Navigating Your Graduate School Decision: Key Considerations for Prospective Students

Dennis Guzik is the host of the Be the Ultimate podcast, where he shares valuable career advice.

• One of the most common questions he is asked as a former corporate leader is whether to go to grad school.

• The first factor to consider is if grad school is necessary and if it will benefit your career.

• If the answer is yes, then it's important to think about whether you enjoy the field of study and can handle the time and cost.

• While going to grad school while working full time may take longer, it provides a steady income and potential employer support.

• Full-time grad school offers a more immersive experience but requires financial investment without a salary.

• Another option is going straight to grad school after obtaining a bachelor's degree, which may be beneficial with more experience under your belt.

• Ultimately, the decision should be based on personal preference and weighing the factors of liking the field, needing it for your career, and being able to handle the commitment.

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:02

Hi folks . Well , it's Dennis Guzik , the old jarhead with the Be the Ultimate podcast , where I give you some just straight out great career advice . So what are we going to talk about today ? Well , today , you're lucky , okay . One of the biggest questions I would get asked when I was a leader inside of the corporate world was should I go to grad school ? And that's a big decision , time and money wise . So I thought I'd give you some of my thoughts on this thing and you could take it from there .

Speaker 1 0:38

So let's not kick this around anymore , let's get going , okay , first , the thing I think you have to think about first is do I need it and will it help my career ? So two parts of that do I need it ? Obviously , if you want to be a lawyer , you got to go to law school . If you want to be a doctor , you got to go to med school . Then there's a second part of that will it help ? Okay . So if the answer to those first two questions is yes , then either got to go to grad school or you need to change your career path . Simple as that . If the answer to do I need it and will it help , and the answer to that is no , and going to grad school is kind of like pursuing a hobby . It's an expensive one , better think twice about doing it . But then there's that middle ground . Right , I don't necessarily need it . It may help my career Not necessarily , sure . So let's go on to the next factor . The next question you need to ask yourself right , and I think that is do you like this field to study ? Right , it'll be a whole lot easier to put in the time needed and the cost if you like what you're doing , if you like that field of study . If you don't , then you got to ask yourself why are you on this career path and maybe consider a different one , okay ?

Speaker 1 2:01

Third factor to think about here is how much time and money and disruption is going to grad school going to cost At this point in your personal professional career ? Can you withstand the time and cost of going to grad school ? And I'll tell you this generally , it doesn't get easier . The older you get , the older you get , the more senior you get in your job , the more family obligations you have , the more difficult it is to take on a graduate school program .

Speaker 1 2:37

So if you decide to go , there's a couple other things that you need to think about , and one of those is should I go full-time or part-time ? And this is a really common question . I would get Okay , part-time can take longer , but you are still earning a salary while you're in school , so that helps , and then if your employer will cover some of that cost , that's a huge help . Okay , you may get an obligation to stay with the company after you graduate , or even before you if you stop , but if you like your employer and you think you're staying there and they're willing to pay to improve you , then that's a big help , and you should really consider going part-time Now . Full-time , though , has its benefits , right More immersive , you get more time with the professors and the fellow students , so that's the good side . The bad side is you're paying for it and you don't necessarily have an income .

Speaker 1 3:35

One other factor that's really common nowadays is going to grad school right after you get your bachelor's degree . Days is going to grad school right after you get your bachelor's degree . Some schools will say , okay , you finish your bachelor's degree and I don't know , make it up mechanical engineering , and if you stay one more year and get your master's , that's all it's going to take . You is one year , a couple of years down the road . You want to enroll in somewhere . It'll probably take you two years , so think about that , right .

Speaker 1 3:59

The benefit of waiting , though , is that you go into the program with a little more experience , a little more ability to understand things and even ask relevant questions . So good stuff , right ? That's all I do In the end . It's your call , but I would recommend you weigh the three factors like it need it and can you accept the time and cost ? And if the answer is yes , then think about the full-time , part-time considerations I laid out . And then you go to the next step , and that is deciding where to go . But that's for a future podcast . Thanks for listening , and Semper Fi , I hope you enjoyed it . And look at my book . Find a Job that Fits your Life life and I'll talk to you next week . Bye , thank you , thank you .