Is Grad School Worth It?

More folks are trying to figure out if grad school is worth?

When we were in school, our career counselor would give us dry data saying how much we'd make if we graduated from high school, college, got a Ph.D. Well, the counselors forgot to caveat us. What should we be looking for and what are the pitfalls for getting graduate degrees. Also, what is the road map or career arc that most of us will see.

Well, that' s history. There is no such thing as a career arc. Old work rules are dead. Expectations are higher. And, things change ...

There are however, some truisms:

In general, advanced degreses are worth it. However, an advanced degree in literature may be less valuable.

A masters or Ph.D. in psychology may be the professional degree to ply the psych trade. It may also apply to civil engineering.

When I was going to school, a degree in a foreign language such as Chinese or Arabic was considered folly and a sign of immaturity or a big trust fund. Well now, they are killer valuable.

Bottom Line: things change and we all have to be resilient.