school after the three years in between.

 

The downside in waiting (for some) is that the longer you wait, the greater risk that you won't be motivated to go back or your life situation might change (marriage, family, who knows).

[rocio]

I'm glad I went straight into my masters. However, I was completely sure that was what I wanted from a career. I never for a second questioned it.

 

There are all kinds of things that can get in the way, as Batya mentioned. If a graduate degree is something you really want, I'd say to get it over with now. You don't mind being poor for another couple of years when you're young. But once you've started working and living a certain lifestyle, it's hard to downgrade. I only got $12,000 for 2 semesters in funding through my university. That's a big step down from the $40,000 you can be making with a marketable degree.

 

Also, the lack of experience wasn't an issue for us. Once you had the masters degree, jobs were almost guaranteed. I had several offers before I graduated and had no experience in my field. Your school will hold your hand to find you a job if you have a graduate degree because it's in their best interest. (Makes them look bad if you don't get a job right away.)

[Batya33]

In my experience it depends what kind of graduate degree it is and from where. I have friends who went to certain law schools where the school was not helpful at all in job placement, others who received masters degrees in academic subjects like English or History where the jobs in academia were highly competitive and thereforeeee there was little the school could do for the students. The better the school, the better the grades, the easier it is to get a job and the more motivated the school is to help its graduates.

[shikashika]

you know what.. everyone will have a different opinion on what YOU should do..

 

buy a house, go to grad school, buy a car, go traveling, save for retirement.. and you can ask a million people for advice.. and they will all tell you what THEY want to do...and what is right for THEM.. BUT..what is right for them may not be right for YO.

 

I get the impression from your post .. that you are giving options of what you've heard from OTHER PEOPLE!

 

It is tough.. ( and believe me.. I'm HORRIBLE at making decision) but you have to do whats right for you.

 

It seems like you are giving options on what other people think is good or bad... but what may be good for them, you will be miserable in.

 

where does your passion lie? What will make you look forward to getting up in the morning?

 

I agree there are pros and cons to both of your options.

 

good luck with your decision making!

[Batya33]

When I sought advice on this issue I was selective about who I asked - those going through the grad program I wanted to attend, my parents, my sibling and close friends. I did not get all different advice - in fact, it was fairly consistent particularly from the people going through the grad program I wanted to go to. I really owe them a lot in helping me to make my decision. The trick is to ask the question in the proper way - not an open ended "what should I do" but the specific way you asked the question here.

[CaptainPlanet]

If you're guaranteed to get a job out of it do it straight away.

[poloplayer]

Hi,

 

I think this is the best advice:

 

it depends what kind of graduate degree it is and from where

 

I too have friends that pursued their masters, law degrees, and one who went on to medicine right after college- almost all went to low ranked schools. Sure they obtained the degree, but I knew people who were much better off - not just financially but networking, exit opportunities, and chances at a great program - by not accepting admission to just any school, and just beginning to build experience in their related field from a bachelors.

 

We all make decisions which fill our needs, however, from my perspective, I am very glad I went to work right away after college for these 3 main reasons:

 

1. I gained experience (regardless of which profession); internships, part time jobs, and schooling does not compare to a full time job with the daily responsibilities in a given profession.

2. I refined my interests; my first job enabled me to work with managers, bankers, lawyers, IT staff, librarians, consultants, and analysts among others. I worked with them, and I saw what they did day to day. This exposure helped me craft where I would ultimately like to go, without the burden of debt from an advanced degree and not being absolutely sure of what I really wanted to do.

3. I matured. I developed a solid understanding of personal finance, enhanced my networking skills, created immunities to gossip, upgraded my sophomoric work ethic to one of dedication, and everything else which the real world brings which school (for the most part) is devoid of. I also became more serious about school. Not in the sense of grades; I graduated with 3.5 GPA from college. I learned the importance of top programs - something which I didn't really consider that much in the past. In the end you will learn the same thing from a state school versus an elite school, but the difference is the alumni, the network, and the placement that you receive. An elite school offers you opportunities which you will not receive from XYZ state school. A graduate degree from a top program was my next goal, and I had all of the zeal behind me at this point to obtain it.

