Education Vs. Experience: How Combining the Two Could Maximize Your Career

With increasing competition in the job market, graduate school has become standard for many people to get jobs in their field.  While a career in public relations has never required a graduate degree, recent studies are showing that a combination of graduate school and work experience could maximize one’s PR career.

Most PR professionals would say a graduate degree is unnecessary. However, as the need for PR specialists continues to grow, a graduate degree may become the new standard. Attending graduate school affords students the opportunity to gain credibility among their peers and colleagues. It may also offer networking opportunities that are not present during one’s undergraduate years.

Before you decide to take out another loan to pay off the hefty tuition, you should know that a graduate degree without experience may not make you more desirable to employers.  In fact, a survey of 32 PR professionals showed that a majority believe in getting a few years of experience before attending graduate school. This is because skills obtained in the field make classroom learning more practical. Also, when a student delays work experience in order to earn their degree, they may be deemed overqualified for starting positions but under-qualified for more executive positions.

A career in PR allows you to choose if graduate school is the right choice for you based on your goals and aspirations. As of now, a graduate degree is not required to earn most positions. However, a more in-depth and refined education never hurts.

This guest blog post was written by PRowl staff member Victoria Goins.