The National Association of Colleges and Employers reports that only 59% of the 16,500 college seniors it surveyed had started looking for employment by the end of April, compared to 75% who had started looking at the same time last year. It’s a sizable shift that may have a direct impact on you and motivate your decisions. And a choice many students are making is another year or two of school, this time at the graduate level.



When the conversation turns to graduate school, the prevailing thought has always been that one must work for a few years after receiving his or her bachelor’s degree before coming back to pursue an advanced degree. It’s a common notion that you need to get out in the real world and take your lumps to understand the specific value of the graduate degree before you return to earn it. However, in the perennially hyper-competitive job market, where gaining any possible competitive advantage is paramount, it has become more common for traditional-aged students to pursue their master’s degree immediately after finishing their bachelor’s work. Is this a path you should choose, or should you follow the old-school timeline and work for 2 to 5 years before returning for an advanced degree?



Making the transition from student to professional is a major change, but what if you could extend your time in higher education in a way that is productive, adds valuable knowledge and results in a degree that will earn you that competitive distinction? It is a viable option, if you properly position yourself and pursue this route for the right reasons.

You Know What It Requires To Be A Student

As a recent college graduate, you are now as book-smart as you will ever be. You understand the culture of university life, how you need to structure your time in order to get things done, how to take exams and finish projects, and how to cultivate relationships with professors. These skills are as essential in graduate school as they were in college.

You Have Less Attachments

Generally, you are unfettered, and have fewer commitments at this point in your life than you will ever have again—no spouse, no children, no mortgage, etc. This will allow you more time to devote to school.

You Will Focus On Developing Crucial Skills

Graduate schools are competing for engaged students; they must provide cutting-edge knowledge and delivery methods, practical course/case work, and overall satisfaction. On top of these, you will develop and refine an advanced skill set. Deepening critical thinking ability, understanding the global landscape, social responsibility, social networking/technology, and sustainability as they relate to the new world are crucial abilities to be successful in an ever-changing world.

You Tap Into A Powerful Network

Through connections at your school, you can diversify and expand your network exponentially. Working with classmates, professors (with invaluable industry experience), and the career services department at your school will increase your contacts and accompanying opportunities. Career services departments are a tremendous resource for career advising, resume writing, mock and real job interviews, and internships. This department helps create happy alums by being thorough in their services, and “seeing around the bend,” to understand industry, economic and employment trends in the short and longer term.

You Gain Access To Invaluable Internship Experience

You need to acquire a meaningful internship experience before or during your graduate school matriculation. This can take the form of an unpaid internship. Often times, an intern will get a better view of the company than a new entry level worker. The more substantive experience you produce, the better you will be able to contribute in the classroom, further maximizing your education.

You Are Making A Smart Financial Investment

Check the opportunity costs—by going to school full-time now and earning your advanced degree, you will not have to quit work later to pursue your studies on a full- or part-time basis. By enrolling now and paying today’s tuition rate while attending full-time, you won’t need to forego income down the road combined with taking the higher price tuition hit in the future.



Although the economy threads through nearly every important decision we make nowadays, and it may be a compelling reason for you to go back to school, it cannot be the sole motivation for making this move. First, you must develop and scrutinize your planned career trajectory, and be confident that an advanced degree provides you the proper entrée. You must ask yourself, how this degree fits in your plans two, five, and even 10 years down the road? Being able to visualize and “frame” this degree to your advantage at all these milestones is critical. For example, a student may think about this in terms of “two years after receiving my master’s degree I will be in a specialized position at ABC Corporation, which will pave the road nicely for expanded responsibilities and a management post at XYZ Incorporated after five years, etc.”



It won’t take long to realize that this is a mistake if the recessed economy is the only reason you return. You will immediately become aware of the graduate school landscape by experiencing heightened standards for admission. Post acceptance, you will feel it via increased rigor in course work, reading and research load, complexity of group projects, and more mature peer interaction.



As a recent college graduate, congratulations! If you have employment secured, congratulations again—go for it, and good luck as you start your career in the new economy. However, if you do not have something solid waiting for you and you can fully commit and go “all in” regarding every aspect of post-baccalaureate academia—earning that advanced degree during this time can have tangible career benefits over your long and successful career.



Greg Grauberger is the Director of Academic Services for Undergraduate Programs at the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver.