Grad School: Should you go?

>> Is grad school a good idea [Background Music]? The answer seems to differ depending upon who you ask. Some would advise for it, others would advise against it. So if you're thinking about going to grad school here are some good and bad reasons to go. [ Music ] >> You know, there's certainly value in it but I think a lot of it has to be a personal decision. You know, there's not one right or wrong answer; absolutely go for it, don't go for it. A lot of it has to do with the what's your background from a education standpoint and a career experience standpoint and where are you looking to get to in the future. >> Grad school is expensive, and potentially takes away from time that could be spent earning money at a full time job. So if you're going just because you've always wanted to live in Denver Colorado you might want to re-evaluate your thinking. Here are some other bad reasons to go to school. To impress people or your parents want you to go, because you hate your job or you can't find a job, because you are too afraid or perhaps lazy to enter the working world, because you're just curious about a particular field of study, and finally because you don't want the college experience to end. >> I would actually probably counsel against it if possible. For me, I had to do it to get onto Wall Street but it, you know, it takes you out of the job market for two and a half years, it costs a lot of money, and if I had-- if there was a way for me to end up where I am today without the MBA I wouldn't have done it. >> You can obtain some of that knowledge through continuing education and executive level programs without necessarily getting another degree, and I think those tend to benefit the people, at least within our profession and our firm, more than, sort of, taking time off and going and obtaining that degree. >> It's an expensive endeavor unless you are absolutely certain that-- or have a very good idea what you want on the other side. It's an investment that I think you need to be pretty careful about making. >> IF done for the right reasons grad school can really pay off. There can be personal growth, connections made, and greater career enhancement and financial reward. In some professions grad school is a requirement so I would say that's a pretty good reason to go. Here are some other good reasons to go. You can get your employer to pay for it, it would be required in order to change career fields, you will move up the ladder or get a pay increase at work, to make strategic business connections, because it will greatly increase your knowledge and make you more effective in your field, and finally because it will increase your options and enhance your professional prospects. >> Being around people who-- who have done what the teacher's already teaching and can provide some feedback and some input I thought was incredibly exciting to hear. You know, I sat in on master's level marketing classes with people who were in marketing divisions at, you know, large corporations. >> I think anyone who's going into business should go that route because it gives you a very well rounded perspective and you're able to lead through adversity, which is very common in today's world in business. >> Whatever graduate degree you're going to go for and it's teaching you not a specific skill but the ability to think or analyze whatever field you want to go into and you can think outside the box then graduate school is an excellent way to further your education. [ Music ]