Delicia writes:
After graduating from college with a degree in psychology I got a job at a title insurance company where I’ve been employed for the past 3 years. I am presently working on a master’s degree and feel the need to change to a more promising, financially rewarding career. What should I do?
Unfortunately, I have no clue what type of job you currently hold, what area your graduate degree is in, nor what your interests and goals are — besides wanting something financially rewarding. I think most of us — at least those not independently wealthy — want a financially rewarding career — so the key is finding one that you are passionate about… a career and job that will make you excited to head to work every morning.
Usually you get a master’s degree in the field that you see yourself entering. If you are continuing your psychology at the graduate level, then it certainly seems that a counseling career is appropriate.
My best advice is to first sit down and reflect on who you are and what you like doing. Perhaps conduct some research on a number of careers that interest you. Then meet with one or more of the professors in your graduate program (or perhaps even from your undergraduate days) and pick their brains about career options. Finally, once you have narrowed your career choices down, start making a plan for how you will make the change from what you are doing now to your new career.
I recommend you read my article, The 10-Step Plan to Career Change, published on Quintessential Careers. You might also enjoy my Career Change Do’s and Don’ts
Furqan writes:
I have a bachelor’s degree in finance. I have not yet gotten any experience. I want to further my education. I am confused about if I should pursue CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) or MBA in finance. Which do you think would help me penetrate the job market?
The Career Doctor responds:
I’m going to offer some advice, but here’s what I suggest you do to get the best possible solution to your situation.
You need to identify the specific career path within finance that you want to pursue… research various finance careers, conduct informational interviews with finance professionals, and intern/volunteer to obtain experience in finance. Also, talk with your professors and career professionals about careers in finance.
Typical career paths for people with a finance degree(s) include investment banking, commercial banking, corporate finance, money management, financial planning, insurance, and real estate.
According to the CFA Institute, the group that oversees the CFA, the CFA has become known as the designation of professional excellence within the global investment community. “Around the world, employers and investors recognize the CFA designation as the definitive standard for measuring competence and integrity in the fields of portfolio management and investment analysis.” To be eligible for the CFA, however, you need to have three years of acceptable professional experience working in the investment decision-making process.
By the way, many of the better MBA programs also require several years of experience, so your best option may be to join the workforce and get some practical finance experience under your belt before pursuing one or both of these options.
Learn more about the CFA by going to the CFA Institute Website.
Learn more about the types of jobs and career paths in finance by going to this section of Quintessential Careers: Jobs in Business, Management, Finance, Accounting, Marketing, and Sales.
Nikki writes:
I have been out of college for two years. During those two years I was a public -school teacher. Now I would like to make a career change toward international business. I enrolled into a graduate program for international management and commerce. What kind of job should I seeking to gain experience in this field? How can I land the position with my education experience?
The Career Doctor responds:
There is a bit of a misunderstanding among students who are enrolled in international business programs, though more so at the undergraduate level. Students think they are going to graduate with this international business degree and travel the world, working for large multinational corporations.
You seem to have a better understanding of the situation. Businesses who have operations in other parts of the world do want graduates of international business programs — especially graduate programs — but those graduates need to have proven domestic business careers first.
So, the critical thing for you is to get experience while you are in the graduate program. I don’t know the details of your program, but find a way to work full-time, part-time, consult, and/or volunteer. If you can work for the next two years as you earn your graduate degree, you will be a very attractive candidate to a multitude of companies that are doing business overseas.
Talk with the professionals in your school’s career services office, network with alumni of the program, and join at least one professional association. Start researching potential employers now, examine the types of job offers graduates have received over the past few years, and begin putting yourself in a position to receive multiple job offers upon graduation.
One final piece of advice. Do you know one or more foreign languages? If not, I would also suggest you take the time to become as fluent as possible in at least one other language besides English.
Reena writes: I am 37, an IT consultant and a languages graduate with honors. Can I get into medical school? I think my vocation is to become a doctor and I am concerned I am too old.
I am a strong advocate of the career philosophy that it doesn’t matter how old you are when you decide it’s time for a career change. It may be a little harder for you to get your brain back into the education mode, and it may be a little more rusty than those recent college graduates attending medical school in their 20s, but if you don’t take a long and hard look at the possibility of following your true calling you may spend the rest of your life being miserable — or at least unhappy in your career/job.
Here’s what I suggest you do to help you determine whether to make a career change.
- Spend some time in self-reflection. It appears you already have done some of this assessment, but take some more time to really understand yourself. Identify the key aspects and attributes of what you want to do next with your life. Then conduct some research so you truly have a thorough understanding of the pros and cons of being a physician.
