We sat in our usual positions around my Aunt’s table, discussing girlfriends, jobs, and life after college. The sort of topics that come up with an overpaid high school guidance counselor’s office. But it is Spring, and time for this young man is about to finish his four-year transition from boyhood to not-quite -ready-for-adulthood-hood.“So you thinking about going to graduate school, Ming?” my aunt asks.

I’d prefer a leisurely swim in the River Styx. “Nope,” I tell her. Then I add, “I don’t think I’m built for higher education.”

She laughs. “Don’t be silly, you’re very smart.”

I’m not sure how to explain to her it’s not a matter of intelligence - but whether I want to hate myself for another two years? Especially since unless I go to a school close to home, I’ll need to do another two years of Residence Life to live on campus (no thanks.) …just a matter of do I want to hate myself and everything about my miserable existence for another two years?

There are some great paying jobs that require graduate level work. Some where you legitimately need it, and some where it’s a coin-flip - but unless you’re applying for these positions in the near future, what’s the point? The only real reason why you should be going to graduate school is if the position you want requires a graduate degree.

There’s a corollary to the rule (isn’t there always?) and that’s if someone (your company, your boss, your sugar momma) is willing to pay for graduate school… then go for it.

Unfortunately, too many recent graduates or soon-to-be-graduates flock to graduate school simply because they’re unsure of their next move. Graduate school seems like a haven when you emerge from undergrad like a duckling from its shell, and realize you actually have no idea how to survive on your own. The big-man-on-campus who can keg stand for 30 seconds won’t impress the bill collector, or the IRS.

Besides, going to graduate school when you don’t know what you want to do could quite possibly be the worst investment you make. Be prepared for debt, as fellow BC Beth Harris says: “I graduated and discovered that I was very, very in debt. Owning a house in the Midwest in debt. It hurt. I felt trapped. However, I did have a job with a high salary. I just realized that I wouldn’t be living quite as well as I had anticipated. Graduate school is expensive.”

Worse than the debt, though, is feeling like you need to use this education doing something you hate for the rest of your life.

If you do choose graduate school, at least do yourself the favor of taking some time off before you go. You just finished four years of undergrad; why jump back in right away? Take time off, work a little, travel… try to learn more about yourself. Set a firm deadline (3 months, 6 months, a year?) for yourself and whoever you’re depending on for sustenance as to when you’ll stop and decide if graduate school is for you… You need to set time aside to let the fear of incompetence subside, then figure it out. And if you do decide to go, at least you’ll know you took the time to decide if the investment will be worth it.