More Grad School Thoughts

Completing a grad degree has many rewards, as indicated in our post last week. 

However, there are also many reasons not to go.

Grad school can be...

1. Highly competitive. Graduate programs always have fewer spots than undergraduate programs. There's competition for seats, research positions, grant money, and often as a result, departmental politics.

2. An excuse not to leave school if one is afraid of entering the workforce.

3. A challenge to one's ability to set priorities. 

4. A strain on relationships. You might be offered a grad/research assistant position and free tuition, but your spouse will have to fend for him or herself in a geographical area away from home.

5. Stressful, as grad work can  take 2–7 years of your life. Not everyone finds they can complete an MA  degree in the typical one or two years and a Phd can take many more years. Personal obligations often intrude, or lack of finances makes it difficult. Or your supervisor doesn't like your research.

6. Expensive. Graduate schools can be very expensive. If you are not going to work during your studies, or will not receive an assistant job and waived tuition fees, the cost of your education is going to mount and the debt might push you into accepting any job after graduation, out of necessity.  

7. An obstacle if you appear to be too qualified for a lower level job. During an economic downturn, should you find yourself looking for employment, having an advanced degree can be a problem. You might hear, "sorry, you're overqualified."

Feeling overwhelmed? We have drop-in hours every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 2-4. A career counselor can help you work through all your concerns!

Adapted from http://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools/guide-students-graduate-school.aspx

Benefits Count!

The following article is courtesy of the National Association of Colleges and Employers, and provides some very important info as you consider your first professional position.

As you look for your first job, you’re probably not thinking about becoming ill, retiring, or looking for tax breaks. However, you should consider benefits to be an important part of your compensation package. According to the most recent survey of new college graduates, the top benefits desired by new hires include medical insurance and such “core” financial benefits as salary increases, tuition reimbursement, and a 401 (k) company match. Benefits that deliver more immediate satisfaction, such as family-friendly benefits, more than two weeks of vacation, and flextime are increasingly important. A good benefits package can add as much as 30 percent to your overall compensation and may make a huge different in your work/life quality! Here is information about some commonly offered benefits: 

Health Insurance

This is an important benefit for three financial reasons: 1. Even if you have to pay for all or part of the coverage, it’s cheaper to get insurance through an employer at group rates than to purchase it on your own. 2. Health insurance is comparable to nontaxable income—providing health insurance could cost your employer upwards of $4,000 per year per employee—and you don’t pay tax on it. If you were to purchase health insurance, it might take more than $5,000 per year out of your pocket—after taxes. 3. The third advantage, of course, is, if you get sick or have a surfing (or horseback riding or bungee-jumping) accident, your medical treatment is paid for (in part or in full, depending on your policy). Annual salary increasesMore money? Of course that’s a good thing. In recent years, some employers have frozen salaries—not given any raises—or given minimal, 1.4 percent raises. According to Aon Hewitt’s annual U.S. Salary Increase Survey, average salary increases over the past couple of years ranged up to about 4 percent. If you earn $44,500, a 4 percent raise will increase your income by $1,777. Tuition ReimbursementOne way to get ahead in your career is to continue learning—keep up with the latest trends in your profession. In this case, your employer pays all or a portion of your tuition costs for classes related to the business of the company. In some cases, employers reimburse for nonbusiness-related classes and for supplies such as books. 

401(k) Plan

A 401(k) is a retirement plan that allows you to put a percentage of your gross (pre-tax) income into a trust fund or other qualified investment fund. In many cases, employers will match your contribution up to a certain percentage—this is “free” money that can add to your overall compensation package. Why is this important to you since retirement is still 30 or 40 years away? According to The Motley Fool, a multimedia financial-services company, someone saving $5,000 a year beginning at age 25 will have $787,176 at age 65 (assuming an 11 percent annual return on savings). Waiting until age 35 cuts your investment earnings in half, to a total of $364,615. Wait until age 45 to start your retirement fund and you’ll have only $168,887—not much to live on in retirement. Typically, you can direct your contributions and the matching funds into investments offered through your employer. And your 401 (k) is portable—you can take it with you if you change jobs. Flex spending accountAlso known as flexible benefits and Section 125 plans, these plans let you put aside money (via a deduction from each pay) before taxes to cover various types of costs such as payment of health insurance and life insurance premiums, and vision care, dental care, or child- or dependent-care costs. By using money held out before taxes, you’ll spend pre-tax dollars on necessities and you’ll show less earned income on your federal tax return—so you will pay a lower percentage of your income in taxes.

Family Friendly Benefits

Do you have to have a family to collect these benefits? Absolutely not! Family-friendly benefits can mean a lot of things. 

• Flextime allows you to vary your workday start and stop times, within limits.

• Paid time off (PTO) deposits your paid-time off (e.g., vacation, holiday, sick, and personal days) into one bank from which you withdraw days, which you allocate as you wish. This means you could wind up with more than two weeks of vacation.

• Telecommuting allows you to work from home or at an alternative work site for part of the week, checking in with the main office via telephone and computer. Some employers provide the office equipment for home use; in other cases, you cover the costs associated with telecommuting.

Courtesy of the National Association of Colleges and Employers, copyright holder, www.naceweb.org.

References: How to Assemble a Successful References List

Tips for Top-Notch References
(Adapted from an article by Kelli Robinson -- Courtesy of the National Association of Colleges and Employers, copyright holder, http://www.naceweb.org/)

"References available upon request" is a statement that can make or break your job offer. Here are 9 tips for assembling a successful reference list. 

1. Ask, don’t assume. Ask your references for permission to use their names. Confirm the following:
Do the people you include as references actually want to give you a reference?
Does their schedule permit time to discuss your qualifications?
Most importantly, what kind of reference will they be? When it comes to references, neutral is the same as negative, so ask your contacts to be honest: Can the people you ask give you a positive recommendation?
2. Let the professionals do the job. Potential supervisors are not interested in hearing friends or relatives talk about how nice you are. They want confirmation for their main objective: Are you going to deliver the duties of the job? Good reference sources include previous supervisors, co-workers, professors, or advisers. Think outside the box: If you voluntarily coordinated an organization’s fund-raising effort, the organization’s supervisor could be a great reference. It doesn’t matter that you weren’t paid.
3. Avoid name dropping. A reference’s name or job title is insignificant compared to the information he or she will provide regarding your strengths and weaknesses. CEO may be a loftier title than supervisor; however, who can better attest to your abilities on a daily basis?
4. Provide references with the appropriate tools:
Give each reference a copy of your resume, so he or she has a complete picture of your background.
Provide a description of the job to which you are applying. Knowing the duties and responsibilities ahead of time will prepare references for questions they may be asked and help them relate your experience to the potential job.
Alert references to potential phone calls. Contact your references and tell them to anticipate a phone call or e-mail.
Tell them the name of the company, and the position for which you interviewed. If you know the name of the person who will check your references, offer that information, too.
5. Keep your references informed. Were you offered the job? If so, did you accept? When will you start?
6. Thank your references. When you accept a job offer, take the time to write each of your references a thank-you note. They have played a valuable part in your receiving an offer. Keep in touch.
7. Don’t end contact with your references. Send an e-mail, call, or meet them for lunch on occasion. You never know when you may need to call upon them to be references in the future.
8. Update your list. Just as resumes become outdated, so do reference lists. As your career builds, keep your reference list up-to-date.
9. Return the favor. Your references may have been the deciding factor in your job offer. When you are asked to be a reference, say yes.