College is stressful enough. It is costly, the future of your career is in your hands, and the endless hours of hard work. Who would want to further their education after dedicating their lives to undergrad for four years? But the reality of it is that a master’s degree is becoming significantly important.
With an increasing number of industries requiring a master’s, it has become problematic in the search of beginning a career outside one’s respected field. That has left a significant number of millennials beginning a career post-grad in an area that does not pertain to their degree and questioning their entire undergraduate career. For others, you embark on the hurdle of graduate school.
But, let me tell you despite it being a huge undertaking, it is incredibly essential. It is a time to learn more about yourself, concentrate on a specific field and diving deep into forming an expertise of it, and if you are willing to commit your career to it. You will walk away with more debt but can call yourself an expertise in your field. It will also create more security in finding a job in your respected field.
The GRE prep alone will make you cry. If you thought your vocabulary was superb from all of your education, you were wrong and you better study up. The application process alone will cost more than one textbook and when you multiply that by how many you end up sending out, it will equal an entire months rent. You'll question whether or not there are enough hours of the day. If you thought undergrad was filled with more studying than hours in the day, you have not met grad school. Goodbye, social activities and sleep. They'll resume in a couple of years! When you tell yourself that you will manage your time better than you did in undergrad, it still won't happen. Netflix will always find a way to sneak in. Do you remember when days before exams teachers would hand out study guides and answer questions like "what's on the test?"? Yeah, those days are long gone too. Also, the few exams that you have in grad school will count for probably your entire grade so good luck not falling. The thesis you will have to compose over the course of your time will make you question if you are smart enough to handle it. Your eyes will deteriorate from the long nights of staring at your computer screen and textbooks and you will develop carpal tunnel from the amount of paper writing you are expected to do. If you are fortunate enough to have a full-time job on top of that, may the odds ever be in your favor. When you feel like you are sinking and will never come ashore, you will, at some point.
And while two years seems like a very long time in addition to spending more than half of your life in school, there is a light at the end of the tunnel far down the road; at least I hope so - stay tuned.
But in all seriousness, graduate school is crucial for most careers. For someone that is questioning whether or not to go or if it is important - apply, go, and be proud of completing a degree that not most people attempt.
Statistics: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/brand-connect/wp/2014/03/14/overall-trends/
