By
Katie Paff
November 5, 2008
One dilemma that crosses the mind of most seniors, myself included, is whether or not to apply to graduate school. After all, the GREs need to be taken in the fall and, for the most part, applications need to be in before the end of fall quarter. For some students, grad school is a given and something they’ve been planning for years. For others — such as myself, a journalism major, a field in which grad school is hardly needed — it seems like a way to delay “the real world” for a while, especially with today’s economy.
Turning on the news every day, you hear of yet another company trimming its workforce. It’s hard not to feel like a nervous wreck as a senior. I can’t count the number of times I’ve whined about it, thinking. “Why me? Why do I have to graduate now?”
Former Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, denounced the current economic situation as a “once-in-a-century crisis” and from what the news reports, it seems like we ain’t seen nothing yet. So the question is: Should we hedge our bets and hope for the best? Apply for jobs and hope we don’t end up unemployed for a year, sitting around in our parents’ living rooms playing video games? Or should we use graduate school as a hideout until the country rides out the recession?
I did a little research and talked to some professionals in my field, and they made me realize a few things. First of all, graduate school is very expensive. Unless you have full parental support or a trust fund sitting around somewhere, you’re probably going to have to take out loans. Now, that’s all very well and fine if you’re going to become a doctor or CEO of a Fortune 500, but if you’re going to be a reporter or professor or in the arts, it’ll probably take you a really long time to pay them off. I know of people who are planning to apply to law school, yet claim they don’t really want to be an attorney. You’ll need a lawyer’s salary to have any hope of paying off those loans before you reach retirement — or at least middle age. Law school isn’t a place for the lukewarm.
The way I see it, you may or may not graduate from undergrad with debt. Why add to it with no certainty of getting a job that pays enough to help you pay off all those loans? If you’re going into a field in which work experience trumps education — such as journalism — insecurity about the economy and a desire to hide out for a couple years probably isn’t the best reason to take on $50,000 or more in additional student loans.
The good news is that companies are still hiring. While they may have trimmed their estimated hiring numbers, they’re always still looking for young, impressionable college grads; we’re more tech savvy, flexible and a heck of a lot cheaper than the grumpy, middle-aged workers out there.
It will be more competitive indeed, but those with good internship experience and strong references will probably stand out. As for the rest: There’s no shame in taking on an internship and working at a café, or bartending or serving on the side. Think of it as character building. The recession won’t last forever. Our country will come out stronger.
Reach columnist Katie Paff at opinion@dailyuw.com.
2 Comments
#1 a student
on November 5, 2008 at 6:55 a.m.(Seattle, WA | Unverified Name)
Cost is (and ought to be) a major concern when deciding whether to further your education. While I think that it's crucial that anyone who is able and willing to get a bachelor's degree, I am not in agreement that everybody needs (or should go) to grad school. Unless you plan to work in academia, your best bet is to probably get into the work force, build up a stellar resume, get good experience, etc.
#2 Kurt
on November 5, 2008 at 10:09 a.m.(UW Campus | Unverified Name)
Going on to grad school is a not uncommon strategy in harsh economic times. But drifting into grad school simply because you can't think of anything better to do is a poor reason. You really should have an idea of why you want that graduate degree. Some jobs, such as university professor, require one, so if that is your goal, then it makes sense to go on to grad school. But there are many more jobs that do not require one. (Heck, even the bachelor's degree is oversold. There are many more students taking on unnecessary debt to get a bachelor's degree who could do just as well without one.)
So if you are on the fence regarding grad school, my advice would be to spend a year or two in "the real world". Get a job, if you can, even if it's something as lowly as pulling shots at Starbucks (which actually is not that lowly anyway). The point is not to pull down big bucks at this point. The point is to learn more about yourself, to find something that you can be passionate about.
By the way, grad school is not necessarily expensive. In certain fields, such as mathematics and the sciences, most PhD grad students are funded through teaching or research assistantships, so thet do not need to take on loans to fund their education. The tough part is qualifying to get into these programs.
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