Becoming an Employee or Postgraduate after Graduation

Becoming an Employee or Postgraduate after Graduation

As the day of graduation draws near,college students have to make decisions about their future life, so many graduates face such a dilemma:to bcome a postgraduate or look for a job. In nowadays, such a question whether graduates should become an employee or postgraduate has aroused public concern. Different people often have different opinions and no one can simply tell which is right. Considering now I am a junior student and also in such a dilemma, I want to know which decision is more wise ,so I made a survey in my winter vacation.

During my survey, I found that most people in my surrounding support one’s futher education and only a minority of people think that work first and postgraduate later.

The reason why more students are keen on becoming postgraduates after graduation are as follows:

Firstly, a Bechelor’s degree today is the equivalent of having a high school diploma 20 years ago and more employers require a higher degree. Jobs that once were filled by high school graduates and later by college graduates today often require a master’s degree.Graduate school has traditionally been a great place to wait out recessions while honing your skills for a better job. Degree inflation increasingly obliges more degrees to compensate for the devaluation of earlier degrees.

Secondly, People with associates’ degrees tended to earn a lot more than those whose educations stopped at high school. They commit themselves deeply to the preparation for National Postgraduate Entrance Examination. They are eager to enlarge their scope of major and acquire more knowledge. By means of this, they hope to find a better job in the employment market.

Thirdly, a higher degree can provide a chance of futher education. Universities are, after all, wonderful, magical places, and learning something new is the greatest of pleasures. Those who want to take advantage of the favorable conditions in college,however,will try to enroll in graduate programs. For them,a Master's degree or even a Doctoral degree represents a much more ambitious goal than a bachelor's

degree. In the same way,their lifetime success and interest lies more in academic achievements than in making money.

On the other hand, In my survey, a minority of people prefer to be employees immediately after their graducation and they give the following reasons.

Firstly, choosing to work can help one to become economically independent . For years,they have been using their parents' money to support their education with a sense of guilt.Moreover,at many times during their study,they must have been embarrassed by the lack of money or the guilty feeling of spending their parents' money on “luxuries”. Getting established as a bread-winner after graduation as well as to ease pare nts’ burden is their main desire.

Secondly, work first can give students a chance to keep up with the market earlier. For those who want to accumulate working experience and to put into practice what thay have learned in college, taking a job will be both satisfying and rewarding. Form other aspects, when they find their knowledge is inadequate for work, they can absolutely have the ability to further their education at their own expense.

Thirdly,Master’s degrees, particularly those earned at lower-famous public universities, also tended to be not worth the investment. As we know, not all the students can offer such a huge number of money to deeper his education, that is to say, he should grant a loan .Many students don't think that the payoff doesn’t justi fy the cost.

After my survey, what impressed me most is some philosophy in some people’s words. I really like them and I know I should share them.

A : ”Earning my Master degree was among the most fruitful and most rewarding experiences I’ve had. Certainly it is a stepping stone of sorts, a way to make sure you would like to pursue something to a higher level (or not). The Master degree is a chance to delve seriously into a topic or to realize you can’t wait to finish with it and do something else. As with anything, an Master degree can be as rewarding and fulfilling as one makes it. I personally wouldn’t trade my Master degree experience—the people I have met and worked with, and the lasting friendships—for anything (including the few grand it cost!). Money spent on education is an investment in one’s life that lasts

forever and can’t ever be lost in the mysterious workings of the “market” or stolen in a Ponzi scheme. Besides, most Master degree programs offer scholarships and teaching assistantships that co ver most if not all the costs.”

B : “Earning an Master degree can be fun; it can provide knowledge; and can stretch the imagination. A cynic might conclude that the Master degree is the stepchild of the university community, is increasingly a commodity offered by universities in order to earn tuition dollars devoted to the Ph.D. programs. But in the marketplace, it adds to one’s personal narrative. It makes one more interesting. “C: ”Jobs may come and go, but an education is something that will always be part of you. If a student spends wisely and takes full advantage of the time, a degree no matter what discipline will always pay off. Our society needs to reinvest in education and allow more students the opportunity to pursue higher degrees with programs, grants and sponsorships to make it happen. Having a population that is too educated is a problem I think we would rather have than the opposite.”

Frow what we talked above, we can simply draw the conclusion that to become a postgraduate may meet with great favor, but to become an employee or postgraduate after graduation is really a complicated problem and so many factors we must put into consideration. For example: How do students know if an M.A. is worth it or not? What degrees might be worth getting, and which are not? How does a student weigh the risks and benefits of taking that intermediate step in higher education?

In nowadays, many students are keen on becoming postgraduates after graducation. Each student would have his or her idea about whether to be a poatgraduate or an employee. As for me, what I choose depends on the situation or the opporunity I maybe confronted with. If the society presses hard for a higher diploma, I will have to take the exam to be a postgraduate. Nevertheless, is an ideal jod is waving to me, I won’t let it pass by.

张一

Cited material:

The New York times