An advanced degree can offer many career advantages; whether that means shifting focus within the workforce, surpassing that ceiling you've been eyeing, or increasing salary potential.

However, it's essential that you carefully consider whether an advanced degree would serve your personal and professional goals.

1. Think About Your Motivation

Before applying to graduate school, it's essential to first understand why you want to go there in the first place. If your motivations for doing so are insufficient, perhaps another professional development option would be more suitable.

As part of your career pursuits, whether to advance within your current industry, change sectors entirely, or achieve promotion; it is essential to assess your motivations for pursuing an advanced degree. Speaking with other graduate students or alumni can also provide insights into what their experiences were like.

Gaining insight into your motivation can help you narrow down the list of schools. We suggest creating three categories for your applications: an "Safety" list containing schools that you are almost certain to be accepted by, a target list containing those where there's a strong chance, and one or two dream schools which may take longer but still worth considering. Focusing your application process on schools which are most likely to accept you can save both time and energy when applying.

2. Think About Your Goals

When it comes to graduate school, it's essential that your goals are clear. Otherwise, it can be easy to be misled by all the hype and end up wasting both your time, money and energy - especially if you choose graduate school for all of the wrong reasons.

As part of your research process, it may be beneficial to speak to current graduate students or alumni in your field to get their perspective on the benefits and drawbacks of attending graduate school. Furthermore, consider lower-cost alternatives like professional development courses or individual college or university classes.

Studies on careers that require graduate degrees as well as their average salary can also help you decide if graduate school is right for your personal and professional goals. Be it to gain more specialized knowledge, switch careers, get promoted faster or reach another milestone goal, pursuing graduate school may be your solution.

3. Think About Your Budget

Time and money you devote to graduate school can have a substantial impact on your financial future. Before making the leap, be sure that you have a sound plan in place for how to cover costs related to it - including living expenses.

Tuition costs for graduate programs can be prohibitively costly. Additional expenses should also be considered such as textbooks, supplies and travel. Furthermore, it's wise to factor in any opportunity costs related to your degree such as lost wages or forgoing potential career advancement opportunities.

Use tools like Georgetown University's calculators to get a clearer sense of your projected earnings after graduating from your program. Utilizing this resource and researching salary medians in your region will enable you to assess whether graduate school is an investment that makes financial sense for you; be sure not to neglect other benefits like gaining access to wider professional networks and personal enrichment as part of this decision process.

4. Consider Your Long-Term Goals

As you research various programs, keep your goals in mind when making decisions about whether an advanced degree is right for your career path. Consider whether your ultimate aim is to advance in your current industry, switch careers altogether, get promoted or achieve some other milestone - having clear goals will make finding programs which support success easier.

At graduate school is costly endeavor that often comes with significant salary premiums for certain fields of study. Speak to people in your field who have previously pursued advanced degrees and ask about their experiences; testimonials on graduate program websites often cover both student experience and outcomes.

Understanding all the available forms of financial aid is also beneficial, with scholarships or fellowships that don't require repayment providing significant cost reduction. Additionally, some employers provide tuition assistance programs which further cut expenses associated with your education.

5. Consider Your Personality

As long as you possess an assertive personality and prioritize your work, graduate school should prove successful for you. But this doesn't have to be at the cost of your personal life - having a clear goal when finishing a program can keep you focused and keep any difficult times from overshadowing its importance.

Grad school can be an enormous commitment that may last years to complete, be expensive and stressful, and may not even be necessary to your career goals. Before making your decision to attend graduate school, consider all benefits and costs involved and whether it will help meet them; you might just find it immensely satisfying! Good luck and best of luck with everything!