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01.
Cost vs. ROI: Planning Your Financial Future
When you start thinking about the financial investment of continuing your education, it’s important to reframe the conversation in your mind toward the long-term benefits.
Yes, enrolling in a graduate program includes up-front costs such as tuition, fees, books, and other expenses. However, it’s better to think of this in terms of return on investment (ROI), not cost.
In other words, focus on paying for graduate school as an investment in your future.
And the best part is that the long-term ROI reaches far beyond just the financial benefits—though there are many. This all goes back to the reasons you’re thinking about grad school in the first place. What’s driving you? Where do you see it taking you? What’s your “why”?
Pursuing Your Passion
For most people, enrolling in a graduate program is the opportunity to pursue a career interest that they’re passionate about. From advanced nursing to computer science, each program offers the chance to answer your calling.
Whatever it is for you, making a career out of something that you’re passionate about is almost impossible to quantify. It won’t show up as a line item on your budget spreadsheet, but the benefits of following your dream provide incredible value, comfort, energy, and motivation.
Earning a Promotion
For many people, earning a graduate degree helps them to get a scheduled raise, promotion, or some other very deliberate benefit within their company or industry.
Everyone’s circumstances differ, but we do know that whatever your career goals are, earning a graduate degree can help you get there. Studies show that earning a graduate degree can open you up to new opportunities that offer increased responsibilities and exciting challenges, such as taking on a management position or becoming a senior leader at your company.
Exploring New Career Paths
Earning a graduate degree can also provide you with the opportunity to explore a new career path entirely. Maybe you have a bachelor’s degree in communication and have been working in marketing for the past ten years; however, you are feeling called to become a teacher and help children learn new things. In this case, a Master of Arts in Teaching is a program designed to help you follow that dream.
This is just one example, but the premise rings true for many different career paths. If you’ve been thinking about switching careers, going to grad school is an impactful first step.
Increased Earning Potential
Earning a graduate degree opens you up for higher-paying jobs and greatly improves your desirability to potential employers. In career paths with scheduled and structured salaries, such as teaching, you can know exactly how much your salary will increase if you earn a master’s degree.
Regardless of industry, earning a graduate degree can lead to increased earning potential and new career opportunities to explore. Employers value the hard work and commitment that graduates have demonstrated and the skills and knowledge they bring to the workplace.
Sense of Pride and Accomplishment
This is another thing that’s hard to measure, but there’s a great deal of fulfillment that comes with earning your degree, especially if this is something that you’ve been thinking about for a long time.
It can sometimes require late nights, sacrifice, and temporary lifestyle changes, but the sense of accomplishment is unlike anything else. To push through those challenges and achieve something great is a wonderfully fulfilling feeling.
As we’ve said before, try to think about grad school not as a cost, but as an investment. Yes, it’s a commitment, but investing in yourself is worth it.
