Graduate School

The norm is that students will achieve an undergraduate degree and at some point will go for a master’s degree.  There are a variety of thoughts about graduate school and setting goals.

When to go for a graduate degree?

Some suggest going for a graduate degree immediately after your undergraduate degree.  Reasons might include:  

• You are used to studying
• You won’t have to interrupt your work/life
• Build your resume and experiences before seeking your first real job
• Continuity with professors, mentors, university
• Before you have a spouse and a family, and job responsibilities that may keep you from continuing

There are those that suggest waiting a few years before going for a graduate degree.  Their reasons might be:

• Gain some maturity before attempting graduate work
• Save up some money
• Have a better direction of where you are going and why you are going for a graduate degree
• Gain some professional experiences
• Work with your employer to get funding for your graduate work

Where to go for a graduate degree?

I suggest going to a new campus, a new environment.  Get out of your comfort zone. If you have been at college/university A for four years as an undergraduate, try university B for your graduate work.  Studies also suggest that it isn’t necessarily the school and the reputation of the school as it is YOU. There are CEOs who went to less prestigious state universities and there are CEOs who went to Harvard and Yale.  Malcolm Gladwell suggests that there is a “Big Fish in a Small Pond” possibility where going to a less prestigious university may actually be better than being a second class student with super over-achievers at a prestigious university.

I tend to be in the second group.  Having taught MBA (Master of Business Administration) courses, the students in a class with experience are generally head and shoulders better than those who just finished their undergraduate degrees and do not have many real-world experiences.  MBA (and other graduate programs) expect students to think and be able to solve problems. Gaining experiences that will help you think critically and solve real problems are generally best with business experiences, not just academic experiences.  

The emphasis switches from gaining knowledge to applying knowledge and thinking critically.  First jobs are generally not leadership positions, but managerial jobs need critical thinking and that frequently comes two ways – academic challenges and real-world experiences.  If a goal is to be a leader or a manager, then getting an advanced degree is important.  

And a comment about MBA degrees:  An MBA is a business degree. But … ultimately your job is in a ‘business’.  So, you are an engineer and you work in an engineering department or engineering company, but as you move up in the organization the skills become more leadership, people skills, accounting/finance/ business skills; marketing of your services – which are business skills and in the MBA program.  Can you get an MBA without an undergraduate business degree? Yes. You might have to take some remedial classes (some basic accounting or basic finance courses). Even in an engineering consulting practice, you need to balance the books, send invoices, collect payments, pay staff and do all the business processes. 

Quote: If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place. – Nora Roberts