Continuing your education or work
Things to Consider
The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings (.pdf) comprised by the U.S. Department of Commerce reveals that over an adult's working life, high school graduates can expect, on average, to earn $1.2 million; those with a bachelor's degree, $2.1 million; and people with a master's degree, $2.5 million.
Reasons for going straight to graduate school:
- you are comfortable being a student
- you have perfected your study skills
- you have the time and money to invest yourself mentally, physically and financially for at least two years
- some occupations require an advanced degree for “entry level” positions
Reasons for entering into the workforce:
- your professors/family want you to go to graduate school, but YOU don’t feel ready
- you can better know your career goals by entering into the workforce first
- you can bring a broader world-view to your studies
- you will have more life experience to apply to your classwork
- many employers will pay some or all of your graduate school expenses
- you may be more financially stable
- you have time to improve your chances of being accepted into graduate school by developing your resume - especially if you do not have a strong undergraduate record
Questions to ask yourself before you decide:
- Why are you considering a graduate degree? What are your career aspirations?
- What graduate degree is the best match with your career goals?
- Which graduate program is right for you?
- Can you afford graduate school? How much debt will you incur?
