Hey Alyse,
I graduated from college last year with a BA in Communications. I am a little disappointed in my job options and pay and started thinking about going to graduate school either for my Masters or maybe even law school. I still have some college loans I'm paying off and am going to need a combination of scholarships and loans to go to graduate school. I'm kind of scared though about having to pay all that money back - what do you think?
Broke in Lawrenceville, NJ
Hey Broke!
At the risk of sounding like Suze Orman, let's take a look at the numbers. According to an article recently written in the Wall Street Journal, graduate school costs have skyrocketed 240% in the last 20 years (see article below). In the last 20 years wages have either stagnated or declined as a result of inflation. $120,000 worth of student loans will cost you roughly $700 - $1,000 a month depending on the interest rate over the course of 20 to 30 years. With regards to your financial prospects upon graduating from law school, you really have to do your homework. A top tier law school (Harvard, Columbia, NYU School of Law) for example will land you a position in a top tier law firm (for example White & Case, Proskauer Rose LLP or Cadwalder Wickersham & Taft) making around $145,000 - $160,000 (this is an estimate - the number goes up almost every year). A government lawyer (Assistant D. A., etc.) can expect a starting salary around $60,000. There are some lawyers who are making what you are making now. There are no guarantees with regards to your salary upon graduation and like anything else, it is a risk. I can not tell you what to do, but I will say that you need to check the numbers and make sure they work for you.
A. Fox
What is important is to keep learning, to enjoy challenge, and to tolerate ambiguity. In the end there are no certain answers. Martina Horner - President of Radcliffe College
Betting on Grad School
Tuesday, April 29, 2008provided by
What's graduate school really worth?
A sluggish economy and hiring slowdown has led many twentysomethings to consider heading back to school. But amid rising tuition costs and a generation-wide accumulation of debt, is graduate school financially worth it?
The cost of graduate school has skyrocketed, rising 60% in the past decade according to the Council of Graduate Schools. A one-year master's degree in political management at George Washington University can cost $38,000. Harvard tells law-school students to plan for $62,000 a year for tuition, living and food costs.
A medical degree at Northwestern University? About $241,000, including $168,000 for tuition. The typical 2008 medical-school graduate will start her career about $150,000 in debt, says the Virginia-based American Medical Student Association, and will spend 20 to 30 years paying it off.
After graduating from Boston University in 2001, 28-year-old classmates Zach Dubey and Aaron Plitt took out loans and enrolled in separate law schools. Today they lead very different lives.
While Mr. Dubey works at a law firm in New York, Mr. Plitt left law school after three semesters and is now a broker in a steel-services company.
"I realized that staying in school just to finish was not worthwhile," says Mr. Plitt who now makes about 50% more than Mr. Dubey.
Grad school has to be "intentional and purposeful," says Peter Vogt, president of Career Planning Resources in Bloomington, Minn. Do not apply with thoughts of riding out the economy or figuring out a career path, he says, because "that is an expensive risk."
Before even looking into graduate schools, narrow in on specific jobs you want. Dig deeper than just a career in business, law or medicine. What industries in business or subsets of law or medicine interest you? Find out if those jobs require or prefer a professional degree by contacting professional organizations and people who work in those fields.
When evaluating a degree program, call the schools and research how many graduates actually land the jobs they wanted. Ask about their salary levels. These numbers may vary greatly by school and profession with bottom-tier schools commanding similar tuitions but smaller future earnings.
Before you borrow, consider how much school debt you will be able to afford. Lawyer Zach Dubey says he is happy at his firm, but he still lives with his parents because "I can't pay rent and afford to pay my loans off."
Using the Student Loan Advisor calculator on his Web site, FinAid.org, publisher Mark Kantrowitz says loan payments shouldn't take more than 10% to 15% of your income. Go to the Bureau of Labor Statistic's www.bls.gov and human resources data firm Salary.com to find earnings estimates and salaries by profession.
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