Before You Apply to Grad School, Stop and Think

One of my favorite topics is the value and purpose of going to graduate school, especially in your twenties. I just heard another story about a twenty-something with a newly minted MBA who's having a devil of a time finding a job. When employers see MBA on her resume, they assume that she should be looking for a management position. Unfortunately, because this grad's previous positions were primarily administrative and customer-service oriented, many employers don't think she has the practical experience to qualify for such a position.

I've gotten dozens of e-mails from graduate school alumni in similar situations. After spending tens of thousands of dollars on an advanced degree, they find that they are no more marketable in their chosen field than they were before they started school. The only difference now is that their job search is more urgent because they are deeply in debt.

To me, this phenomenon speaks to the danger of going back to school without a great deal of forethought. So many people choose a graduate program because they aren't sure where they want to go with their careers, when in reality, they should first be doing a cost/benefit analysis to determine what such a program is going to bring them in terms of increased job prospects and financial compensation. Of course, before investing an enormous amount of money, time and effort securing an advanced degree, they should also do enough research and have enough hands-on experience to know that they actually like the field. I've heard lots of stories of twenty and thirty-somethings who graduate with a Ph.D., JD, or MBA only to end up deciding they want to do something else entirely. Lawyers become advertising directors, doctors become life coaches, marketing executives become journalists, and so on.

Bottom line: Although returning to the safety of books and finals might feel more comfortable than the workplace grind, graduate school is not something you should do just for the heck of it. Rather, you should first determine in concrete terms why you need the advanced degree to move ahead in your career of choice, and then map out a plan for how you'll use the training and degree to facilitate the level of success you desire.

Sometimes people ask me why I haven't gotten an MBA myself, and the reason is this: I work for myself, and as such don't have a company subsidizing the $50K tuition. If I'm going to pay that kind of money out of my own pocket, then I better be sure I'm going to make it back with my post-MBA income. I know for a fact, though, that right now this won't happen. I'm at a point in my career as an author, and my career as a marketing and career consultant (both of which I love), where getting that MBA won't make much of a difference at all. I would like to get an advanced degree someday soon, but I don't kid myself. It's because I like to learn, not because I think it's a magic ticket into an uncharted area of the career stratosphere.