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Should You Go to Grad School? How to Decide

Go to grad school when a specific job you want requires or clearly rewards the degree, and you have checked that with people already doing that job. If you are mainly unsure what to do next, avoiding the job market, or following someone else’s expectations, a year of work and research will usually give you a better answer than an application.

Start with your reason

Write one sentence that finishes “I want to go to grad school because…” Then be honest about which list it lands on.

Reasons that usually hold up

  • The career you want requires the degree to practice (many clinical, legal, teaching and research roles do).
  • You have worked in a field and keep hitting a ceiling that people with the degree do not.
  • You have a clear research question or subject you want to spend years on.
  • An employer is offering to pay for some or all of it, tied to a role you want.

Reasons worth pausing on

  • You do not know what else to do after graduation.
  • The job search feels discouraging and school feels familiar.
  • Friends are applying, or your family expects it.
  • You assume more education automatically means more pay in any field.

A pause reason does not mean no. It means you need more information first, and that information is cheaper to get now than halfway through a program.

Check whether the job actually needs it

Pick two or three specific job titles you would want five years from now, then do this research:

  1. Look up each occupation in the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, which lists the typical education needed to enter it.
  2. Read 15 to 20 real job postings for those titles. Note how many require a graduate degree, how many say “preferred” and how many ask for experience instead.
  3. Find people on LinkedIn who hold those titles. Look at the path they took and how many years of work came before any graduate program.
  4. Ask two or three of them directly. Our guide to informational interviews has message templates you can use.

If most postings ask for experience rather than a degree, the degree may be a slower route to the same place.

Do the money math with real numbers

We are not going to quote averages here, because cost and pay vary too much by field and program. Instead, gather your own figures from each program and from official sources:

  • Total cost: tuition, fees, housing and living expenses for the full length of the program, from the program’s own cost page.
  • Funding: assistantships, fellowships, employer tuition help and grants. Some programs fund students; many do not.
  • Lost income: what you would have earned working during those years.
  • Federal aid terms: StudentAid.gov explains graduate loan types and limits.
  • Expected pay after: use BLS data for the occupation, not the program’s marketing.

If the numbers only work in the best case, treat that as a real warning sign. Our guide on budgeting for young adults can help you see what a monthly loan payment would mean for everyday life.

Try it before you apply

  • Work for a year or two in the field, even in an entry role. See your first job after college.
  • Take one graduate-level or continuing education course to test the material and the workload.
  • Volunteer or assist in a lab, clinic, classroom or office where people with the degree work.
  • Sit in on a class, or ask current students what a normal week is like.

A simple decision test

You are probably ready to apply when you can say yes to all four:

  1. I can name the specific job this degree leads to.
  2. People in that job told me the degree mattered for them.
  3. I have real cost and funding numbers, and the plan works without a best-case outcome.
  4. I would still want this if none of my friends were doing it.

If you are a few answers short, that is useful, not a failure. It gives you a to-do list. If you are thinking about a bigger shift in direction, our guide on how to change careers walks through testing a new field before you commit.

Where a mentor helps

A mentor is not an admissions counselor and does not help with applications. What a mentor does is help you sort out your real reasons, set weekly research steps (postings to read, people to contact, numbers to collect) and follow through until you can make the call with confidence, whichever way it goes. Learn more about career and education mentoring and mentoring for young adults.

Related

Common questions

Is it better to work before grad school?

For many fields, yes. Work experience clarifies what you want, makes applications stronger and sometimes comes with employer tuition help. Fields with a direct path, such as some clinical programs, can be an exception, so ask people in your field.

How do I know if a program is worth the cost?

Compare the full cost, including lost income, with realistic pay in the specific job it leads to, using official sources like the BLS. Ask the program where recent graduates work and how long it took them to find jobs.

What if I am applying because I cannot find a job?

That is common and understandable. Consider a short-term job, a course or a year of focused searching first, so the degree is a choice and not an escape route.

Can I change my mind after deciding not to go?

Yes. Grad school will still be there in a few years, and you will apply with clearer goals and more experience.

Get started

Want help working through the grad school decision? Call (888) 305 5422, email contact@blackburnmentoring.com or start with a short assessment. A member of our team reviews every assessment personally and sets up a free intro call.

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