Sometimes I wonder if the degree I pursued was the best degree for me. Did I do it out of excitement that I was going to campus or it was really what I wanted? Did my mother have some influence over my choice? Did I picture my future after graduation? Where did I see myself? Is it still relevant? Am I taking the career path that it prepared me for?
A number of more questions tend to answer the above questions but the desire to go back to school still interests me. Though I can’t bear being haunting with mainly this question, ‘Are You Sure, You Want To Do This?’
So I researched around, online and found a great article about Things to Consider Before Pursuing A Graduate Degree.
The Author Kate Warren is the director of global recruiting services at Devex, a development agency. She say before you drive back in to book you need to have;
Tried a few years of experience before heading to graduate school, while it is tempting to go straight into a graduate program, having a master’s degree with no real work experience can sometimes do more harm than good.
Analyzed the job market in your chosen field of study. Finding a program or course you like doesn’t mean companies are hiring under it. You need to do some research about those who pursued it before you, scan the job boards and see if vacancies are there or not.
When deciding between a general or technical degree, it’s usually best to go the more specific path. Aim for the target and hit it.
Look more at the practical experience the program will provide, less at the university name, like some programs allow you to do field work as part of your degree or facilitate internships with major organizations.
Most employers are skeptical of online degrees, before pursuing an online degree, make sure you do due diligence on the program, its reputation and success rates.
Try to work and study at the same time. Working and studying at the same time can also help you apply both experiences on the other. You will come to class with real world challenges, questions and ideas and be able to go back and apply what you learn directly on the job. You will also be able to earn an income, often making a degree more economically feasible.
A master’s is sufficient in most cases, except, if you want to be an expert in one of the social sciences you may need to pursue a Ph.D. However, this can typically be done mid-career and with a lot of forethought.
Once you have a graduate level degree, experience will trump additional degrees, Unless you have a very specific area you want to work in, like engineering or law, it’s often not worth it to pursue additional degrees once you have a graduate degree.
I guess, I am still going back to school for the reasons not mentioned above.
