Catherine Zandueta asked:


Before you search for jobs, make sure to research the different career paths for your degree. Find out the careers that most interest you. If you are graduating from graduate school you most likely thought about your future professional life.

If you know the field you would like to pursue, think about where you would like to work. Do you want to stay in your hometown or the town where you went to school? Have you always wanted to live in a certain state or particular city? Once you’ve chosen the area where you want to live and work, it’s time to mount a job search.

Searching for work is a full-time job. If you’re serious about finding a job you have to buckle down and put yourself out there. The first step is to look at job boards. Check your college career center for any openings. Grab a newspaper daily and peruse the job ads.

A great way to look for work is using online job sites. Online job sites can help you look for jobs more efficiently. You can type in keywords that search thousands of jobs in the web site’s database in only seconds. You will be able to see all the relevant jobs that matched your search criteria. At this point, you can sort the list to view the most recent job ads. No need to look at an ad that was posted last month. The position has most likely been filled.

You can also search online job sites by zip code or location. This is great if you want to work in a particular area. You can even limit your search to locations near your home. You can specify the search to only show jobs within ten or twenty miles from your zip code.

Be sure to have your resume handy when searching for jobs. Once you see a promising posting, email or fax your resume right away. Employers usually have hundreds of applications to weed through. You have a better chance of getting called for an interview if your resume is in the first twenty in the stack.

Another way to search for jobs is by going to a placement agency. Staffing agencies make commission by getting you hired by their clients. This is a good way to get into larger corporations. These companies have longstanding relationships with staffing agencies and rely on an agency to recommend good candidates.

If you love the subject you studied and want to eventually teach the subject, you may want to go back to school and earn a PhD. Having a doctorate will allow you to work as a university professor or work in research.

No matter what you choose to do, a graduate degree is an asset when searching for jobs. Be confident about your skills and employers will take notice.



William

Commuter1 asked:


I want to take 3 classes at Cornell’s Engineering Graduate school this Spring. I am not enrolled/admitted to school. Is it possible to take classes as a Non-Degree/Non-Matriculated student? Who do i contact?

Jennifer

Cherry B asked:


I want to go into medical research (areas like cancer, drug development, microbiology, virology etc.), but I heard that I don’t need to go to medical school for that, since medical school is more for future doctors. I know that medical school is a form of graduate school, but more specific and more competitive. I don’t know where I could turn for information to decide this, and wanted to see if I can get any human response/advice.

Glenn

leighlee89 asked:


I’ve been told different things on whether or not the ranking of your college will help or hurt your chances of getting into graduate school. I’m not talking about Ivy schools, but is the college ranking that important?

Walter

Kristie Lorette asked:


Many undergraduates decide that at some point that they would like to pursue their goal of earning their advanced degree. Some decide to take some time off between their undergraduate and graduate education. Others go straight from earning their undergraduate degree to graduate school. Which way you decide to go depends on you personally, but here are 5 reasons why you should consider going to graduate school right now…

1. You are already in a “school” mode. As an undergraduate you have spent the last 4 or so years of your life studying and engrossed in a college environment. While graduate school is a deeper commitment than undergraduate school, what you learned from your undergraduate education is still fresh in your mind when you enter graduate school. You still have a school mindset and it is easier to take what you have learned in undergrad and apply it toward your graduate degree if there isn’t a lapse in time.

2. While you are still enrolled at your college or university, information about graduate schools and their programs is more readily available to you. You still have immediate access to your teachers and professors, career advisors, and libraries of information about graduate schools, etc. If you have already graduated and moved on, you can still access this information but it takes a little more work to find and research the information. It is not at your fingertips like it is during your undergraduate study.

3. It is easier to request reference letters from faculty and staff. You, as a student, are fresh in the minds of your professors when you are still enrolled as a student, rather than after you graduate. You can walk to their office, request the letter, and pick it up without much effort at all. If you have already graduated, you will have to contact the professor, hope that he or she remembers who you are, and then make arrangements to receive the letter of reference from them.

4. Another reason to go straight from undergraduate to graduate school is that some advanced programs recruit recent graduates versus those that have been out of school for a period of time. While this doesn’t mean that you won’t get accepted to graduate school, it just means that the process may be simpler and less stressful if you pursue graduate school immediately following undergrad.

