All was going well with me matriculating towards the Bachelors degree until I obtained an internship at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Arlington, VA. At that time, I discovered the benefits of an advanced degree and how it can open up more doors for you personally and professionally. I learned the following:

· A Bachelor’s degree basically certifies that you are capable of learning.

· A Master’s degree signifies that you can extract information and are able to apply those teachings in your own way.

· A Doctorate degree establishes your credibility as a researcher.

Through advice and direction given by mentors and other students in the internship program, I decided to forego looking for a job after I completed my undergraduate studies and started looking for a graduate school.

After years of being a “Professional Student”, I have obtained a Masters in Information Systems and a Masters in Public Administration. I feel that I am more than equipped to do a number of tasks. Higher education gives an individual a degree of flexibility that is nearly unobtainable without any form of post-secondary education. During this period of recession and employer downsizing, it is a benefit to be able to bring some type of expertise to your field of discipline. This type of expertise can be obtained in graduate school as you are challenged to explore issues within your discipline of study and to analyze possible solutions to problems.

Now, to keep things are real and honest as possible, I must disclose that having an advanced degree does not mean that you are “automagically” promoted to lead a team, or be assigned as a manager of your peers. Take things in stride. Remember, life is about learning. Obtain as much information as you can in any position that you are in so that you can easily identify problems and create solutions.

During a 2007 study conducted by the United States Census Bureau, of 22 million Americans age 40-45 questioned about educational levels, it was discovered that:

· 22% earned Bachelor degrees (approximately 4.84 million)

· 29% of the people who earned Bachelor degrees earned a graduate degree (approximately 1.4 million)

· 4.5% of those were professional degrees (approximately 630,000)

These numbers solidify the unique affect that a graduate degree has on an individual. It allows you to stand out amongst your peers and with the right career planning, goal setting, job performance, and a solid work ethic, success becomes eminent.