OfftoCollege.com

college planning - college search guide

Member SayPlanning.com Life-Event Network

graduate guide: Grad School Prep

 
your location: college planning center ... graduate planning guide ... grad prep
Page Directory:    (links jump to content below)
Task 1:
  Task 2:
  Task 3:
  Task 4:
  Task 5:
  Task 6:
SEARCH: start your search for scholarships
TOOLS:

MEMBER: Register for Our Financial Aid Tips:      (more info)
 
SHARE:


Graduate Prep Guide
— why attend graduate school —  

Task #1:

Why Go to Graduate School


  • Key reasons why you should get a graduate degree:

    — better career
    — more knowledge
    — better opportunities
    — increased fame and fortune
    — personal fulfillment
    — and more money.

    According to recent surveys, graduate degrees can earn an average of 35% to 50% more than those with only a bachelor's degree:

    Salary Wizard®
      Find out what you're worth
      Job title
     
      ZIP Code
     
    salary.com



  • Master's Degree or Ph.D.?
    It will depend on your field of specialty and job that you are seeking. Many fields in education, engineering, health care, and social work require a Masters Degree to move beyond entry-level positions.

    You will also find that many state licensing requirements require a Masters Degree to begin your practice. Additionally, a doctorate degree is required for medical and legal professions.

    Those pursuing academic careers will pursue a PhD. These candidates are interested in research, academic teaching, and scholastic achievements.

    Articles on why go to grad school?
    http://www.gradview.com

Task #2:

Researching Employment Projections

Get a Good Idea on What's Going On

Find out what careers are going to be hot and what's not. This will help you decide which graduate program is best for you:

  • From the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
    occupational outlook by category: provides insight on the training need, work environment, earnings, expected job prospects and more. It's a valuable resource to help decide what career you may like.
    www.bls.gov/oco/

    projections on what's hot and what's not. Includes employment statistics and the fastest growing careers:
    www.bls.gov/emp/

    provides information on careers from an occupational perspective
    www.bls.gov/oco/cg/


  • Individual State Labor Statistics:
    occupational projections by state and region — helps determine where you may need to locate for the best growth
    www.projectionscentral.com

    Link to individual State job and occupation trends:



  • From America's Career InfoNet:
    making smart career decisions - research the job market, wages and trends by region and occupation:
    www.acinet.org

    employability checkup form - find out home different careers stack up by city and wage:
    www.acinet.org

Task #3:

Complete a Career and Personal Assessment

Get to Know Yourself
by taking some career and personal self-assessment tests to determine your aptitude and character for career opportunities. By understanding your personality type, it will help determine what career opportunity will bring you the most satisfaction.

  • Start with defining your personality type:
    take this online quiz to get a non-test based review of your personality type and careers that may be of interest
    www.personalitytype.com

    another test-based online character assessment:
    www.advisorteam.com


About Self-Assessment Tests:
you can view more information about personal assessments and how they can measure your personality traits for jobs and other life-events

Task #4:

What Kind of Career


What career would you like?
By understanding who you are and what you like, you can now explore career opportunities that will be most satisfying to you:
  • Evaluate Your Career Interests
    your first step in finding the right career is to evaluate what you would like to do and what career fits your overall aptitude
    start with careerkey.org


  • Understand your interests and career relationship
    you can take this online career assessments for a small fee - not recommended at this stage of your planning
    view the Strong Interest Inventory®

    federal government web site that reviews your road trip to career success:
    view information at careervoyages.gov


  • Other Helpful Career Assessments:
    use this skills assessment to understand job types that you may best be qualified for based on your temperament assessment:
    http://online.onetcenter.org

    what to do with your skills into shaping a collegiate major:
    www.udel.edu

Task #5:

Who's Who in Career Opportunities

From Fortune Magazine

Fortune 500 companies
Fortune Global 500
Fortune Best 100 companies to work for
Fortune fastest growing companies
Fortune small business 100
Fortune 50 best for minorities

www.fortune.com


From Forbes Magazine


From Inc. Magazine

  • America's fastest-growing private companies —
    The Inc. 500:
    www.inc.com


Other company directories


Search Industry Directories


Search Government Directories


Search Other

Task #6:

Achieving Success in Life

Visit our college prep section for study notes, study guides and other related study materials for all disciplines
view college prep help


Now is the time to build a successful future

Success in your career requires planning, discipline, and execution.

Download FREE
Complete guide on discipline and character building. Has illustrations on the building blocks of success.

FREE: click to download book summary
FREE: click to download book

privacy statement | site usage terms | contact us | email page | site map

Copyright 2001-07
College Planning and College Search Center

part of the SayPlanning.com life-event network
all rights reserved

operated by: nBuy Associates

BBBOnLine Reliability SealMember: Better Business Bureau

 


earn rebate dollars while shopping
download article: managing rebate credit cards
search rebate credit card programs

 

 

 

Center for Student Loans