I am sure that many of you who have already earned your degrees have considered going back to school at one point or another. Indeed, numerous people contemplate obtaining another degree in order to make a career move, earn more money, or for a number of other reasons. I also thought about going back to school more than once during my student debt repayment journey. However, there are a few things you should keep in mind when deciding if you should borrow additional student debt to go back to school.
It first should be mentioned that some graduate degree programs provide free tuition to students. Indeed, as I mentioned in a previous article, many PhD programs do not charge any tuition to students, and actually provide PhD candidates with stipends for living expenses while they earn their degrees.
I applied to one PhD in Law program during my student debt repayment saga, since I reasoned that this degree would not cost me any money and heading back to school could enrich my career. I only applied to this program after I had already paid off nearly two-thirds of my student debt, since I knew that while I was in this program, interest would accrue on my student loans. I did the math and reasoned that during the three years it would take me to complete this degree, little interest would accumulate on my student debt. In addition, I believed that leaving the workforce for three years would not substantially impair me from paying off all of my loans. I was not accepted to this program, but I would have absolutely attended if given the option. If your student debt balance is low enough, and you conclude that a PhD program would not take time away from other career goals you hope to achieve, heading back to school could be a good option.
Of course, most other graduate degree programs cost significant sums of money, so a number of important factors must be assessed before deciding to go back to school. One of the best reasons to head back to school is to make a career change. Some people have emailed me over the past several months asking if it is advisable to attend a post-baccalaureate program to be eligible for medical school, or to attend business school to enter a financial field. I usually suggest that people go back to school if they have their heart set on changing careers.
Some people are happier with less debt, and I am definitely a person who feels this way. However, other people do not mind having student loans. For these individuals, being in a career that brings more fulfillment could increase their happiness more than minimizing the amount of student debt they borrow. Of course, there are many things that can be done to minimize student debt when choosing a particular program, and anyone applying to graduate school should heed some of the suggestions already discussed on this website. All told, if you have your heart set on entering a completely different field, and another degree can help you do this, you should not mind borrowing additional student debt.
Many people also consider going back to school to earn more money. This is what almost drew me to earn an additional degree. In the legal profession, there is a credential called an LLM degree, which is basically a master’s degree in the legal field. I would caution people against obtaining LLM degrees in a variety of disciplines, since there a number of LLM programs out there, and it is not clear that many of these degrees would substantially enrich one’s career. However, one potentially valuable LLM to have is an LLM in taxation. Tax law can be a lucrative field, and if you obtain an LLM degree from a top tax program, it is possible to land a high-income job that will help you pay off the cost of the degree.
I eventually decided against obtaining an LLM, since I wasn’t totally convinced that I wanted to work in the tax field. I also could not stomach borrowing additional student debt to earn this credential. Tuition and living expenses to earn an LLM in taxation could easily exceed $70,000, and borrowing this amount of money would have extended my student debt repayment saga for years. Also, I was not convinced that I would earn sufficiently more money as a tax lawyer to make this expense worth it. Furthermore, after seven years of higher education and two bar exams, I couldn’t imagine studying, taking tests, doing homework, and writing papers ever again!
Everyone thinking about earning a degree to boost their income should seriously consider the costs and benefits of an additional credential. If it would take you more than a handful of years to pay off the debt incurred from earning an additional degree, it might not be worth it to go back to school. In addition, you should also carefully consider all the steps that will need to be completed to earn your degree, and determine if you can see yourself being a student again.
Furthermore, do your research and look into the employment outcomes of students in the graduate program you are interested in and how much money professionals in that field make. Don’t always trust the information provided by the universities themselves, since schools have been known to inflate employment data. It is best to ask people working in a field in which you hope to enter, since they will provide you with the best information.
All told, if you have your heart set on making a career change, or if you are able to earn a graduate degree without borrowing too much student debt, it might be wise to go back to school. However, if you are trying to earn extra money, or you just don’t have a job lined up, you should carefully consider a number of factors before deciding on earning an additional degree.