Hiding From a Poor Economy in Graduate School

“I want to go to grad school, I just don’t know what in. I’ll go grad school, then look for work when the economy is stronger. ”

As the economy stumbles and shifts, students increasingly consider extending their stay in higher education with a quick add-on of another year or two of graduate school. Is this a good idea?

There are exactly two good reasons for going to graduate/professional school. Can pick them from the list below?
1.  I am pursing a career that requires an advanced degree.
2.  I need to buy a few years while I figure out my career.
3.  I have a passion for a particular subject and 4 years of study just isn’t enough.
4.  I want to earn more money.

If you chose #1, you are right. Some careers require advanced education: college professor, psychologist, marine biologist, lawyer, researcher, doctor, sociologist, architect, etc. If you are considering such a profession, then graduate/professional school is your next step. If you’re not sure if jobs you are considering require advanced education, you can access that information using the Occupational Outlook Handbook, a comprehensive primer put out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, any of the other major career online guides, Vault (which you’ll find in your GauchLink Account under Announcements) or stop by Career Services.

If you chose #2, graduate/professional school may be a poor choice for you. Advanced education is an expensive and time consuming endeavor. Most graduate/professional programs are highly competitive. In a poor economy, competition will be even steeper, as experienced workers who have been laid off are looking at graduate school as a way to retool for their next career, creating an even steeper ratio of applicants to admits. Costs are also a consideration. If you don’t have a clear career goal in mind, you could end up buying a degree that won’t offer you a return on your investment. Rather than paying thousands of dollars per year for the privilege of not knowing what to do next, why not get a job and have someone pay you? You can still go to graduate school later if it turns out you need or want to, and you will be a much better student once you know why you’re there.

If you chose #3, you’re right again. If you simply can’t imagine going through life without knowing everything there is to know about the mating habits of nudibranchs, or the history of Apartheid, or the evolution of the English language, you are tailor made for graduate school. If your undergraduate education has only whet your appetite and you simply need to learn more, if you feel driven to immerse yourself in every possible aspect of your area of interest, then graduate school is the right path for you.

If you chose #4, you’re probably barking up the wrong tree. Companies do not pay employees by how much education they have, but by the work they do. An administrative assistant gets paid the same salary regardless of whether s/he has a BA, an MBA or a PhD. While it’s true that doctors with their MDs earn more than taxi drivers regardless of degree ($105-$202K versus $28-$40K), it’s also true that plumbers, whose jobs require no higher education, earn more than licensed professional counselors, whose jobs require Master’s degrees ($60-63K versus $30-$43K).  (Salaries from www.salary.com for 93106 zip code.)

If graduate school is your next logical step, then start getting ready now.  Here’s a time line that can help you see what you need to be doing and when.

If you’re convinced that graduate school is not your best next step, then there are all kinds of options open to you. You might look at post-BA internships, management training or other entry level options (talk to recruiters at the upcoming job fairs, or talk to your career counselor about other ways earn money while you wait out the economy. If you work your way the tough times, the good news is that companies often lay off their more experienced, more expense staff and replace them with less experienced, less expensive people — newly minted grads, for instance. The poor economy can actually work in your favor.

Next week I’ll talk about recession-proofing your career. Tune in to see how you can increase your options and chances for getting hired.

Micael Kemp is the director of Career Services at UCSB. Have more questions about what the heck to do once you have that degree? Shoot an e-mail to micael.kemp@sa.ucsb.edu.

One Response to “Hiding From a Poor Economy in Graduate School”

1. TeacherJay says:

   February 12, 2009 at 7:41 am

   Thanks for this post. This is some good information to be used as a guide in the decision to attend graduate school. I recommended people read it in a recent post regarding student loans for graduate students at: http://edublog.teacherjay.net/2009/02/12/economically-stimulating-students/