Types of Graduate Degree Programs
When contemplating graduate school options versus foregoing school to start a company, it is helpful to consider the types of degree programs available. Here’s how I think of graduate degree program options:
Professional Degree Programs with Board Capped Supply
- These are medical and dental programs that have capped yearly enrollments to limit supply, capped by the boards of those professions leading to preservation of near universal high salaries for graduates of these programs.
- Biggest hurdle is getting into a program in the first place. The rest is to follow the pathways provided by the professional degree program.
Professional Degree Programs without a Capped Supply
- These are Lawyers, MBAs, Chiropractors, and other programs that have well-defined professional degree programs and do not cap enrollment. If you want to get one of these degrees, you can easily find a school willing to provide it.
- High salaries are not guaranteed.
- Benefit is that your career is not as pegged to a particular profession as in the former category (e.g. lawyers can become general managers at corporations).
Graduate Research Degree Programs
- These are graduate programs that do not provide a cookie cutter path like the professional programs. There is no guarantee of a high salary and these degrees often do not result in significantly higher salaries. However, the research nature of the degree can teach valuable skills in facing unknown problems and having what it takes to find solutions.
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It takes guts to choose entrepreneurial paths when there are other options available with more predictable outcomes and higher salaries. The best entrepreneurs have a healthy amount of pride in themselves and their ability to create more for themselves than a well worn degree program might be able to offer. Many fail along the way, and that is part of the excitement of it all.
None of these graduate degree programs are fully in line with the attributes required to become a successful entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs that come from graduate degree programs benefit from their education. Entrepreneurs that jump in without a graduate education are not at a disadvantage. Both groups must work hard to learn the startup ropes, to master the valued skills of their market, and to continually keep up their game in the highly competitive and challenging startup environment.
What are your thoughts on graduate degree programs?