Job Tuition

Evaluate Education - Graduate School

February 26th, 2007 by Andrew

This is Part 3 of our “Evaluate Education” series. We have covered several different types of education and examined the pros and cons of each. Be sure to check out the previous posts about vocational school and undergraduate education.

Graduate school provides an interesting final focus for this series. You already saw how vocational school trains students for a specific occupation. On the contrary, an undergraduate degree is generally for a broad field of study. Graduate school can actually be either of these types. The examples that follow will clarify this point.

A tale of two degrees

A basic graduate school degree is a master’s or doctorate degree. Many people choose to earn these degrees in their undergraduate field of study, such as math or history. Thus, you could attend graduate school, obtain a doctorate, but still have a general degree relating to a broad field of study.

On the flip side, medical school is also a graduate degree. However, once a student obtains a medical degree, she is actually prepared to engage in a specific occupation.

As you see, a graduate degree could appear similar to vocational school OR undergraduate, depending upon what type of degree you seek.

Time and money

Of the three types of education we’re covering in this series, graduate school definitely takes the longest. Generally speaking, students obtain a graduate degree only after getting an undergraduate degree. So if undergraduate takes an average 4 years, a graduate degree takes 4+ years.

The added time for a graduate degree depends upon what type of degree you’re seeking. A basic master’s degree usually takes an extra year. A doctorate might take 2 more years, a law degree takes 3 years, and a medical degree takes around 7 years (to finish residency, etc).

The cost of graduate degrees also varies, depending upon the field of study and school chosen. A law degree from a private school can cost $100,000 USD in tuition alone. However, a master’s degree from a public university might only cost a couple thousand dollars.

Think about your career

The mantra here about Job Tuition is always to think “career.” Thus, you’ll need to decide whether a graduate degree is right for your career.

Here are a few considerations to keep in mind:

• Do you need a graduate degree (ex: lawyer, doctor, etc)?
• Will a graduate degree increase your job or promotion opportunities?
• Would graduate school increase your salary?
• Do you want to commit to the extra school and expense required?

In the end, be sure to decide whether further education is right for you. There is no “right path” that everyone should follow. Gather information and evaluate education.

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