For some students, the daunting prospect of entering the job market causes them to run away—back to school. Graduate school is seen as a way to improve a potential employee’s marketability while he or he ‘waits out’ out a sour economy and improves his or her skill set. However, not all grad schools—just like not all students—are created alike.

The biggest disadvantage of most graduate schools is that they require the student to accumulate more debt. Some PhD programs offer stipends and the ability to ‘go to school for free’ in exchange for offering research assistance to professors or acting as a T.A., but admission for PhD programs is extremely competitive. Also, you need to calculate the lost salary you would have been earning while you go to school for many years at a relatively low rate of pay. And some fields’ job prospects in academia are not particularly strong.
Of course, some graduate programs like law and medicine have more obvious career paths for graduates. But law and medical schools seldom offer scholarships, virtually requiring students to take on more debt. Still, if your dream is to become a lawyer or a doctor, obviously graduate school is the only way to realize that dream: but be mindful of the salary you will need to make relative to the additional loans you take out.

Regardless of whatever graduate school you want to attend, do your research: how much more marketable will your degree really make you? In fields such as computer science, business and nursing, a graduate degree, even ‘only’ an M.A. can significantly enhance your job prospects through the specialization and additional capabilities these degrees offer. The important thing is to have a plan: research the employment rates of the school you are attending and have a clear idea of what you want to achieve by going back to school.