Is Going to Grad School Worth It Right Now?

[Kevin1990]

I just graduated college and entered the paid workforce as a staffer on a Senate campaign the Midwest. However, my parents before and after I took this job were and still are pushing heavily for me to go to grad school. My father is actually kind of angry with me that I deferred doing so in favor of a job out of college(although I did promise him I would apply) lol. As they strongly feel that it would improve my professional prospects overall.

 

However, is attending grad school for an MPP even worth it at this stage of my life and career?

 

I ask myself this as my focus is on defense policy and subjects like strategy, military operations, intelligence, and terrorism. Many of the programs I have looked at either " strongly prefer" work experience or even require at least 2-3 years of it as a mandatory minimum to even be considered for admission(eg. Georgetown, SAIS, HKS). Also my interests are still relatively broad and I feel I could use a couple of years doing entry level work to narrow it down and develop further skills such as language and economic requirements. Many of my friends on the same career path as me have recommended this to me as well.

 

My parents have even offered to pay for it. But I see that as an unnecessary sacrifice on their part given that many of the programs ether require/recommend work experience along with the fact that an employer could very well pay for it in the future.

 

Then again I do agree with what some of my parents are suggesting as I am starting to already miss school lol-ex. such as being in a classroom and learning new ideas/material, interacting with my professors etc. While I feel like it's def worth a shot should I find myself out of the job after November or alternatively stuck in a cycle of doing campaign work(which I also fear). In addition I feel that grad school could improve my prospects overall given the advanced degree it's self and connections(and potential job opportunities) that I could gain being in such an environment. 

 

I  would like to do policy work on defense and other national security issues as a career and eventually transition to a think tank, Capitol Hill or a consulting firm like Booze Allen or SAIC.

 

Given all of this and what my parents are suggesting is grad school worth it right now(or pretty soon)?

 

 

 

 

[hj2012]

Are your parents experts in your field of interest? If not, then tell them (nicely, of course!) to back off. It may even be worthwhile to show them the grad school pages where they explicitly state that they prefer applicants 2-3 years out, as you're 100% right that work experience is extremely beneficial to MPP programs. After your campaign experience, I think it could only help you to work for 1-2 years in a field related to your interests to clarify what you'd eventually like to do long term. 

 

Good luck, though -- I know what it's like to have pushy parents...

[leon32]

If your parents are willing to pay for it now, and not later...that is something to consider.  Otherwise wait, get more experience.  It will help you with admissions, and you will just get more out of it if you already have experience- plus if you wait a bit more you will get more out of it in my opinion, just in terms of overall maturity.  The average age at my program is something like 27-28.

[Gov2School]

Having a Master's degree in public policy isn't like having a law degree or a medical degree in that there's no requirement for you to have one in order to enter or practice in your chosen field.  In fact, you'll meet/probably have met lots of people who hold senior positions in the government who don't have any kind of advanced degree whatsoever.  The value in the degree is really all in what you bring to it and how you use it.  That's why it often makes sense to wait a bit before going after this kind of degree. It's more useful once you yourself understand how to use it, and you can only really get that understanding by working more in your chosen field.

 

I also think it's not entirely true that having a Master's degree without other relevant experience improves your prospects in the policy field.  A Masters degree with experience, definitely a plus.  But if you don't have contacts or experience, even an MPP won't significantly increase your available opportunities.  In some cases it can even shrink them, as people may be reluctant to offer an entry level position to someone with a graduate degree, out of concern that they'll become bored with the work and leave sooner. 

 

It's nice of your parents to offer to help you out financially and it's good to keep your options in mind, but working will help you clarify what you ultimately want to do.  If you know you don't want to get stuck in a cycle of campaign work, there are other ways to avoid that besides going to grad school.  It's smart to think proactively (as much as your campaign schedule allows) about what you want to do after November.  But don't think that it has to be grad school or a career of never-ending campaign drudgery.  Other options are out there. 

[Kevin1990]

 

Are your parents experts in your field of interest? If not, then tell them (nicely, of course!) to back off. It may even be worthwhile to show them the grad school pages where they explicitly state that they prefer applicants 2-3 years out, as you're 100% right that work experience is extremely beneficial to MPP programs. After your campaign experience, I think it could only help you to work for 1-2 years in a field related to your interests to clarify what you'd eventually like to do long term. 

 

Good luck, though -- I know what it's like to have pushy parents... 

 

Hey again-apologies for my late reply as I've been very busy with work I feel bad that I haven't replied to my own thread over a month after posting it. 

 

No my parents aren't in my field. My Mom has been alot more understanding and supportive of  the work now go back later route that I am taking, esp. since I have showed her some of the programs that I am interested in and their criteria which often state that they strongly desire work experience. And besides she has stated a couple of times that's it's time for me to get a job anyways since I've graduated from college lol.

 

Again my main concern now is to just find a job more relevant to foreign/defense policy after I'm done with this one.

