Don't Go Back To School! You Don't Need More Education

It's really unfortunate so many people think more education is the answer after they already have a degree.

(When they can't find a job, when they're underpaid, etc.)

It's really not.

It's the slowest, most expensive option.

AKA the worst option... at least for the majority of people (there are always exceptions).

So what SHOULD you be doing instead?

Let's imagine you graduated with a Bachelor's degree and are now struggling to find a job you want.

(This is the type of person who I see falling into the trap of going back to get more education quite often, so that's what I'm focusing on here).

In the next section, I'll explain the many alternatives to going and paying huge amounts of money for another degree that won't help you find a job any more than your first degree did!

How To Find a Job Without Going Back For Another Degree

How about rewriting your resume and applying for better jobs after tailoring your past experience to be as relevant as possible?

How about spending a few months networking and trying to get introduced to better opportunities that way?

Or looking at your job search step-by-step and trying to diagnose where you're struggling so you can improve it (in a lot less time than getting another degree would take!)

Job seekers tell me all of this sounds difficult, though.

They don't want to do these steps

Yet they'll shell out tens of thousands of dollars and years of their life for a degree that they've been sold on the fact will help them (yet it often doesn't even help).

Why Nobody Cares About Your MBA/Master's Degree

Employers want real-world experience.

Ask any recruiter, any hiring manager, or anyone else involved in HR and hiring.

The first thing employers look for is relevant, real-world experience.

Have you worked in a similar industry?

Have you done similar tasks/challenges, but in another industry?

(For example, maybe you've never worked in a software company before, but they're hiring for customer service and they see you've been doing phone-based customer service for two years in a different industry. That's super relevant/valuable).

This is what employers want.

Your fancy Master's degree might be a slight boost IF you have that other relevant experience, too.

And I really mean "slight" when I say it (For most jobs/fields. Again - there are always exceptions).

They may see value in a specialized Master's degree or MBA *in combination* with your real-world experience.

But going back for a Master's right after completing your Bachelor's degree is the worst solution to your problem, because it doesn't get you any of what they REALLY want, which is qualifications and experience doing work that's similar to their job.

That's why unless it's required for the job you want (lawyers, doctors, psychologists, etc.)... you don't need more education!

If you want a Master's degree, go find an employer who will pay for it!

That's how I'd recommend getting an MBA or other advanced degree if you still insist on getting one.

Plenty of employers offer tuition reimbursement so you can go obtain that degree part-time, the smart way (having THEM pay for a big chunk of it).

But you should go face your real challenge right now - finding a job.

Don't pay thousands of dollars just to delay the discomfort and challenge for 2 more years.

More debt isn't the answer.

Two more years without any responsibility (and two more years without learning ANYTHING about what it takes to find the job you really want) definitely isn't the answer.

You shouldn't change what you want when you find out it's tougher than you expected; you should change your approach/tactics to getting what you wanted.

If you said you wanted a job, go get that job.

Sure, it's a bit harder than you thought.

But you can do it.

The tactics to do it are out there. I teach many of them myself on my blog.

You can learn on YouTube. You can learn with 10,000+ courses on LinkedIn Learning.

You can hire a coach to help you with interviews.

You can hire a professional resume writer.

You can buy books.

You can try to find an internship or volunteer for a month or two to get some real experience on your resume (yes, volunteer or unpaid work is still experience. Working for yourself or freelancing is as well. Experience is experience).

All of this is faster and much cheaper than a Master's degree. (And more valuable, despite what your parents or other people who job searched decades ago might tell you).