Welcome to Edition #43 of Ask Gorick Anything. This AMA is part of Gorick's Newsletter, where Harvard career advisor and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Gorick Ng shares what they don't teach you in school about how to succeed in your career.
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→ Read time: 4 min
ASK GORICK ANYTHING
“Should I apply to grad school or make more money elsewhere?”
Have a career question? Ask me here.
Subscriber’s question:
“I am in my early 20s and just graduated from college with a BA in Cognitive Science and Leadership Studies. I took a job at a small company that oversees/manages a portfolio of different startups, and I'm helping out with their creative design, marketing, and AI integration (among other tasks that need to get done). I'm also currently doing an online UX/UI certification because I love the cognitive/psychological part of the field and how I'm able to mix it with my creativity.
I missed the window to apply to/attend graduate school this fall (because I didn't think I wanted to go to grad school at the time), so I am applying to one MA in Cognitive Science program that seems really stellar and begins this upcoming spring semester. It's really the only one that takes students in the spring.
I'm struggling with a few things:
- I know that I could be making a lot more money elsewhere, and while I know that sounds shallow and that money isn't everything, I need to be able to comfortably support the lifestyle I want.
- I fear that if I do pursue the masters program, I will change my mind and decide the cognitive science/human-computer interaction/UX field isn’t something I really want to do long-term. How do I overcome this fear and really figure out what it is that would suit me as a career while also balancing my desire to financially support myself.”
—Michelle (Houston, TX, USA)
Gorick’s response:
Hi Michelle,
As you may have seen from my response to the question, “Should I get an MBA?” (which you can read here), I’m skeptical of graduate school. My view is, graduate school is optional unless you want to work in a narrow range of fields for which a certain degree is either required or standard, such as…
- Lawyer (where you need a JD)
- Doctor (where you need an MD)
- Tenure-track faculty member (where you need a PhD)
- Licensed clinical social worker (where you need an MSW)
Design isn’t one of those fields, so no: you don’t need a Master’s. In fact, unless you told me that the following are true, I wouldn’t do it:
- The employers you're considering all require a master’s degree
- Someone you trust in the role you want recommends getting a master’s (and with the programs you’re considering)
- The graduate programs you're looking at have a strong record of placing graduates at your target employers
- You have the financial means to pursue a master's degree
- You’re sure this is the career for you
I personally believe that you need to satisfy all 5 criteria. Otherwise, you’ll spend all the time and money, only to realize too late that you didn’t need it or aren’t getting an ROI (defined here) on that expensive piece of paper.
Instead, here’s what I’d do first:
- See if it’s possible to join a project at work that lets you acquire the same skills and knowledge on the job
- Ask a mentor in this field how you can upgrade your skills and knowledge for free (or at minimal cost)—whether it’s through YouTube, podcasts, books, or other media
- Dig around your company’s intranet to see if it offers access to any relevant content via its Learning Management System or through the HR department
- Ask a mentor at work to see if there’s a tuition reimbursement program that can pay for your program (here’s an email template you can repurpose) and, if not, ask your manager if there’s budget (or consider a future employer that does)
I know you called out how important it is to “comfortably support the lifestyle you want”—so the last thing I’d want is for you to blow thousands (or even tens of thousands) of dollars unnecessarily.
Hope this helps!
See you next week for our next story and unspoken rule,
Gorick
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