Taking the graduate school option lightly can be detrimental for those who choose it for the wrong reasons.
Assistant Dean of LSU Graduate School, Dr. Pamela Monroe, said it takes a certain kind of student to be successful in a graduate program.
“Graduate school is more intense, self-directed and more one-on-one with faculty members,” Monroe said. “A student should want to go to graduate school for the excitement of learning, discovery and to gain knowledge within their specific field.”
Motives of students who choose to further their education vary considerably, Monroe said. Motives can be good, but they can be detrimental.
“It always concerns me if a person’s motives are other than to gain expertise in his or her own field,” Monroe said. “Going to graduate school for anyone other than yourself – either to please a parent or grandparent – can be risky. If one day you look in the mirror and can’t find your own motivation, you’re not going to get through.”
Other motives, such as going to graduate school to raise earning power can backfire as well, Monroe said. By the time a student gets out of school and amasses a good deal of debt, the market may be flooded, and he or she might not even be able to find a job.
Students also are very aware of the economy, Monroe said. When the economy is down, students think: since I can’t find a job, I’ll try graduate school. This motive makes a certain amount of sense but still does not get a person through the rigor of graduate school.
Students said that certain majors warrant graduate school while others do not.
Comparative politics graduate student John Tadayeski said while graduate school is not for everyone, for liberal arts majors, it can be very important.
“Graduate school in the liberal arts is quickly becoming less of a preparatory point for the professional,” Tadayeski said. “It creates academics. If one really wants to specialize, they can make something happen. If your have your undergrad in the liberal arts, graduate school is almost a necessity.”
Sandy Osborne, an economics senior is shopping around for graduate schools now, and said she also does not think everyone is cut out for it.
“Graduate school takes a certain amount of discipline that not everyone has,” Osborne said. “Some majors can do really well without grad school.”
The money factor, while not being the most honorable of motives, is the reason many students choose a higher degree. After all, the earning ceiling over an entire career does raise considerably with each degree obtained, Monroe said.
But before students start filling out applications, they should know that grad school does not always equal money.
According to the Chronicle of Higher Learning, what some call “the Bible of graduate students,” if students insist on going to graduate school in the humanities, they should know that only about “50 percent of Ph.D’s in English eventually land a tenure-track job in the humanities.”