- Assuming you still have a desire to become a physician, contact a career services counselor from your alma mater and/or the faculty adviser for the pre-med program and discuss your options. At a minimum, you’re probably going to need to go back to school for the core science courses — and probably a few other refresher courses. There are also numerous sources in print and online that give advice about getting into medical school. Learn more in this section of Quintessential Careers: Graduate School Resources.
- Find a mentor. Perhaps your family physician, perhaps some other doctor. Having a mentor in the profession you want to change to is extremely beneficial — and you’ll be very happy you took this step.
- Identify medical schools. With the help of your alma mater (or other university) and your mentor, as well as any other sources, identify medical schools that have a profile that fits your needs — and where you fit their profile.
- Study for the standardized tests and then take the Medical College Admission Test (MCATs).
- Assuming you have the academic background, the grades, and the standardized test scores, apply to med schools and wait for their decisions.
And remember, at any time in the career changing process, you can make adjustments to your plans. If medical school doesn’t work out for you, perhaps there are other “helping” vocations where you can find your true calling and find fulfilling employment opportunities.
You can find lots of career change resources, including helpful articles and quizzes, by going to this section of Quintessential Careers: Job & Career Resources for Career Changers.
Doug writes: I have a strong desire to teach in college. I will be moving from where I live in the next couple of years but have time to get my graduate degree from my alma mater. Would it be better to get my graduate and master’s degree from the same school now, or wait and get my master’s and Ph.D. from the same school?
The Career Doctor responds: Most experts agree — and I am one of them — that if you can get your degrees from different schools you’re the better for it. By attending different schools, you interact with different professors, face new challenges, are exposed to different philosophies, etc. That said, there are quite a number of college professors I know who attended the same school for all of their degrees.
There are a number of considerations you need to contemplate. If your alma mater has an undergraduate faculty and a graduate faculty or if you are getting your master’s degree in a different subject — in either case being exposed to different faculty — then your alma mater may be a good choice. But, even if these situations are not the case, the convenience factor has to play a role. One other issue to consider: some doctoral programs accept students into an accelerated master’s program leading to a doctorate for students who only have a bachelor’s degree; several of my colleagues have gone that route. Prestige (and ranking) of the schools you attend also play a role in your future job-hunting plans.
I suggest that your best resource for finding an answer is to schedule some time to talk to faculty members from your alma mater in the discipline you want to teach. Conduct some informational interviews with them — pick their brains and solicit their advice and opinions.
Don’t forget that you can find links to several great articles about attending graduate school, as well as links to great graduate school resources by going to the Graduate School Resources section of Quintessential Careers.
And be sure to go to the Quintessential Careers Informational Interviewing Tutorial if you need to learn more about how to conduct informational interviews.
Terrance writes: I am scheduled to begin my master’s in business administration this spring. However, the ranking of the grad program that I am attending is low; will the ranking of a graduate program affect perspective employers’ perception of me? I do not anticipate working for a Fortune 500 company, but I do wish to be marketable. Thanks.
If your ambition is to work at a Fortune 500 or top global corporation, a degree from a “known” program (one in the top of the various rankings) will certainly give you a big edge, but as I have stated on numerous occasions, it is NOT the most qualified job-seeker who get the job, but the most prepared job-seeker who excels in job interviews. To me, rankings are purely public-relations opportunities for the programs and bragging rights for the graduates.
Since your ambition it not working for a Fortune 500 company in the foreseeable future, then the real key is the program’s (and the university’s) reputation in your area. Contact people in your professional organization, local area chambers of commerce, and people in your current company and seek their opinions of the school and its MBA. Contact the school and ask to see a list of alumni placement for the past few years.
Perhaps the bigger question for you is whether an MBA will be worth it for you at this point in your career. For these reasons, I also recommend to you my article: The Master of Business Administration: Is the MBA Worth the Time, Effort, and Cost?
Peter writes: I’m currently working in economics consulting in London and have done so for 2.5 years. My short-term career aspiration is to get into corporate finance, and I am therefore planning to apply to a grad school. The question that I’m facing is whether to go for master’s in finance or MBA and which school to choose. There seems to be very little information about master’s courses as there is for MBA’s, i.e., rankings, comparison, etc.
I would therefore appreciate if you could give me advice on the above and also point me in the right direction in terms of publicly available information.
Another twist is whether you would want a program that has an emphasis on international finance.
I suggest you take two routes to discovering the best degree for your career goals.
