By Jorge Cortes, Publishing Intern
As a senior expecting to graduate in December, there’s been one
question that most people have been asking me: What are you going to do
after you graduate? A few years ago, the answer would have been to look
for a good job. Not many people continued school after their bachelors,
the notable exceptions those going on to medical or law school. These
days, however, it seems like a “good candidate” for almost any job needs
a master’s degree just to be competitive. Whereas once a high school
diploma was usually not enough to be considered for a good job, now a
bachelor’s degree is becoming less and less impressive by itself on a
resume. Master’s degrees are becoming a necessity in order to stand out.
Today, it’s not uncommon for college graduates—including about 75% of
my Emerson College classmates—to be forced to move back in with their
parents after graduating and work minimum-wage jobs in their hometowns.
According to Richard K. Vedder, professor of economics at Ohio
University, unless you’ve graduated from an Ivy League school or an
equally prestigious university, then you’ll probably need to get a
master’s degree to stand out to potential employers.
The days of going back to school after a few years of work seem to be
over. Now, earning a master’s degree is done immediately after your
bachelor’s. And employers have become so selective about the people they
hire that universities are forced to create programs so unique that it
seems ludicrous to believe that they’re real. Recently, a friend was
talking about getting an MS in Skeletal and Dental Bioarchaeology or an
MA in Learning and Thinking. I hadn’t heard of either one until now.
Will we reach where all graduates hold master’s degrees in addition to
bachelor’s degrees? Even now, companies like Welch Allyn receive so many
resumes from people who have a master’s that they’re able to make a
first cut based solely on that and eliminate about half of the
candidates.
It also prompts me to ask another question: When will the PhD become the new master’s?
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