5. It is less disruptive to the flow of your life to go straight from undergraduate to graduate school. Once you are finished with school, both undergraduate and graduate, then you can carry on with your career and your family and home life. You avoid the interruption of having to go back to graduate school after you have been in the “real world” for a few years if you follow-up your undergrad with grad school.

Graduate school can be a very rewarding experience, but it should not be entered into lightly. It is a huge commitment of your time and money. Choosing to go to graduate school is a decision that you should make based on your own personal needs, goals, and desires. There are many factors that you should consider very carefully before making your decision.



James

Sarah Porter asked:


Graduation Invitations for High School, College and All Others Graduations!

When May rolls around, the stores start filling up with decorations and unique Graduation Invitations. If you’ve got a teenager leaving high school or a young adult preparing to finish college, then it might time for you to start focusing on the graduation invitation and thinking not only about planning a great party but also on choosing the right present to show how proud you are of their accomplishments. Below are some gift ideas you might want to consider and might be good to pass on to people who receive your Invitations for Graduation.

High School Graduation Invite & Gifts

When teenagers finish high school, they usually already have some idea of what they will be doing next. If your graduate is planning to head for college, then you might want to look for gifts that will be practical for them. For example, a laptop computer can be an excellent choice. Your son or daughter will definitely need one while attending college. Other traditional ideas, such as a car or money, may also be a good idea.

For people who have received your commencement invitation, you might want to recommend gift cards to stores where your son or daughter can purchase items for their dorm. Gift cards to the college bookstore are a nice idea as well. If those invitations graduation reach people who want to purchase something practical and personal, then they might want to get some type of engraved item, such as a pen or key chain. Digital photo frames can also be a nice gift.

If your high school graduate isn’t planning on heading to college, then money is always going to be a useful gift. For a student who already has plans to move out on his or her own, having everyone who receives graduation stationary pitch in cash to cover the first and last month’s rent will provide the former student with a great start to an independent life.

College Graduation Invitations & Gifts

Although high school graduation is an important day, finishing college is truly an important milestone. Your son or daughter had to put forth a great deal of work to achieve this goal and it should definitely be rewarded with a nice gift. Most college students finish their degrees in debt so money is definitely one of the best gifts. If you don’t feel comfortable just handing over money, offer to pay off one of your student’s credit cards. That’s something that would definitely be appreciated.

If you want to have everyone who receives discount graduation invitations pitch in, you could put together enough money to send your son or daughter on a great trip that will give him or her a chance to relax before starting a career or heading off for graduate school. You could also reward the graduate with a day at the spa, a shopping spree for a new professional wardrobe, or anything else that will help him or her start off in the right direction. Just remember not to pass on these suggestions on the graduation invitations. And, don’t forget your preschool Graduation Announcements or homeschool Graduation Announcements.



Wendy

Kristie Lorette asked:


So you’ve been accepted to graduate school and you’ve heard the rumors about how different it is from undergraduate study. You’re shaking in your boots (or flip flops, depending on where you live) and you need some good advice on how to survive the next few years of your life as a graduate student. Here are some survival guide tips to help you get through it all, from working with your graduate advisor to completing your research project.

Survival Tip #1

Make the most out of your relationship with your graduate advisor.

Your graduate advisor can be your lifeline to succeeding in your research and studies as a graduate student. They have already been down the road that you are traveling so they can help you make it a clean path or a really bumpy and messy path. Here are some ways that you can create a smooth and beneficial relationship with your graduate advisor:

• Meet on a regular basis. By having a scheduled meeting with your graduate advisor on a regular basis it will help to keep you on track. You are more apt to make progress on your research and project efforts if you know you have a certain time that you have to complete it before you have to report your progress to your advisor.

• Be prepared and organized. Prepare the night before for your meeting with your advisor. Create an agenda or list of items that you need to discuss with him or her. Gather all of the materials, notes or completed projects that you need to show your advisor and place everything in the order that you need to go through it at the meeting. This will give you the appearance of being organized and prepared, which you will be.

• Follow-up. Follow-up each meeting with your advisor be sending him or her an email. Reiterate everything that was discussed and covered in your meeting in the email. This will create a written record of your meetings and will help to ensure that you and your advisor are on the same page as you progress through your research and projects.

• Be proactive. This is your education, not your advisors. While they are there to mentor you and to help you succeed, they are just as busy as you are. You need to be proactive in contacting and keeping in touch with your advisor.

Survival Tip #2

Find a thesis topic and formulate a research plan.

• Pick a topic that is interesting to you and that will hold your interest throughout the entire process. This will help you to stay motivated.

