Unemployed Recent Grads: Should you go to Grad School?

So you’ve graduated from college – now what?
by Fahima Haque
Published June 30, 2010

Over the past month, college graduates across the nation are hearing the very same word from their friends, families, past professors and even acquaintances.

Congratulations.

Congratulations on accruing a hundred or so thousand dollars in debt over four years? Or congratulations on becoming a career intern over the past four years? Or better yet, congratulations on discovering the joys of unemployment?

What used to be a word that elicited positive emotions, now just sounds like a four-letter word. Doesn't sound like much of a congratulations, does it? Well don't fret, while the whole "I just graduated and I have nothing to do so I watch Rachael Ray every morning to pass the time" lifestyle is really not a wise backup choice for any 20-something, there are ways to navigate the frustrating post-undergraduate bubble.

So yes, now what? Your friends who majored in finance actually have jobs and your friends who majored in biology are already enrolled in medical school. You, however, are now cursing yourself for not giving numbers or cheek cells or whatever a second chance. Well, don't freak out just yet. It's definitely not too late to reevaluate just what graduate school actually means and how it might just be the right option for you.

While there are a bevy of helpful resources that can help guide you in the right direction, I started my search by talking to various graduates. Listening to other people’s reasons for pursuing graduate school provided a clearer perspective on why so many people are looking towards more schooling to help bolster their chances of getting the career they want.

Stall for time

Pritul Bhuiyan, 25, a 2008 graduate from Syracuse University with a dual bachelor’s degree in human services with a concentration in child and family studies and a second degree in hospitality industry studies with a minor in writing, has had grad school on her mind for a while now.

“I always had conflicting ideas on whether I wanted to go to grad school directly after undergrad or wait awhile. I ended up waiting a while because I wasn't exactly sure of what I wanted to do, so I didn't want to jump right into grad school although I have done a lot of research about it while I was in school,” she said.

Like many other students, Bhuiyan, used several different avenues when trying to learn more about the grad school. Meeting with academic advisors, talking to current students, requesting brochures and applications from university Web sites and attending graduate school seminars can all be helpful resources that provide a much more hands on approach than arbitrarily searching on Google for “best ranked public health programs.”

As it turns out Bhuiyan enrolled in a masters business program at Hunter College last summer in 2009. “I took classes in the evening, but now I have deferred it until this fall; I will be going back again, my plans are to take some courses there, get some proper funding and experience and then apply to NYU or UMass for their masters program,” she said. In the meantime she has worked several different jobs, from Ebay to her position now at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or MTA, in New York City.

Juice your career

She’s not the only student who decided to wait and get some real world experience before enrolling in another academic commitment. Other students interested in grad school can also look toward non-traditional forms of learning, like Ferdoushi Kamal, 39, living in Queens, NY who is researching online classes. Kamal has been thinking about grad school more seriously over the past three years at her alma mater, Baruch College. Shortly after earning a degree in accounting, she focused on her family and now as a mother of two and a CPA with her own accounting business, online classes would help her save time and money. “A masters in taxation will help overall in my career to serve my clients with their tax needs and it would simply expand my education,” she said.

Expand your horizons

While Kamal may be interested in utilizing grad school as a tactical route to strengthen her already established career, others want to use grad school as a platform for exploring other academic options.

Libby Deshaies

Libby Deshaies, 21, recently graduated from American University with a degree in International Relations. A native Texan, she opted to stay in Washington D.C. for another year working at the Foreign Service Institute as a program assistant in the office of public diplomacy before enrolling in law school.

Deshaies originally had no plans to enroll in grad school and wanted to avoid becoming a “grown-up” as long as possible. But after attending a career fair at her university and finding that most of the jobs available were either student internships or positions that required advanced degrees, she realized that, “it seemed like a good idea to have more practical, marketable skills than just an undergrad degree.”

She also graduated in three years, which made her attracted to a higher, more niche education. “It played a part in me wanting to go back to school, because I felt like my education was essentially freshman and sophomore classes and I wanted more,” she said. 

But despite joining her peers in reevaluating the potential importance of more schooling, she plans on using her law school degree in an unconventional way. “I don’t plan on becoming a stereotypical courtroom lawyer, but to work for a human rights group or something like that.” 

Claim your destiny

Sarah Desrosiers

For some, attending grad school was always a no-brainer. Sarah Desrosiers, 21, also a recent graduate from American University with a degree in international relations, always knew that more education was in the cards and is contemplating a masters in public health or social work.

“Both of my parents went to grad school, so I always kind of thought that I would because it’s just what I thought you were supposed to do,” she said. “I really want to work in the field, in a country somewhere and I feel like just my basic international studies degree doesn’t give me a skill I could teach someone.”

No magic eight ball

So yes, it’s clear to see that no one can give you a definitive answer on whether or not more schooling is indeed the right decision for you. Or when more schooling is right for you. Or how more schooling is right for you.

Unfortunately, there is not always a clear and easy answer. If there’s one definitive theme resonating across students who are contemplating graduate school, it’s that it requires some serious thought as to what you’re passionate about and how you can use grad school as a tool to parlay that dream job into a career for the future.

Fahima Haque is a recent college graduate from American University with a Bachelor in Journalism and a freelance writer. 

 

 

 

 

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