Jan 27 2008
To Degree or Dis-the-Degree…That is the Question!
Many people contemplate whether it’s a good idea to go back to school for another degree, MBA, M.S. or what have you. There is much debate whether furthering your education will make you more successful and in return make you more money. There are a million different opinions. Some say leaders and people who are successful are born with it. Some say it’s a learned skill. There is no right or wrong answer. You have to determine for yourself if going back to school is right for you.
I’ll give you a very personal example. I earned my B.A. in Communications in 1999 after changing my degree 3-4 times from dietetics to fitness to business and finally communications (because it’s broad). I went off into the workforce hoping to land a marketing job. I had NO idea what I actually wanted to do with myself. I didn’t know what marketing was…I was just out of school with no experience. I just knew it sounded “cool”! So, I took a few jobs doing some general marketing….nothing special and wasn’t very challenging. I always wanted to be challenged. I love(d) technology. My brain was always churning….What do I want to do? What should I do? I looked into a number of different options. The option that I finally decided upon was returning to school to get my graduate degree in Information Systems.
So, I applied to the DePaul CTI (School of Computer Science, Telecommunications & Informaion Systems). I was accepted and I started my technical journey and also started to acquire my new skill set of information systems, programming and networks. I still worked full-time in a general marketing position at a financial exchange in Chicago while attending graduate school. So, without knowing it, I was doing both general marketing and learning about technology and building a unique skill set that was not all that common. While attending graduate school, I thought that I might want to come out and be a programmer or maybe a network security specialist. I wasn’t really sure…but I knew that I would figure it out. After about a year into my graduate studies, it all started to click. I didn’t hate marketing…I just got sick of doing the same old general marketing tasks I had been doing for a few years day in and day out. Did I REALLY want to be a programmer when I finished graduate school? I realized…probably not! Who wants to sit at a computer all day and look at code? Not me! So, I thought….why can’t I combine my marketing experience with my new technology skill set? When I interviewed, hiring managers and HR employees looked at me funny. They would say….how unique….seems like a great combination of skills….but different. I labeled it as a hybrid marketing concentration back then. Little did I know that what I was getting experience in is what we call Internet Marketing today. 5-7 years ago, Internet or web marketing was very new and many people knew nothing about it. Today, it’s essential to operating almost any business venture.
So, you say….what does this have to do with going back to school? I spend a nice chunk of cash on this degree…a little over $80,000 out of my own pocket. Did I get a huge raise when I was finished? No, I didn’t. Did I win any awards? No, I received no awards. Did I get a new job title? No new job title. Was it worth it? Yes, it was worth every single penny. If I hadn’t went back to school, I’d probably still be trying to figure out what it is I want to do with my life. The degree has since paid off exponentially. Everything falls into place in due time.
Getting back to the point…you really have to look at the entire package of what going back to school can do for you. Don’t just look at the money. Don’t assume you will be extremely successful just because you go back to law school or get your MBA. The competition is fierce for graduate degrees and employers can now pick out of a hat. You have to look deeper than the initial reasons for wanting to go back. Think of it as a long term goal and not something to get you where you need to go instantly. Most of all, if you do go back to school, put in the time it deserves so you can take out of it all you can. Make it worth the investment in money…but also your investment in time.
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