Whether you are preparing to finish your undergraduate studies or are well out of school preparing for a new path, the same question lies ahead of you… Is graduate school for me? There are many reasons why graduate school might be the right decision for you, and whether or not the timing is right. Consider some of the factors below and you can begin to take steps towards your decision.

I often hear from students, “I don’t know what I want to do yet,” as their primary reason for deciding to go to graduate school. This is definitely not the best reason to go to graduate school. Grad school is not typically an environment like your undergrad years for you to find yourself and explore your interests. Your studies will be a lot more focused, and concentrated research and writing will be demanded of you. From personal experience I would advise those that are still unsure of what they want to do next to actually take your work experience to explore that. I find when you start experiencing different kinds of people in different kinds of work environment regardless of the work, you may be able to gather more well rounded information to see whether you enjoy something or not. If you find you don’t, you have at least met people to increase your network, learn about their expertise, or find opportunities elsewhere through your network. When it comes to the work itself, you may find you like some aspects more than others. You can use this to help focus your area of study by the time you are ready to go to graduate school and really commit to your education.

Start to think about some of your overall career goals. Do you have a clear vision of where you want to go? How can graduate school help you achieve those goals? In some professions, the answer is obvious, for example Law or Medicine. You know you have to go to graduate school, but take into consideration which field or niche you might be interested in. For example, environmental law may appeal to you more than criminal law.

Make sure to research the length of the program you are interested in. Some are longer than others, and how does this fit into the career goals you had for yourself? Sometimes it is a good idea to take some time off in between school to gain some work experience before returning to grad school. Even in some studies like medicine, they value work experience greatly. If you choose to go to work before going to graduate school you may be able to be selective about which company to go to. Many large companies have graduate school tuition assistance programs that you can take part of and get your education paid for. Usually, in return, you promise to work for the company for another year or more after graduation, but can definitely be worth it if it fits into your overall career goals and a free education!

Now you have a few things to start from and now that you’ve thought about it a little bit, is grad school for you?