I'm not going to lie to you. Money is the motivator behind most actions. The choice to go to graduate school after the completion of your undergraduate work is no different.
With a master's degree, you will make more money, plain and simple. According to the 2000 census, the average member of the work force with a master's degree earned $10,100 more per year than a worker with a bachelor's degree. (The average salary for a worker with a doctoral degree is $37,200 more than one with only a bachelor's.)
When our parents went to school, a high school education was good; however, an undergraduate degree was the ticket to success. These days, a bachelor's degree is the bare minimum for many people. With more people receiving their master's in specialized fields, the bar has been set a little bit higher.
So, picture this: You're at the job interview, that master's degree will give you the edge over some slack-jawed 21-year-old who just ambled out of four years of frat parties and bong hits.
Your master's degree makes you that much more marketable. It will help to make you a leader in your professional field, or if one day you want to switch careers, you will be fully equipped to do so. A rich education will never hurt you.
Admittedly, by the time most undergraduates receive their diploma, they will have been in school for upwards of 16 years. I have been at UB for nearly four years now and still have a year to go. Truthfully, the thought of another few years of schooling slapped on to that doesn't thrill me. But what will thrill me less is getting settled into a job and a steady paycheck and then uprooting it all to go back to school so that I can earn more money or advance in my career.
As students, we already have the momentum to go on to grad school; we have the study habits and the discipline. When I'm 40, that momentum will be replaced with a strong desire to rest after a long day's work or put food on the table for my screaming children.
The point is that now I'm not tied down with the responsibilities that will pop up in the next 10 years. Yes, graduate school will mean student loans; yes, grad students have to work hard, but I would rather spend the next two to seven years of my life devoted solely to school, rather than try to split my time between school, a job and a family 10 years down the road. It wouldn't be fair to the other priorities in my life, nor would it be the most effective way for me to learn. ("Son, hold my thesis, the baby just spit up again.")
On top of that, the financial strain of grad school is yours and yours alone if you go directly after the completion of your undergrad work. If you realize at age 40 that you need more education, the monetary obligation is shared by your spouse and screaming thesis-holding children.
All three of the options presented - grad school, a career and a family - are possible paths for each student. Going to grad school directly after college paves the way for a better paying job and leaves the graduate with a greater certainty of being able to provide for a family.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
