Read if You Are Thinking About More Studies

Here's some questions to ask potential schools or training programs to make sure you are investing your money and time well.

 

  1. What does the school / career center do to connect students to jobs? 

    1. Are you connected to internships?

    2. Alumni mentors in the field?

  2. What percentage of students find employment upon graduation? 

  3. What's the average starting salary of graduates with this degree?

  4. (If undergrad) What percentage of students go on for a MA / MS, etc. degree?

  5. What percentage of students drop out and do not complete the program? (Remember if you drop out you are stuck with debt and no degree)

  6. What's the total cost of the education (look at the average starting salary to think about how long it will take you to pay it back if you are using savings or loans)

Resources and tools to help you with your research on your education:

  1. See what is the future of the major you are thinking of studying. Look to see if it is Bright Outlook with the Department of Labor: https://www.mynextmove.org/find/search. Also, what do they say are the requirements for training and education? Average starting salary?

  2. Get a sense on how the school you are considering does nationally: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/

  3. ROI (Return on Investment) for Colleges - rankings: https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/collegeroi/

  4. Get a sense of what different majors pay nationally: https://cew.georgetown.edu/resources/data-tools/

We can’t get too hung up on what majors pay because there’s many factors that go into life satisfaction - money isn’t the only thing, of course. The important thing to remember is that colleges and training programs are a BUSINESS and they don’t always have the best interest in mind for their customers. You have to do your homework to make sure that the degree will provide help plug into your overall life satisfaction by helping you secure your career path or economic future. 

Thriving consists of focusing on wellbeing in five areas: career/sense of purpose, health, financial, emotional, and community (feeling safe and plugged into where you live). Think about how they all come together - what steps can you take today to move the needle in one of these categories?


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