Enrolling in Graduate School

Writing an Argument: Enrolling in Graduate School

Education for most individuals is one of the most important aspects of one's life. After you have married, had children and started a career, the decision to dive head first into college can be scary. This essay is about diving head first and choosing to continue education from my point of view. The information in the essay will include studies and statistics from various sources including from my own views on why going back to college to obtain a Master's degree is important to some and not so for others. Allowing the ability to raise and counter object the decisions.

Grad School or No Grad School

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2011) higher education pays, as the statistics rise the higher the education level is for a full time worker within the United States (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011). This may be one of the determining facts for someone to obtain a degree in higher education. Personally, for myself I believe that the higher I achieve in education, the higher I will achieve in salary. As you view the chart obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2011), notice how each form of education enables the worker to higher wages and a decrease in unemployment.

Although money is a contributing factor in someone deciding to move forward and obtain a Master's degree, it may not be the sole reason. Following the above statistics looks great on paper and can motivate many to do just that, however, many individuals decide for other reasons. Some career goals require obtaining a Master's degree, therefore requiring the individual to choose graduate school. Although all careers do not require, some may believe the enhancement of his or her current career may be built on obtaining a higher degree in education. Families also can be a contributing factor in making a decision to climb higher in education.

In making a decision most individuals develop a strategy. A decision-making strategy, opinionatedly speaking is not only for leaders of organizations or members of teams within an organization. Decision-making embodies the goods that can allow individuals to make wiser decisions that affect not only themselves but also their families and communities. According to Hoch, Kunreuther, and Guenther (2001) there are new approaches to a decision-making strategy that includes focusing on options and flexibility rather than on the precise evaluation of choice alternatives, allowing the decision maker to prepare making correct choices in the future rather than nailing down a decision in advance (Hoch, Kunreuther, & Guentehr, 2001).

The new approach from Hoch, Kunreuther, and Guentehr (2001) opinionatedly speaking include steps used in order to make choices similar to deciding to enter graduate school. The steps along with my take on each as it pertains to deciding to enter or not to enter graduate school are as follows:

1.) Building the information base would include tallying the information obtained by statistics as seen earlier in the essay as well as information from other sources that allow the individual to weigh the possibilities and how the information would allow the individual to make the decision whether it were to enroll in graduate school or not.

2.) Identifying Constraints would allow the individual not only to weigh the information he or she may have about the ups or downs of attending graduate school but also how soon would he or she need to make the decision. If enrolling into graduate school is impossible today, how about the possibility of tomorrow, and whether these particular options would allow the individual to meet his or her own needs.

3.) Strengthening organizational capabilities may be used by talking to professionals or individuals who have already obtained his or her Masters or have helped others enroll in graduate school. This could range from counselors of the schools or from those within the field of work the individual desires to enter.

Opinionatedly speaking, the decision-making strategy is most important because

regardless of what the decision tends to be, the strategy will remain the same. Focusing on what is important to oneself is just the same as focusing on what is important for an organization. It may take a team to aid in the outcome just as an organization but nothing falls short of the actual strategy used in making the decision itself.

Pollack of ABC News on Campus (2009), weighs in on the heavy decision of attending or not attending graduate