Is It Right for You?

According to recent surveys, Americans with a graduate degree earn an average of 35 to 50 percent more than those with just a bachelor's degree. That's certainly one reason there are more people than ever applying to graduate school.

When weighing whether or not to go to grad school, you should realistically assess what you expect from a graduate degree and exactly what program will suit you best.

Career Change
Many people make the decision to return to grad school after working in "the real world." Some feel that their career options are otherwise limited. Others find that their interests and abilities have developed over the years and no longer have anything to do with their undergraduate education.

Career Or Salary Advancement
The upper levels of your field may be closed to people without an advanced degree, no matter how talented or industrious they are.

Switch From Practitioner To Administrator
After working in the trenches for a while and developing a strong sense of how your organization is run, you may be interested in moving up to the management level of your field. This often requires some graduate education.

The Lure Of Ivy Walls
To teach at two-year colleges, you'll need at least a master's degree and maybe a doctorate or professional degree. To teach or do research at four-year colleges, universities, and graduate programs, you'll need a doctorate and/or the "terminal" professional degree in the field — MBA, JD, MD, etc.

Professional Licensing
Social workers, psychologists, therapists, and others who directly treat or counsel generally need graduate education to meet national and state licensing requirements. The proper licensing and credentials are also essential for getting insurance reimbursement. Many insurance carriers authorize payment only to practitioners who meet certain educational and licensing standards.

Love of Learning
Many people choose grad school simply because they love the field, job prospects or money notwithstanding.

The Job Market
A slow economy is a popular reason for going right from college to grad school. The reasoning is: "Since I'm not going to get a job anyway, I might as well go to grad school. Maybe the job market will be better when I get out." This may not be the best idea. Bottom line: Add a realistic appraisal of career prospects to your idealism and career hopes when you're making grad school plans.

Making Your Investment Pay Off
Any graduate degree is a significant investment of time, money, and work. Most master's programs take a year or two to complete — at a private school, tuition can easily run $20,000 a year or more. A doctorate generally takes at least four years, and usually more, so the financial strain is even more significant (financial aid is generally more available at the doctoral than at the master's level though). Even if you're willing to take on loan debt to finance your degree, you may be looking at twenty years of loan payments!

Then there's the job market. In many fields, jobs in academia are hard to come by. In some industries and businesses, even an advanced degree is no guarantee of a dream job. The bottom line is that grad school is usually a huge investment of both time and money. Before you take the leap, be sure that you have a pretty clear idea what your degree will cost you and what the actual benefit will be.

What are the job prospects like for people in your field these days? What is the job-market likely to be by the time you actually finish your degree?

Jobs — A Four Letter Word?
Even if you're primarily going to grad school for the love of learning, you should still find out what recent grads of your program are doing now and what sort of track record the program has in getting its students jobs. What sort of career and job-finding help does your program or school provide for its graduates? What kind of jobs have people in your program gotten recently? Are they the kind you'd like to get? What are grads doing five years after getting their degrees?

Job Placement
If you're considering work in business, industry, local agencies, school, health-care facilities, or government, find out whether these employers visit the campus to recruit. Major industries, for instance, will often visit a campus to interview prospective science graduates about jobs. Are the potential employers you'd like to work for visting the campus you'd like to attend?

If you're going into academia, find out if recent grads have gotten academic positions, how long their searches took, and where they're working. Are they getting tenure-track positions or one-year contracts? Are they working at reasonably prestigious schools — ones where you'd like to work — or are they taking virtually anything that comes along? Answering questons like these will help you add a realistic appraisal of your career prospects to your idealism and hopes when you're making grad school plans.

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	Is It Right for You? According to recent surveys, Americans with a graduate degree earn an average of 35 to 50 percent more than those with just a bachelor's degree. That's certainly one reason there are more people than ever applying to graduate school. When weighing whether or not to go to grad school, you should realistically assess what you expect from a graduate degree and exactly what program will suit you best. Career Change Many people make the decision to return to grad school after working in "the real world." Some feel that their career options are otherwise limited. Others find that their interests and abilities have developed over the years and no longer have anything to do with their undergraduate education. Career Or Salary Advancement The upper levels of your field may be closed to people without an advanced degree, no matter how talented or industrious they are. Switch From Practitioner To Administrator After working in the trenches for a while and developing a strong sense of how your organization is run, you may be interested in moving up to the management level of your field. This often requires some graduate education. The Lure Of Ivy Walls To teach at two-year colleges, you'll need at least a master's degree and maybe a doctorate or professional degree. To teach or do research at four-year colleges, universities, and graduate programs, you'll need a doctorate and/or the "terminal" professional degree in the field — MBA, JD, MD, etc. Professional Licensing Social workers, psychologists, therapists, and others who directly treat or counsel generally need graduate education to meet national and state licensing requirements. The proper licensing and credentials are also essential for getting insurance reimbursement. Many insurance carriers authorize payment only to practitioners who meet certain educational and licensing standards. Love of Learning Many people choose grad school simply because they love the field, job prospects or money notwithstanding. The Job Market A slow economy is a popular reason for going right from college to grad school. The reasoning is: "Since I'm not going to get a job anyway, I might as well go to grad school. Maybe the job market will be better when I get out." This may not be the best idea. Bottom line: Add a realistic appraisal of career prospects to your idealism and career hopes when you're making grad school plans. Making Your Investment Pay Off Any graduate degree is a significant investment of time, money, and work. Most master's programs take a year or two to complete — at a private school, tuition can easily run $20,000 a year or more. A doctorate generally takes at least four years, and usually more, so the financial strain is even more significant (financial aid is generally more available at the doctoral than at the master's level though). Even if you're willing to take on loan debt to finance your degree, you may be looking at twenty years of loan payments! Then there's the job market. In many fields, jobs in academia are hard to come by. In some industries and businesses, even an advanced degree is no guarantee of a dream job. The bottom line is that grad school is usually a huge investment of both time and money. Before you take the leap, be sure that you have a pretty clear idea what your degree will cost you and what the actual benefit will be. What are the job prospects like for people in your field these days? What is the job-market likely to be by the time you actually finish your degree? Jobs — A Four Letter Word? Even if you're primarily going to grad school for the love of learning, you should still find out what recent grads of your program are doing now and what sort of track record the program has in getting its students jobs. What sort of career and job-finding help does your program or school provide for its graduates? What kind of jobs have people in your program gotten recently? Are they the kind you'd like to get? What are grads doing five years after getting their degrees? Job Placement If you're considering work in business, industry, local agencies, school, health-care facilities, or government, find out whether these employers visit the campus to recruit. Major industries, for instance, will often visit a campus to interview prospective science graduates about jobs. Are the potential employers you'd like to work for visting the campus you'd like to attend? If you're going into academia, find out if recent grads have gotten academic positions, how long their searches took, and where they're working. Are they getting tenure-track positions or one-year contracts? Are they working at reasonably prestigious schools — ones where you'd like to work — or are they taking virtually anything that comes along? Answering questons like these will help you add a realistic appraisal of your career prospects to your idealism and hopes when you're making grad school plans.	COMMUNITY Sign up for the Graduate Edge, Kaplan's free e-newsletter. Join the Kaplan Community and get more features. It's FREE!