 

As an example, let's say you want to be a doctor. If you go to medical school and pass, then in the end you will be a doctor. But let's say that your passion rests in a highly specialized branch of medicine, and your dream is to work in this arena at a hospital that is very well known for it - most likely, a top hospital. Sure, grades are important - you have to be at or near the top of your class, but imagine for a moment how cutthroat that is. The number of students who graduate each year, and the number who apply for the role. You submit a CV or resume. If you do not have a (1) the brand name of a top school, (2) the grades, and (3) quality of internships/externships, then you will not even be asked to interview. Where you went to school is weighed the most - a 2.8 GPA from an Ivy League easily beats a 3.5 from a State school. If you do make the cut, now is when the fun begins - the process of weeding out a group of great candidates to fill a few open spaces.

 

In the end, it's what someone already posted - there is no right answer. The idealist in me says to go for it - education is education, however, the realist in me knows this is not the case. You are only as good as the school that you went to. Perhaps you disagree, but the prestigious employers and alumni don't. Consider all of the arguments, but make the choice which is right for you - based off of your dreams, ambitions, and opportunities.

[kiwifly]

Double J, lately I've been asking the same question and looking at the responses I have to just say thanks to poloplayer - your advice is exactly what I needed. What you describe is what I ideally would like to do following graduation. It's what I wanted to do when I first started, but you get so caught up in the hype of everyone talking about heading off to grad school right away that it feels like if you don't then you weren't good enough or smart enough. When you're surrounded with people like that you forget that there are other options. Thanks for reminding me what mine originally was

[poloplayer]

Hi,

 

Your welcome kiwi . Glad I could offer some help.

 

you get so caught up in the hype of everyone talking about heading off to grad school right away that it feels like if you don't then you weren't good enough or smart enough

 

I thought and felt the same way when I started working. Am I falling behind? Am I doing the right thing? Am I not as smart as I thought I was?

 

That quote up above was another thing I learned in the process of pursuing work - forget about everyone else and focus on yourself. What do you want to do? What do you want to be? How do you want to live?Keep in touch with friends, but forget the comparisons. Concentrate all of your energy on your tasks; keep a narrow focus on your goals, and forget about what so and so is doing. Not only will that make you neurotic and make you question so many things, but it will derail you from your dreams. You lose focus because you get caught up in a quasi-high school mentality. I went through it for a while; it bugged me like mad. It was nothing more than a more mature version of "who's dating who" from high school. Then an older colleague gave me feedback on all of it which made so much sense (I am 25; 24 when he said this):

 

"Either way you're going to hit 30 one day; where you are at when you are 30 is up to you."

[Caldus]

I have decided to move on to a full time job after I get my bachelors degree this May. The company I will be working for will pay for my grad school after I work for them for a while anyway. If you're working for a company that has this kind of program, then you might want to consider letting them worry about the tuition fees. Just thought I would throw that out there.

[skyjuice]

Hi

 

After my high school years,there was this IT trend. Many people including my brother and coursin went on to study computer science course or information technology course. Many years later, my brother found that IT is not his field, while my coursin complaining to me about her boring dead end job and thinking of quiting.

 

For myself, my father did pressure me to study IT course, but luckily, I am able to find a course that has 30% IT and 70% business. Slowly, during university, I choose more business subjects to make it more of a business degress than an IT one, as I am not good at IT. Now I am working in a Financial Institution. I failed my CFA exam, I am determine to seat for the exam again.

 

The point is don't follow the crowd (i.e. study postgraduate, or which glamorous field). Understand yourself then choose your field. It takes at least 10 years for a person to expert in a field and reach its peak performance.

[omayra]

Go further ur education