First, I would conduct informational interviews (read more here) with vice presidents or directors of finance at several corporations. Since the goal of an informational interview is to gain insight, your focus should be on the asking about the value of the two degrees (and various programs as well), not only for gaining a position in corporate finance, but also in terms of career advancement value. The benefit of doing these interviews is not only the information you receive — and possible recommendations — but the strengthening of your network of contacts. Second, I would talk to the graduate directors at several of the universities and solicit their advice for the type of degree that best fits what you want to accomplish in your career. From my research, I found that many of the schools that offer a master’s degree in finance also offer an MBA, so bias should be minimal. Talk about internships and placement; seek information about the careers of their alumni.
USNews.com ranks the best U.S. graduate programs with a specialty in finance.
William writes: I currently live in Pittsburgh, PA. I eventually want to live in Cincinnati, OH. Having said that, I am the process of deciding which MBA program to attend. If I am not going to go to a top-tier school (Ivy League, Maxwell School of Business, Stanford, etc) does it matter which program I attend? My two choices are either University of Pittsburgh or Robert Morris College. University of Pittsburgh is a little bit better known. When it comes right down to it, do employers look at the degree or the school or both and does it all matter if it isn’t a top-tier school?
Scope and breadth of reputation. You should do some research with various employers and recruiters as to the strength of an MBA program. Many schools now offer MBAs, and while the degree is the key, the school’s reputation is critical. And if you are confident that for the next five years or so you are going to live in a certain area, then I would focus my attention on the schools with the greatest reputation in that area. Once you’re about five years out from your MBA, where you got it won’t matter except for bragging rights in the locker room.
Strength of MBA placement. You want an MBA program that can deliver the companies and recruiters to you so that you have multiple job offers. Placement is related to a program’s reputation, but a school can have a solid reputation with a weak placement program. Ask for placement results.
Fit with education program. There are numerous types of MBA programs, from what I call vanilla programs (usually one-year programs) to very specialized MBA for medical professionals, educational leaders, etc. You need to find a program that offers the specific classes and education you need to move to your next career step.
Costs and financial assistance. The ideal scenario, of course, is when your current employer pays for your MBA. When that’s not the case, you need to take a hard look at the costs, any possible financial assistance, and your expected financial returns from the MBA … think of it as a cost-benefit analysis for each MBA program.
I’ve completed an article on this subject, and it has a lot more depth of information, analysis, and resources than I can offer in this space. Please read: The Master of Business Administration: Is the MBA Worth the Time, Effort, and Cost?.
Erika writes: I have recently graduated from the University of Connecticut where I earned a B.A./psychology major. My work experience is limited to food service and education (I supervised the patient dining room of a psych hospital and worked as an aide in a special-ed school). I intend to go on to graduate school but would like some office experience while I decide what area of study to pursue. I am uncertain about which specific positions I am qualified for; I hope you can help point me in the right direction! Thank you for your time.
My best advice for you is to contact your adviser and/or mentor at your alma mater and seek counsel from him or her. If you are looking to make psychology/counseling a career, then it is critical to get the “right” kind of experience before graduate school — and your adviser and the career services office should be able to help you with networking contacts and perhaps even job leads.
If you are simply looking for a job to pay the bills while you contemplate graduate school, then you have an extremely large array of jobs that you qualify for. You should determine your skills and interests, but certainly employment in human resources, marketing, social work, and admissions counseling all come to mind.
If you’re really unsure about your future, might I suggest taking advantage of the advice and resources in an article written by my partner Katharine Hansen? Read Using a Personal Mission Statement to Chart Your Career Course.
Mike writes: I am 30 years old and have a concern about if indeed I am too old to be a doctor. My current job is paramedic … and I have just completed a 16-week police academy course to try and be a police/medic. However, I still have would like to full fill my ultimate goal of becoming a doctor. I would have to take the required pre-med classes and sit for the MCAT. I am looking at approx 6-7 years.
What do you think? Thank you for your time.
The Career Doctor responds: Mike, I have to borrow the answer from an esteemed advice columnist to respond to your question. The simple answer to your question is in asking you how old will you be in six or seven years if you do NOT go to medical school?
I am a big believer in finding and achieving your life’s calling. If you have determined your true calling is to be a doctor — and you can find a way financially and emotionally to achieve that goal — then you should go at it full steam. You’re 30? That’s nothing; you are still young — and you’ll have more maturity than the traditionally aged medical students.
I would suggest talking with an admissions counselor at a few medical schools and get the straight information on your potential based on your undergraduate record, your work experience, and a realistic goal for the MCAT. If you get a positive response, you can then set about developing a detailed plan for the next several years covering the pre-med courses you need to take, studying and taking the MCAT, and applying and (hopefully) attending medical school.
Finally, one other interesting Website that may help you in your decision-making about medical school: The Student Doctor Network.
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