Career Advancement: Work experience or Graduate School? Essay

One of the greatest accomplishments of a student is graduating from college. Graduation is a students’ climactic completion of their academic requirements and it signifies their emancipation from their scholarly life. More so, it indicates the start of their entry in the â€Å"real† world.   The question of what to do after graduation dominates the common thinking of every graduate. It seems like that the answer is apparent which is to work. However, several   graduates experience a dilemma on choosing what to do after graduation. Is it to work to gain professional experiences or attend graduate school to develop more their knowledge on a specific course in hope of securing a top-ranking and high paying job? This paper is intended to determine the better choice or the advancement of a newly graduate’s professional career between engaging in work right after graduation or going to graduate school to further one’s academic profile.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To work or to obtain a job is usually the objective of any person pursuing an education. So it’s natural for students after they graduate that they look for jobs in order to   apply in the professional world what they have learned in school. By immediately working, newly graduates are given the opportunity to immerse themselves in the complex and hierarchical realm of workers. Since they are newly graduates, they start from the bottom and they have to work their way up the ladder in order to secure higher positions.   By having this experience, they can fully grasp the different dimensions of their job making them more proficient and sensible. Learning based on experiences is a powerful tool in honing one’s skills   and intellect because these are not textbook information that are available in bookstores or websites, these are actual events or situation that a person can encounter that can   help him/her become a better employee. More so, in an intra-office setting, promotion is purely based on experiences and accomplishments. For example, two employees are vying for a managerial position. Employee A is a recently graduate college student who has commendable scholastic records in business administration while employee B is a junior manager who has been working for five years. In this instance, employers would more likely promote employee B because he/she has already made a mark in the company while employee A is just starting and needs to prove a lot about his/her competencies as a worker.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Meanwhile, going to graduate school poses also a great advantage for career advancement. As mentioned earlier, pursuit of education is mainly driven by the desire to have a nice and rewarding occupation. Having a higher education gives a graduate student more credibility as a professional.   Through graduate school, students are able to enhance knowledge and even becomes an expert on a particular field such as politics, economy, arts and others. Because of the fact the education and profession are interconnected. Employers have the tendency to judge an applicants based on their educational attainment. Because of this reality, students with masters or doctorate degrees gain more leverage in the corporate arena compared to those just college graduates. Their higher education gave them the free pass to acquire jobs that are not in entry level positions but more of executive or supervisory positions. This is a clear example of   education becoming an integral part of a person’s capability to perform as a learned individual.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If I were to choose between the two, I would choose both because both can be accomplished simultaneously. By working and at the same time attending graduate school, it will give me a huge advantage in advancing my professional career. In comparison with those just working or taking up their masters or PhDs, I can reap the advantages of both by doing it at the same time. I can be able to gain work experience and at the same time intensify the cultivation of my knowledge and skills.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, if its is not possible to do both, it is better to work rather than to take graduate studies for the advancement of one’s career. The opportunity to study is always there however employment possibilities are very volatile. There are instances wherein your skills and education are in demand but in just a snap of a finger, your competencies become a thing of the past. In this highly competitive world, it is very important to note that intellectual capacity is not the only thing that sets you for life, experiences and exposure to the real world also plays a major role in the road to professional success.