The site's tag line is "Insight for grad students." In the spirit of providing some I thought I'd share some of the reasons I went to grad school, in no particular order. (I have an MBA so naturally this will be biased toward that sort of program.)

I wanted out of the job I was in. The career trajectory I wanted to be on wasn't being offered by the firm I worked for. I wasn't being challenged and stimulated by my co-workers in the ways I wanted. And if the job I was in didn't work out, I would have had far fewer options than if I had attended grad school.

I wanted to be a student again. Being a student is fun if you've done a good job ensuring a good fit for yourself. You work hard and hopefully play hard as well. You can challenge yourself in a risk-free environment. You get to meet people from all over the world. A variety of extracurriculars and other activities are available that wouldn't otherwise be.

Network. Going to grad school gives you a career network of people who can help you when you begin working again. They can provide job opportunities. Referrals. Advice. And much of it is simply by virtue of the fact that you went to the same school.

Brand. Whatever you want to call it - brand, pedigree, reputation - I wanted something on my resume that people associated with quality and prestige. Not that one would want to rely on this in and of itself, but attending a school that has a heavy-weight brand can help in lots of ways once you graduate.

Career opportunities. Lots of organizations recruit on school campuses. It's a reliable and accessible pool of talent and is more targeted than using headhunters or posting postions online. Students are effectively pre-screened to a large extent by the admissions process. The benefit works both ways though - regardless of what career you were in before school, the world is becomes your oyster. With all these organizations hoping to meet you, you can explore any career opportunity you want.

Golf. Okay, I admit it. I wanted to carve out more time to play more golf. I can't really say I accomplished that goal but I did play. And sadly I still shoot the same score as I did before grad school.

Professors. Where else can you gain first-hand access to minds who are spending their waking hours thinking about subject matter you are intensely interested in?

The mystery. Life offers many roads you can go down. I had long wanted to go to grad school, and like anything you haven't done before there was a certain mystery about what you did once you were actually there. How closely linked was the content of student applications with what they actually did at school and afterward? How did the class lottery mechanism work? What's a section? What was grade non-disclosure all about? What was it like to be cold called? All of these were questions I had at the time.

The opportunity to think. Of course you think at work also. But you learn the business and get good at your job and eventually get into a groove and things become sort of mechanical. As a student you are always up against things you haven't encountered that put your mind to work.

The satisfaction. I attended a top 5 program and succeeded.

I post this to ask you to think about why you are in grad school. Sure, you completed your application and hopefully got in, but it is important to bear in mind the reasons you're there. It is what you make of it.

---

You can also visit my other blogs at OrangeHornet.com and 2andahalf.com