• Pick a topic that your advisor also finds interesting. Your advisor will be more motivated to help you with your research and to help you make progress on your research topic if they think that the project is worth devoting their time to.

• Pick a topic that is interesting to the research community in order to make yourself more marketable.

• Make sure that topic addresses a real-world problem.

• Pick a topic that is narrow enough to be completed in the timeframe that you have been allotted to complete the project.

• Be realistic. You should expect to complete your research and earn a good grade as an accomplishment. Don’t necessarily expect to receive the Nobel Prize.

Survival Tip #3

Make continuous progress on your research.

• Have a master plan. Keep a master calendar that includes all drop-dead deadlines. Identify key tasks that need to be completed by certain dates. Go over your deadlines and key task schedule with your advisor to make sure that you are on the right track.

• Make to-do lists. Once you have your master calendar created, you will need to make to-do lists of tasks that you need to accomplish each day in order to meet your deadlines. Being able to check off completed tasks will mentally make you feel like you are making progress on your research project.

• Notebook and pen. Also have a small notebook and pen with you to jot down ideas that pop into your head. You never know where you’ll be when a thought comes to mind.

• Discuss your research with others. Your fellow students, friends, and family may have very useful insights for you on your topic. They may be able to provide you with a fresh perspective since they are not engrossed in the project like you are on a daily basis.

• Don’t get distracted. You have to focus on your research and set a certain amount of time a day aside just for research. It is easy to be distracted by everything in the world around us, but you must avoid things that will distract you when you should be doing your research and working on your project.

By following the advice that these survival tips provide you, you will be sure to survive graduate school. Being organized, prepared and focused are traits that you will need for real-world situations long after you leave graduate school. So while these skills will help you survive graduate school, they really go beyond that and help you to survive life.



Marion

Lisa Parmley asked:


The GRE General Test is the most widely accepted college admission exam for graduate school. This test strives to measure the knowledge that test takers have gained over long periods of time (like through their undergraduate programs).

The GRE currently consists of three sections; Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Analytical Writing. The Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning sections are made up of multiple choice questions. The Analytical Writing section is composed of two essay questions.

You will receive three different scores for your GRE test; one for each of the three sections. The scores for the two multiple choice sections, the Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning sections, range from 200 to 800 (with 800 being the highest). The score for the Analytical Writing section ranges from 0-6 (6 is the highest).

The average GRE General Test score is about a 500 for the Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning sections and about a 4 for the Analytical Writing section. Obviously, the better your score, the better chance you have of being accepted into more competitive graduate programs.

In addition to your GRE General Test scores, some graduate programs also require scores for the GRE Subject Tests. You will need to determine what the schools you are applying to require for admissions. Many of the more competitive programs within a particular school will require GRE Subject Test scores. All graduate programs will require your undergraduate transcripts along with letters of recommendation. Many schools also desire a personal essay.

If you are planning on pursuing a graduate degree, it is recommended that you apply to a few schools. Many graduate programs are highly competitive; therefore you increase your chances of getting into at least one program with more applications. You never know how your application will be perceived by the admissions counselors. If you only send in one or two applications and are not accepted by either school, you will likely need to wait another full school year to apply again.

Depending on your area of study, your background, and the schools you apply to, you may qualify for an assistance ship. This can virtually pay your way through graduate school. Most assistance ships will pay full tuition along with a monthly stipend throughout the school year in exchange for teaching labs or undergraduate courses. In addition to the money this will save you, you may also add this as experience to your resume once you graduate.

Competitive assistance ships are usually granted based on GRE scores and undergraduate GPA’s in addition to an individual’s experience. The most qualified students in a graduate program will usually secure the assistance ships.



Raymond

me_ri920 asked:


I am currently in my third year of studying Business Administration and Management. I am looking at different options for graduate school, and I really want to go for an MBA right after my undergraduate work is complete. However, most MBA programs post-undergraduate work experience. My school, however, offers an option for starting your MBA during your Senior year of your undergraduate studies and finishing it the following year.

I’m not sure if I should take advantage of this program, or apply to other schools and cross my fingers that I will get in…Any advice?

Tanya

Subcommander Grapefruit asked:


If a graduate school gets 300 applications and ends up admitting 80 newstudents, how many students would you guess received offers of admission but declined them? I am trying to get an estimate on this so I can figure out what total percentage of students who apply to this particular graduate program are offered admission.

Leo