Going to graduate school is not a decision made lightly. There are financial considerations, time considerations, family considerations, work considerations, and even requirement considerations.
Once the finances, workload, time, and family considerations have been decided, then your decision may come down to whether you qualify for the graduate school you want to attend. Sometimes the logistics involved will help make the decisions for you.
There are two different routes to discuss in the article, and in the end, we will circle back to how this impacts the educator. The first route is how graduate school is handled in general and what work experience is required for graduate school. And in the end, much of this will come down to which graduate school you are interested in going to. Some programs like to see that individuals have growth and experience on their resume to a certain extent.
Another consideration with work experience regarding admission to graduate school is the level of work experience. Some schools will want to see a track record of success, and others will just want verification that you are employed…it just depends on where you want to go to graduate school.
Investopedia’s article GPA vs. Work Experience in Grad School Applications notes six easy ways that graduate admissions officers judge applications: undergrad transcripts, graduate test results, resume with work history, letters of recommendation, an essay or statement of purpose, and an interview. Thus, work experience carries some weight.
It is worth noting that some of the top graduate school programs such as Stanford University and New York University do not require work experience.
Lastly, many articles were read in the research for this article where a lower GPA was given less weight when the applicant had good work experience on their resume.
How Work Experience Prior to Grad School Is Different for Educators
Things are a little different in the education world. It was clear in the research for this article that unless you were pursuing a professional job in higher education, some work experience was needed for graduate programs. Many graduate educator programs are not as concerned with the quality of work over a period of time, but whether or not one is employed and meets the qualifications for the programs.
For example, in Texas, if you are entering a graduate program for a principal’s certification, you must either complete or have completed three years of teaching. This coincides with the requirements to be a principal in the State of Texas. This trend was consistent in many other online programs around the nation also.
This dovetails into the next consideration of how the need for work experience for graduate school is different for educators. Many of the jobs you would want to pursue with your graduate degree, have their own work experience requirements. Similar to as mentioned above, you have to have three years of teaching experience before you can go into administration in Texas. Being a counselor, librarian, most technology specialists’ jobs and central office positions will have requirements at or above what a graduate school would call for. Thus, in theory, even if the graduate school did not require the work experience, the job you are interested in pursuing would.
How My Own Work Experience Helped My Graduate School Experience
Each graduate program I have been affiliated with attempts to give you relevant and real-world application assignments. With your work experience, what you are already doing in your job will likely be used in graduate work.
In Texas, principal program candidates have to complete a certain number of practicum hours as part of their certification. Take the profile of a candidate who is a department head, helps to run a student organization, plans professional learning communities, and perhaps mentor young teachers…the work they are already doing not only is similar the work of an administrator, but it would qualify for the work they would be asked to do for their graduate program. You also see this in the counselor program and superintendent programs.
From my personal experience in working on my superintendent certification last year, I work with new teachers across the district, I service on district committees (safety, admin), I work with transportation, and I have other district projects that could not be done without my work experience, and I was able to count those practicum hours toward my graduate work.
Is Work Experience Required for Graduate School?
Being the literal person I am, the answer to the question, “is work experience required for Graduate school is “no.” If you don’t have the work, you can find a graduate school that will work with you.
However, when you weigh the pros and cons of this…the answer should be yes. With work experience, you get into better programs, your work experience will help you get the practicum hours you need to complete your graduate hours and then eventually obtain the job you want to pursue.
Especially in education, your work experience can be leveraged toward a graduate degree and is a building block in your career.
Educators never stop learning; check out our available graduate degree programs to hone your skills and promote lifelong learning and academic excellence.
