That Free Ride for the MA/MS or PhD - But What You Could Actually Wind Up Paying

Euphoria. The tough job market for recent BA/BS graduates, along with collapsing sectors, has made piling on an advanced degree - MA/MS or PhD - seem like the solution. Then there's the study by Georgetown University projecting that by 2031 (right around the corner) the number of jobs requiring advanced degrees will be 14% higher than what it had been in 2021. So, you're over the moon when offered a free ride, including tuition and living expenses, to enter a graduate or professional school program.

Yet, because of harsh warnings about the ROI of advanced degrees by influential sources such as The Wall Street Journal you're probably also wary. 

Postings on Reddit scream out that anxiety: Sure, it's free, no student loan debt but ...

In my coaching I'm getting the same sort of questioning. 

At the top of the list of what's-to-consider is the opportunity cost. No, you're not accumulating school loan debt. Through teaching or research contracts you might even be picking up some extra money. But the real-life option is that you could be making top dollar working full-time or operating your own business. With years "lost" matriculating for that advanced degree, you might never catch up to what could have been your earning power. 

The next critical matter is the marketability of the degree. Almost a fourth of recent Harvard MBAs remained unemployed three months after graduation. Moreover, what seems like a hot field when you enter a program could wind up on the wrong side of supply and demand by time you graduate. This risk has accelerated with so much change in business and a technology like AI. But it isn't new. 

In 1967, the US government projected a shortage of university professors in the humanities. So, it created the NDEA Title IV fellowship - tuition + living stipend - for doctoral studies. Upon graduation from a liberal arts college, I chose that. However, also I had been offered a job in public relations at the regional bell where I had been working part-time since high school. Well, by time I was pursuing academic excellence with my dissertation the market had soured. We NDEA fellows were The Lost Generation of Scholars. For about three years I scrambled in the non-academic market before I landed on something solid. That was without one formal course in business communications. 

A third reason for caution is that, increasingly, advanced degrees have become a liability. In this era of extreme cost-efficiency employers, clients and customers are unwilling to pay premium for that extra knowledge base. With some exceptions I advise those I coach to leave off anything beyond the BA/BS. A 50-something unemployed Stanford MBA balked. Then they followed the guidance and finally was hired full-time. 

Also, look around. 

Throughout sectors, some stars such as Sam Altman of OpenAI haven't even bothered with the undergraduate degree. The late Steve Jobs didn't want to waste his parent's money. 

Powerhouse entertainment publicist Stephen Huvane, founder of Slate PR, went into the field right after his BA from Villanover. 

Other stars only acquired the advanced-degree credential mandated by licensing. Although Paul, Weiss partner Brad Karp serves Wall Street clients such as Apollo and Citi, he didn't go for an MBA after his law degree. Instead, he stuck to the knitting, learning on the job. Yes, we learn the most from our clients. 

In addition, there's the old-line saying: Nothing is free. 

Career Paths? So Over. It’s about Earning a Good Living. No matter what.

Complimentary consultation. No Pressure. Street-smart Guidance. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.