The Case Against Grad School
The more education you have, the more money you'll make–right?
Well, that's what graduate school administrators would like you to believe. But the truth is, it varies with the individual. The question is whether grad school is right for you.
In my 20 years as a career coach, I've listened to many people who spent years and mortgaged their financial futures to get a graduate degree, only to find themselves earning far less than they expected. Some struggle just to repay backbreaking student loans.
There are good reasons to attend grad school–it may be the only way to get the credentials or knowledge you need. But there are poor reasons, too. If you're motivated by any of these, think twice:
You'll earn more. That has generally been true in the past–but it's changing. Today, many more people are getting graduate degrees at the same time as employers are offshoring graduate-level jobs and disintermediating–a fancy word for cutting middle management. More grad-level applicants competing for fewer openings means that pay is likely to go down, not up. That will make it even harder to cover tuition, as well as income lost while in grad school.
You'll have a more rewarding career. The three most popular types of graduate schools are law, medicine, and business. Yet these fields can be highly overrated. Surveys find that lawyers, on average, are among the most unhappy professionals. Physicians, too, are increasingly frustrated as their ability to practice is constrained by cost-cutting insurers and noncompliant patients more inclined to trust advice from the Internet. And many biz-school grads insist that the most valuable thing they got from their M.B.A. program wasn't the learning; it was the piece of paper. There are satisfying alternatives to those overrated careers that don't require a costly degree.
Grad school will help you choose what career to pursue. Kind of an expensive way to decide, isn't it? Besides, most degree programs expose you to only a fraction of the career options in a given field. Far better to check out prospective careers with professionals in the field.
It will delay looking for a job. They might not admit it, but many people go back to school because it's a socially acceptable way to avoid the workplace or because they're intimidated by the idea of looking for a job. Is that a smart way to spend your money? (Or your parents'?) And is it fair? There are a limited number of slots in most graduate schools, and the one you take may deprive another applicant who would do more with the degree. I know a number of people who went to medical school, for instance, but have never practiced and instead are permanent stay-at-home parents. Meanwhile, many urban and rural areas are suffering a severe doctor shortage. Yes, I'm trying to invoke guilt.
A graduate degree will impress employers. It might–but with graduate degrees becoming ubiquitous, it won't necessarily set you apart. In some fields, a prospective boss is likely to be more impressed with a well-designed "You U" program: a combination of mentoring, seminars, professional conferences, Internet research, and on-the-job training. That kind of self-education can often teach you more of practical value than a graduate program can. Imagine, for example, that you were an employer considering two job applicants. One had an M.B.A., and the other wrote this application letter:
Dear Ms. Hirer,
I imagine you're tempted to toss this application because I don't have the required M.B.A. But having heard from many people that their M.B.A. learning wasn't worth the time and money, I decided to put substance over form and spent the past two years working at the elbow of effective project managers and reading and taking workshops from some top managers. I believe that focusing on the steak rather than the sizzle and learning as a self-starter rather than a classroom student demonstrate abilities important in a leader. But now comes the moment of truth: Will you interview me?
Sincerely,
Joel Jobseeker
Would you interview this candidate? When I ask employers that question in workshops, most say yes.
Graduate school might still make sense. If you're determined to become a scientist, professor, or physician, there's no alternative. But even college graduates who feel sure about the career they want to pursue might be wise to put off grad school for a year or two:
–A few years in the workplace can help you choose the career and graduate program that are right for you.
–Real-world experience will help you get more out of a graduate program. And it might help your chances of being admitted at a more prestigious school.
–A break from schooling, after four (or five or six) years of college, may re-energize you.
–And, who knows, maybe your working stint will help you discover you don't need grad school after all.
More from the College Grad's Career Kit:
• Commencement Clichés, Debunked
• Digging Up a Career's Downsides
• Eight Ways to Thrive at Your New Job
• How to Start a Business ... When You're 22