Career Development
Center
  Occidental College
 1600 Campus Road,
Coons 109
 Los Angeles, CA
 90041-3314

 Email: careers@oxy.edu
 Phone: 323.259.2623
 Fax: 323.341.4900

Graduate and Professional Education Information

Why Pursue Graduate Education?

1. Personal motivation

• What is it that encourages you to pursue an advanced degree?

• Is it a pre-requisite for your chosen career path?

• Are you driven by intellectual curiosity?

• Are you simply postponing job hunting?

2. Remain in the academic environment?

3. Satisfy others' expectations of me?

4. Additional considerations:

• Will you need work experience prior to entering graduate school?

• Will working prior to graduate school help finance your education?

• How will going to graduate school affect your family or relationships?

• Will this advanced degree channel you into an occupation pipeline from which it will be difficult to remove yourself?

• Are you confident enough in your choice to make a commitment to this profession that involves considerable time, energy and money?