Practical Concerns
The practical grounds all relate to two things: the cost of school and the probability of getting a job afterward. These two factors will determine whether graduate school makes sense for you in practical terms.
It may be promising to land a job easily after earning an advanced degree and still struggle to pay back your loans. Also it can be possible to complete a graduate program with no debt and still have trouble finding work. Many will find each of these scenarios unacceptable. Explore these practical issues so that you don't find yourself confronted with an ugly situation when school is over.
Look beyond graduate school to work through these practical issues. You should estimate the probable cost of your graduate program and study the state of the job market in your field. Important aspects of the job market are the availability of positions and the salary range. These pieces of information give you some idea of what your professional future (and loan-paying power) might look like. Take into account that the more information you unearth, the better you'll be able to appraise the practical obstacles to graduate education.
Personal Concerns
The personal drawbacks of graduate school are a little more complicated, as they depend on your likes and dislikes, and your powers of endurance. Some people begin graduate programs and never complete them, especially when pursuing doctorates: Some of these people quit for financial reasons, but many leave because they find that the life they're living is unacceptable.
The worst-case scenario is beginning a graduate program you never finish. Searching graduate programs should involve not only research into the broad academic outlines, but also research into what your daily life as a graduate student will be like.
From an informal survey of hundreds of graduate students, these are the top five lifestyle complaints students made:
• It's hard to make ends meet financially.
• There is little or no free time.
• There is not enough socializing in the department/school.
• There is nothing to do in the university community or surrounding area.
• Fellow graduate students are neurotically competitive.
While making your decision, be sure to consider these aspects of graduate life as well as anything else that could have a substantial effect on your quality of life. Once you decide exactly why you want to go to graduate school, you'll be better prepared to weigh the advantages of going against the disadvantages.
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