This year’s job market has been bleak, to say the least. Layoffs hit the highest level in 14 years; job openings are barely budging; and quits figures are plummeting. It’s no wonder people feel stuck and discouraged—especially as many candidates have been on the job hunt for a year.
But some mid-career professionals are working with the cards they’ve been dealt by going back to school. Many are turning to data analytics, cybersecurity, AI-focused courses, health care, MBA programs, or trade certifications for an “immediate impact on their careers,” Metaintro CEO Lacey Kaelani told Fortune.
But while grad school can certainly offer the opportunity to level-up your career once you’ve completed a program, it comes with financial and personal sacrifices, like time. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, one year of grad school, on average, costs about $43,000 in tuition. That’s nearly 70% of the average salary in the U.S.
This article seems to be exclusively about masters degrees or people going back to school for a second degree in a new field, but what I’m curious about is if there’s been a similar spike in people going for their first degree. I’m trying to figure out how much of this is people trying to land a job in a recession and how much of it is people trying to make themselves appealing from an immigration perspective. There’s definitely a lot of people who feel like getting out of the country is a nonstarter simply because countries only want the kind of labor that comes from obtaining a degree in a field.
it’s the fact nobody will hire you for anything unless you have multiple degrees