However, the problem for many when it comes to grad school seems to be convenience and cost. If you’re like most people Mom and Dad aren’t going to shell out any more of their savings to cover your Masters or your PhD - so you’re on your own. Chances are you’ll probably have to take out loans and work at the same time.
Difficult? Perhaps. Impossible? Absolutely not. Fortunately you actually have many options when it comes to grad school.
The Part-Time Approach
Ok, so chances are you’ll want to get your graduate degree as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, that won’t be the case for many of us. Consider working on your graduate degree part-time. This will allow you to work and gain the necessary experience you’ll need on your resume without completely burning yourself out.
The Boomerang Kid Approach
Just because your parents won’t pay for grad school doesn’t mean they won’t put a roof over your head a while longer. In fact, thanks to the current state of the economy many of us had no choice but to move back home while we figure things out.
Take advantage of this! If you choose to go back home after college, but are contemplating the idea of attending grad school, you should consider one of many advantageous online degrees that are offered by accredited universities. This will not only give you time to look for steady work, it will also help you get a head start on your graduate degree. Once you do find some work you can then go at your own pace online.
The Accelerated Approach
My best friend was telling me the other day that the Master’s program she’s looking into for architecture is only a year. This will allow her to get her graduate degree quickly without losing too much time in the professional world.
What are your graduate school stories?
The aforementioned approaches are just some of the ways you can tackle that graduate degree. Ultimately it’s up to you and how you work best.
What are some of your graduate school stories? How did you decide to go? How did you tackle the workload?
Feel free to sound off in the comments!
Image via phi1317
I opted to go to grad school, part-time and mostly online. As far as the workload is concerned, it’s fine as long as you keep your eye on deadlines and find a system that works with both your schedule, and the course demands. I will say that going to grad school part-time does sort of give you that “ants-in-the-pants” feeling; especially if you went to grad school right after undergrad (like I did). Sometimes you just want to be done already! Also you have to keep your professional goals in mind. The coursework in graduate programs is more narrow and focused than in undergraduate programs. You have to weigh in and consider if the cost is really going to help you professionally. Not an easy task…in today’s economy at least.
Very true! Thanks for sharing! Happy New Year