From today's NY Times, on the effects of the current economic environment on graduate programs. This is why, for those of you planning on grad school, you're in this course - so you can stand out from all the rest!
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/education/10grad.html
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this kind of makes you wonder if with the 670,000 more students applying to grad school now and the "shortage of good jobs" is there really a better choice? or are the chances of getting a good job and getting in to a good grad school pretty much the same.
ReplyDeleteI just read the article and think it makes perfect sense. When people are scared of not being able to find a job, they stay in school longer. Some people may want to prolong their time not in "the real world" by going on to graduate school, while other people choose to get a higher level of education, believing it will help them land a job in a suffering economy. Either mentality leads to applying to graduate school, and the time people worry most about finding a job is if they're expecting to graduate during a recession.
ReplyDelete-Aleksandra Vileshina
This just goes to show that a tough economy affects everyone. Even the government, which I have read was looking to hire people, especially in the next two to three years.
ReplyDelete-Leland
Well, this is the second post about graduate school vs. "real-world". Of course, in this days, because of the poor economy, people tend to attend graduate school rather than going out to the field to get a job. I have a brother who graduated from this school and still not finding a job that's related to his major. Which I don't think it's that bad. People tend to find a job that are related to their major however, if they want to find any job at any fields, it's possible to get one. Therefore, it may be good choice to take G.R.E, L.S.A.T, D.A.T, M.C.A.T, or etc, to get into grad. school, but it also good thing to head out to the field and try your best to find a job.
ReplyDeleteFrom my personal experience, I believe that getting employment right after graduation is better idea although our economy is tough. For reason being, I think working or interning for 2 years in the field would gain more experience than going to graduate school for 2 years. Of course going into graduate school would be better for academic purpose, but I have worked in many fields before college or after college and learned that working experience is more important than academic knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI think Aleksandra made a really good point about people going to graduate school just to prolong having to go out into the "real world." I also think that as current students we have an advantage over others who have graduated a few years ago and more because we have resources that assist us in receiving a job right after we graduate. I don't know for a fact but i'm pretty sure that a good portion of the applications are sent by people who have been in the workforce for years already and were unfortunatley fired or faced another unfortunate situation. These people now feel like they need to go back to school in order to get a good job or at this point any job. Overall I don't think graduate school is necessary for us at this point in our lives, but at some point it will pay off to get an advanced degree.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Aleksandra as well about people wanting to remain in school so they wouldn't have to face the difficulties of the "real world". Brian also made a good point that obtaining a advance degree will be more beneficial in the long run so we shouldn't put off going to grad school. It's very difficult to say which will be more of an advantage for landing a good job because most people would advise that one should get a masters degree while some may say gaining work experience will be more beneficial. I think that if finding a job isn't working out for one than they shouldn't waste valuable time by just waiting around to find one. In this case the time used for waiting can be utilize in getting a advance degree.
ReplyDeleteJust one thought to add to the ongoing discussion: getting a Masters degree and getting work experience are not mutually exclusive options (and PhD paths often include teaching experience anyway).
ReplyDeleteIn my personal experience, I worked through the second year of my Masters, averaging about 30 hours of work per week. During the first year it's wise to stay focused on the new academic environment, but the programs generally allow enough time for outside work.
And anyway, just being a graduate student as opposed to someone with a BA alone helps one to get employment while pursuing a Masters (for better or for worse, you're taken more seriously).
Hadas,
ReplyDeleteI'd have to say it's probably still a better choice. There is a pretty wide range of schools from which a graduate degree would be considered a significant boost to your resume. A masters is a masters, and I don't think it necessarily has to be from an elite university. Add to that the fact that no matter what school you choose, you will always have the option to pursue a degree related to your field, whereas if you're out job hunting, you might have to settle for options totally unrelated to your desired career path just to get by and start paying those undergraduate loans. I agree with you, though, that its worrisome that our first choices in schools might be a little further out of reach with the recent influx of grad students.
Something that came to mind while reading this article was that even though rates for going back to the "academic grind" was higher than before, it's apparent that with higher application and admission rates, loans and grants would be proportionally as high. Having stated this, wouldn't it be a wiser move to go into buisness and banking investments? Eventually interest rates following graduation for these students will be astronomically high and stock values would increase. Just a though.
ReplyDeleteAs for the thoughts on returning to school due to the falling economy, it's not a bright idea. True doors are open for those who return to school but you're also confined to the scheduling and studying times that universities demand while attending. You're essentially throwing away 4 years. There are those however, who believe that it will pay off. As for that, in the case of the ex-CIA employee Ms. Ramswell, Work will be hard to find even with more opportunities and degrees, wouldn't 4 years of job searching and work experience place you further ahead of those who return to school or seek higher education? But, I digress in the manner that I too am part of the statistic that wishes to have more of her doors opened. But i do not believe it is a "brilliant" idea.
-Ae Rhee Chung