Why It’s A Great Idea to Stay in School

Today’s job market might suck (or maybe it doesn’t), but one thing is clear: there’s a lot of confusion in the “real world.”

It may then be better in this time of recession to focus on academics. Continue your studies and improve your skillset for the real world.

Why should you bother? If you’re still in school and are debating between a real life job or more school, more school might be a better fit. Here’s why.

You’re not losing out. With the economy in recession, you’re lucky if you get the chance to pursue your academic dreams rather than take the plunge later on after you’ve had a few years of work under your belt (and may then have financial and family obligations to worry about). With job cuts and an extremely volatile corporate society, it’s better to come to your new job interview (when availability increases) with a lot more experience than someone who has not had the opportunity to pursue other educational endeavors.

You get money. There are grants, loans, and even stipends to be had when pursuing higher education. If you go with a Ph.D, you’re often paid for a lot of your program costs. In other words, there’s nothing to lose and much to gain if you’re committed to the program. If a doctorate is something you’ve envisioned, why not?

You can broaden your network. While the mindset may not be completely job centric, many know that college is a means to an end (a solid career). This means that you need to start building up those networks now. Use the career resources available to you. Talk with professors. Many programs with tight-knit alumni will often “help a brother out.” You have more time to really build up these connections while you’re continuing your educational pursuits, so you might as well take advantage of them as they’re critical (and highly undervalued!)

If you’ve been considering graduate school, it’s a good time right now to apply and consider these options. You’ll be happy that you did.