 

 

Having a Master's degree in public policy isn't like having a law degree or a medical degree in that there's no requirement for you to have one in order to enter or practice in your chosen field.  In fact, you'll meet/probably have met lots of people who hold senior positions in the government who don't have any kind of advanced degree whatsoever.  The value in the degree is really all in what you bring to it and how you use it.  That's why it often makes sense to wait a bit before going after this kind of degree. It's more useful once you yourself understand how to use it, and you can only really get that understanding by working more in your chosen field.

 

I also think it's not entirely true that having a Master's degree without other relevant experience improves your prospects in the policy field.  A Masters degree with experience, definitely a plus.  But if you don't have contacts or experience, even an MPP won't significantly increase your available opportunities.  In some cases it can even shrink them, as people may be reluctant to offer an entry level position to someone with a graduate degree, out of concern that they'll become bored with the work and leave sooner. 

 

It's nice of your parents to offer to help you out financially and it's good to keep your options in mind, but working will help you clarify what you ultimately want to do.  If you know you don't want to get stuck in a cycle of campaign work, there are other ways to avoid that besides going to grad school.  It's smart to think proactively (as much as your campaign schedule allows) about what you want to do after November.  But don't think that it has to be grad school or a career of never-ending campaign drudgery.  Other options are out there. 

 

So basically there is no benefit at all in having an MPP without some prior experience? Or in some cases it could be a negative with employers? I.e. as an analogy it's kind of like buying a car without knowing how to drive it?

 

In terms of work after November right now I am just focused on doing my best to help the candidate I am working for win. However, if they don't, I am hoping to use it to get referrals to work on Capitol Hill, a think tank, or elsewhere.

 

Just wondering do you think it would be worth it to just apply to grad school but not necessarily commit? I ask because George Mason's Public Policy school(GMU is my undergrad alma mater) is going to start opening up applications for their Fall 2015 class soon. Likewise I was also thinking of applying to King's College London's War Studies program as well since I have always been strongly interested in that dept.

 

Would it be worth it to pay the application fee, get all the recommendations together, etc just to apply to these programs but not commit? As I would be very interested to see how a preliminary run at applying to grad programs in my field of interest would go tbh.

Edited July 31, 2014 by Kevin1990

[chocolatecheesecake]

So basically there is no benefit at all in having an MPP without some prior experience? Or in some cases it could be a negative with employers? I.e. as an analogy it's kind of like buying a car without knowing how to drive it?

 

Another aspect of the MPP is that it is a highly variable degree; everyone has a different sort of focus and a different path that brought them to become interested in working in public policy. Plenty of schools accept (a small percentage of) students directly from undergraduate to go into the MPP degree if they have that compelling reason for pursuing it, as well as experiences during and before undergraduate that has helped to shape their desire to work in public policy. Since the MPP is more about learning concrete skills to work in policy, problem-solve, and perform analysis, all of those skills make more sense in context of other experiences that you've had. That experience usually comes in the form of full-time work, but not always. It's highly variable from person to person, and their experiences and how they utilize their grad degree. But don't worry about other people, since you already know you want to get more work experience.

 

Just wondering do you think it would be worth it to just apply to grad school but not necessarily commit? I ask because George Mason's Public Policy school(GMU is my undergrad alma mater) is going to start opening up applications for their Fall 2015 class soon. Likewise I was also thinking of applying to King's College London's War Studies program as well since I have always been strongly interested in that dept.

 

Would it be worth it to pay the application fee, get all the recommendations together, etc just to apply to these programs but not commit? As I would be very interested to see how a preliminary run at applying to grad programs in my field of interest would go tbh.

 

 

My two cents on this is absolutely not. It's not worth it. If you already know you don't want to attend next year, it's a waste of $400 or $500, time on your recommenders' behalf in order to write you recommendation letters. And you might not try as hard the next time around. 

 

There are so many other things you can do to gauge your chances of being accepted/  to a given degree or program, including but not limited to emailing and calling faculty professors, career services staff, visiting the school and sitting in on classes, comparing your GPA and GRE scores to the average in their accepted cohort, discussing career outcomes and credentials with alumni or current students of the program, and a good long talk with your mentors or other people whom you trust and are knowledgable about MPP programs.

 

During that process, you will figure out more about whether you want a degree or program or not, and why it's important to you. This is the really important part, not whether they decide to accept you or not. 

[xiaojiber]

I think it's worth taking a step back and thinking about the quality of the program that you can enter with a given level of experience. There are certainly some programs that will take people with limited experience, but what matters much more is your opportunities post-MPP/MPA. Schools like Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School  or SAIS tend to take more people with years of relevant experience. These are also the some of the schools that will give you the strongest post-MPA/MPP options. You don't want to rush into a program and then spend the rest of your life wondering if you could have gone to a better school if you'd waited a couple of years.