After college, should I look for a job, or should I go to graduate school?

Hi there, Albert! Great question. Grad school is often necessary to advance your career, but more often than not working a couple of years before you go is a good idea. Getting a job first will give you an opportunity to test the job market's needs. Of course, there are certain professions where a grad degree is required, e.g. medicine, law, architecture, some engineering. And, you may find more professions in which further education is looked upon favorably. I would really suggest you spend some time in your college's career office talking with counselors about your goals. If you have a few ideas on which kinds of careers you are interested in at this point, they will have more specific recommendations about grad school. Or, get back to me with ideas and I'll give you some more thoughts. As for your question about major, that really depends on your overall interests. Most grad schools will tell you specifically if they have course requirements for admissions. (This is particularly true for med school.) However, without knowing your current best ideas at this point I can only recommend that you follow your passions . . . what you like to do, what you do well, and what motivates you most. I know this is very general advice, but I hope it encourages you to keep exploring.

Hi!

A masters degree may or may not be helpful. It depends on so many variables. If it is helpful for your career, many times an employer will pay for it or help you get it.

Do prudent investigation before you make that move. In some instances, you might even be considered to be overqualified if you have such an advanced degree. Proceed cautiously.

Let me know if and how this might help. Keep me posted. I would like to follow your progress.

Graduate school is a decision you should make based on your personal preferences, ability to afford it, and its level of necessity in your chosen career field. Graduate degrees are not usually necessary in most career fields, but are becoming more and more necessary in order to get your resume taken seriously. I'm sure you've heard people say that "a Bachelor's degree is only as good as a high school diploma today", I know I have. Don't let that make your decision for you though. The best way to decide on whether or not you should continue your education is to sit back and take a good look at your situation.

First, think about whether or not you want to continue school. No one can force you to do anything you don't want to do, and if you don't want to keep going to school, don't. Do not put yourself in a situation you don't want to be in because some other people have said it might help. There are other ways to make your resume look good and get good experience, including internships, volunteer work, and other educational opportunities.

Second, decide if its financially feasible for you to invest in a post-graduate degree. You can always take out more loans, but many people don't want to add that financial burden to their lives if it isn't necessary. If you can pay for it yourself, through scholarship, on stipends as part of a graduate assistant program, or with financial aid, then that's all the better. Look to see if there are graduate assistance-ships available that are related to your current major or chosen career. There might even be one at your current school, that way if you decide you want to go to grad school, you have that option close to home.

Third, research your career. Take a closer look at the jobs you want to have and the education the people in those jobs have. Salary.com is a great resource that can help you understand the education level, salary, benefits, and how much experience you need in the field to get the job you're looking for. If it says 80% of people in the position have a master's degree, it doesn't mean you have to have one, but you should think about what you want to do to gain the type of experience that will be expected of you to have.

Once you have looked at all these things, then you can decide if you want to or don't want to go to grad school. I promise people talk them up a great deal, but they are not the end-all-be-all as far as helping advance your career. I've found employers are far more interested in valuable and challenging real-world experience in the field as opposed to the degrees themselves. As far as majors go, that's the fun thing about grad degrees: they don't have to relate to your undergrad degree at all. You can study psychology, business, art, whatever you want. So they are a good opportunity to further direct and hone your career-related knowledge. You can consider the degrees that are most universal, like business, or you can choose one that's very focused with your career. If you do decide on grad school, I would suggest you at least try to find a part-time job, internship, volunteer opportunity, or grad assistant program that allows you to work in your field while going to school. You will find a great many more doors open to you with real experience on your resume, than with an extra degree.