Deciding whether to go back to school for a graduate degree is a significant step, especially for working professionals balancing career and personal responsibilities.
This guide helps you evaluate whether graduate school is the right choice for you by outlining four key considerations to weigh before applying.
1. Are You Ready for Continuing Education?
According to Underwood, prospective graduate students often underestimate the sacrifices involved in academic immersion. The time commitment and its effect on your life can be dramatic.
“The [strain involved in each field] will differ, but the common denominator is that it takes a toll,” Underwood says.
Evaluate your current commitments — including family responsibilities, professional demands, and other demands on your schedule — and determine the changes you’ll have to make to prioritize school.
“One hard thing is the expectation that your studies are your primary activity, and life doesn’t always cooperate,” Underwood says.
Given the potential impact grad school may have on your personal life, it’s important to closely examine why you want a degree.
Programs designed for working professionals, such as those offered by Harvard Extension School, provide flexible pathways and course formats to earn a graduate degree while continuing to work. In fact, 80 percent of HES students work full time and, on average, already have 12 years of work experience.
2. Is Graduate School Worth It for My Career Goals?
Earning a master’s degree means deepening your knowledge in your chosen field, or making the pivot to a new career path.
Graduate school offers the opportunity to learn up-to-date information in your field of interest, tackle real-world issues through your coursework, and connect with working professionals in the industry.
Another motivator for earning a graduate degree is enhancing your earning potential. If getting a higher paying job is the main goal, do some research on the career outlook in the next five to 10 years for your field.
3. What Are the Benefits of a Graduate Degree?
A graduate degree offers a wide range of benefits, no matter where you are in your journey:
- Upskilling in your current career or re-skilling into a new one
- Connecting with a unique and motivating cohort of fellow students
- Access to university resources and support
- Building a strong network of alumni
Hear from some of our alumni about their experience at HES:
What earning the Harvard degree means to me, then, is not a credential but a transfiguration. The work was rigorous, the standards exacting but purposeful, the peers peerless, and persistence the requirement
Every course sharpened my ability to think about ventures not just as missions, but as institutions. The academic rigor pushed me to stress-test assumptions I had been carrying for years. When my thinking held up under that pressure, I trusted it more. When it didn’t, I rebuilt it — better.
Harvard offered me something richer: I gained a network, a vision for a way forward, and people who supported me as I changed careers. At Harvard, it wasn’t just about what I was learning, but about how I could apply what I was learning to real-world situations.
When AI went from interesting to critical, HES didn’t scramble. The faculty were already there. They updated courses in real time. They were genuinely engaged with where the field was going.
4. What Are the Tradeoffs of Going Back to School?
For many, going back to school adds economic costs to consider — particularly if you’ll have to reduce your employment to pursue a degree.
Before applying, compare the total cost of a program with the potential return, including salary growth, career advancement, and long-term opportunities. There are also options for paying for school and resources to help you along the way.
Consider looking into employer tuition reimbursement benefits and check out our guide to financing your education.
Earning a master’s degree also requires you to reprioritize your time, so you will likely have to consider opportunities to cut back on other commitments, or seek support from friends, family, and community.
5. What Are My Next Steps?
If you’ve determined that a graduate degree aligns with your goals, the next step is to explore programs that fit your needs and begin preparing for the application process.
Check out our guides on How to Choose a Graduate Program, How to Prepare for Graduate School, and Questions to Ask Before Enrolling in Your First Class for more information.
