Going Back to School: What You Need to Get Your Advanced Degree

Going back to school can be an exciting, and sometimes, stressful thought process. It's easy to go back and forth on whether or not you should do so, and don't worry if you still haven't figured out the right decision for you.

If you’ve been thinking about getting your advanced degree for a while (and it’s never too late to), then you’ve probably been researching how to go about this, which schools you’re interested in, how long the programs are, and how much they will cost.

There are a lot of factors to take into account when it comes to going back to school for an advanced degree. You’ll need to consider all of these things before you decide on what’s best. It’s totally okay to take your time in this consideration.

One of these factors is how valuable this degree will be to your life, your artistic practice, and/or your career. Also, you'll need to factor in how much time you can realistically spend on this degree, and whether or not you can achieve the same or similar outcome by completing a certification instead.

For example, if you want to advance yourself in business, you could consider https://www.adaptiveus.com/cbap-certification-training/. Similarly, if you want to become an ESL teacher, you might need a TEFL certification rather than a master's degree. There are so many ways to improve your knowledge that doesn't necessarily have to come with a huge price tag or years-long commitment.

On the flip side, if you've found that you have plenty of time and money, and are most interested in achieving a higher education degree, then more power to you! Whatever is best for you, you'll probably know. Just make sure that you're taking these questions into consideration before you make a big decision.

If you’re thinking about going back to school, do your research, ask the right questions, and get a second opinion. You’ll want to make sure that you’ve exhausted all options and have all the facts before you start your journey to advanced knowledge.

If you're thinking about starting a program for an advanced degree, ask yourself these questions first.

1. What do I want to study?

This is the first thing you should be asking yourself. Depending on the program, which can be rigorous and time-consuming, you’ll need to identify how valuable this degree will be for your professional and artistic growth.

If you're thinking of getting a master's degree to improve your knowledge at work, and even to increase your paycheck, then it's definitely something you should be considering. In fact, many employers will pay for their employees to study and attain a master's degree for them to be more qualified at work. Once the degree is attained, the employee will also get paid more. This happens most often in education, but there are other fields in which this happens as well, like engineering, for example.

If you're looking to get an advanced degree to expand your artistic practice, improve your skill set, network with artists you admire, and help you to create a more mindful body of work, then a master's degree might be a great idea for you. Just make sure that you don't spend too much money unless you're able. Many of these programs can come fully-funded for artists, like MFAs and even PhDs. Researching fully-funded degrees for artists is a great way to start.

If you're looking to study something else entirely, which could be different from the subject you achieved your bachelor's degree in, but could also be something entirely ulterior to your professional career, then this is something you should seriously consider before beginning. If it's something you can't get off of your mind, and something you deem valuable to you, your education, your profession, and even your family's long-term well-being, then, by all means, weigh the pros and cons.

2. How much time do I have to spend?

If you're already working full-time, have children, or are living in a city far away from where you'd ideally like to study, you need to know how much time a program will take to complete.

There are many programs that can be completed in one year (many of which are online or abroad), but many master's programs take either two or three years to complete. PhDs will take anywhere from four to five years until completion.

Depending on the program, you could easily fit some degree programs into an already busy schedule. For example, there are low-residency programs that offer students the opportunity to do most of their work from home, and even in other states or countries where the school is located. In the same vein, some schools offer degree programs that are entirely online, which is somewhat easy to fit into the schedule, though not for everyone.

It’s valuable to know that not all degree programs are the same. There are so many ways in which students are learning from all over the world. It’s worth knowing that not every degree program will have you on campus and at a desk for most of the day. Education is growing more expansive and more accepting all the time.

3. How much money will this cost?

This is almost as important as figuring out which subject you'd like to study. A factor that affects many people's decisions about going to graduate school has to do with finances. As stated above, there are fully-funded programs being offered in the U.S. that won't only cost the student next-to-nothing, but will also provide them with a yearly stipend (usually, this means that the student will also have to teach some courses).

If you find that you don't have much to spend, online degrees are usually more affordable, as are degrees obtained at community colleges. Make sure you won't put yourself in a financial hole for your education when there are many other avenues you could take.