What is Graduate School?

In basic terms, there are four levels of post-secondary degrees that you can earn in the United States: Associate's degree, Bachelor's degree, Master's degree and Doctoral degree. More broadly, undergraduate education includes the Associate's degree and Bachelor's degree whereas graduate education includes the Master's degree and Doctoral degree.

A Master's degree typically requires one to two years of full-time enrollment to complete (after completing your Bachelor's degree) with part-time enrollment requiring three or more years to complete. How does a Master's degree relate to a Bachelor's degree? Generally speaking, a Master's degree builds on the broad foundation of a Bachelor's degree, with a focused and deep study of a particular area. Essentially every academic major at the undergraduate level has a corresponding Master's degree program, such as Biology, Business Administration, Computer Information Systems, Public Health and so on.

What should you expect when enrolling in a Master's degree program? The primary word is: more. You can expect more reading than at the undergraduate level, more writing than at the undergraduate level, more content than at the undergraduate level. The cost of tuition is usually more as well though federal loans and grants tend to be less. 

A Doctoral degree typically requires three to six years of full-time enrollment to complete (after completing your Bachelor's degree), with part-time enrollment requiring up to ten years. A Doctoral degree is the highest degree that you can earn in a particular field. If you want to study law, you pursue a Juris Doctor degree (JD). If you want to study medicine, you pursue a Doctor of Medicine degree (MD). If you want to study the arts and sciences, you pursue a Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD). There are also Doctorate degrees in Education (EDD), Physical Therapy (DPT) and many more. 

What should you expect in a Doctoral degree program? In a medical or law program, you will spend two to three years in intense study of specific knowledge followed by a period of supervised practice in the field. In a PhD program, expect to spend two to three years of deep study followed by a large independent research project (a dissertation). 

Why would a person want to attend graduate school? There are many reasons. A mid-career individual working in a field may want to upgrade his career and need a graduate degree to do so. A scholar may be incredibly interested in learning everything that she possibly can about an area of expertise. Some high-level careers require the specific knowledge and skills earned in Doctorate programs, such as a lawyer, medical doctor or scientific researcher. 

In the big picture, people with graduate degrees have the highest career earnings. However, a more nuanced view reveals that there are very large discrepancies between different career fields that depend significantly on the local and national job market. For example, medical practitioners of all sorts tend to be in high demand these days, including medical doctors. Other high-level job markets, however, are saturated with a large supply of candidates but relatively few job openings. For example, there are far more people with PhDs in the arts and humanities than there are tenure-track professor positions at colleges and universities. 

Is graduate school for you? This is a question that only you can answer. It depends on many variables, including your career goals, your level of success at the undergraduate level, your life commitments and the resources available to you. Maybe your answer is "yes," maybe it is "no," or maybe it is "probably but not now." It is worth your time and effort to answer this question. 

TRIO SSS participants explore graduate programs at Colorado State University.

Student Leadership Conferences

In today's competitive job market, a college degree will get your foot in the door but actually entering the room may well require something more. Employers are often looking for people that not only have knowledge but also know how to use that knowledge to effectively accomplish something. Productivity involves a wide variety of skills, from leadership to multicultural competency to the ability to stay focused.

In addition to skills development in the classroom, another fantastic way to build your repertoire is through student development activities. These may include international study abroad, service learning projects, internships, student organizations and student leadership conferences.

A group of TRIO SSS participants recently attended the student leadership track of the annual Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) National Conference. Over the course of three days, these students listened to nationally-renowned speakers on the topics of leadership, networking and career development. They also made connections with peers and prospective employers from around the country.

One TRIO SSS participant noted, "Around every corner was a new eye-opening experience for me, from meeting people from all around the United States and Puerto Rico to opening a whole new chapter in my life as a leader to my community."

National conferences often offer scholarships for students to attend. There are also many local student leadership conferences, including a number of one-day events specifically for students of the Auraria Campus.

TRIO SSS students networking with the Lt. Governor of Colorado at the HACU Conference.

Growing through Failure - and How

"Failing is just a part of the journey and a step toward figuring things out," writes Mike Maddock, a blog contributor at Forbes. "Do you fear failure or have you made it a part of your everyday practice?"

History documents well case after case of individuals that have failed at something - often repeatedly - before achieving success. Common examples range for Michael Jordan to Steve Jobs to the Wright brothers. In the lingo of human development and innovation, they have "failed forward."

The key tenets of failing forward include: 1) the courage to take risks in the first place that may well lead to failure; 2) the maturity to not let failure beat you down; 3) the wisdom to honestly assess your failures in order to learn from them; and 4) the strength to persist with dogged determination until you reach your success.

Mason Jennings sings, "How long you are down depends on how you rise." The psychologist Carol Dweck encourages us to adapt a "growth mindset." The philosopher Hegel wrote that history moved forward through a dialectic of thesis, antithesis and synthesis.

I can tell you a personal story about the day that I knelt hunched over, sweaty and exhausted, atop a garbage dump (literally). I was in North Dakota at a city park (that was built over said dump as a reclamation project), having just failed miserably at the regional championship of cross-country running. I was a junior in college. According to the script, I eventually picked myself up, dusted myself off, and diligently went to the hard work required to take my running to the next level. A year later, I triumphantly ran the best race of my life.

So yes, consider deeply the tenets of failing forward, and incorporate this growth mindset to your academic and professional career. Put yourself out there; pick yourself up and learn from your failures; never stop until you reach your success.

And How
The narrative of failing forward can be seductive. You fail; you make a heroic comeback; you succeed. It is the American Dream. It is Hollywood. It can be deceptive.

So let me add this: how you fail, and how you learn from it matters. Because failure in itself does not always lead to success. And failure is not necessarily a good thing all the time. So allow me to add three qualifiers to the tenets of failing forward.

1. Not all failure is equal. Failing a History class despite long hours studying and tutoring provides a noble learning experience with a chance of future success. Failing a History class because you were too lazy to study and too unmotivated to attend class is not noble and should not be celebrated.

2. Quitting is not always a bad thing. Let's be real: if you put forth a strong effort yet fail College Algebra three semesters in a row, it might be best to quit your dream of being an Engineer. Sometimes the lessons of failure can be hard to hear.

3. Pursue your strengths. You may not fail as much at a task that aligns with your talents and passions. This is not necessarily a bad thing.

Now, with those caveats noted, go out and push your limits! You very well may fail. Learn from it and grow!

Gain Career Experience

In today's competitive marketplace, having a college degree will probably get your foot in the door, but you may need experience to land the position. How can you get experience while you are studying for your degree? There are many ways!

What can I do with my major?

You may have come to your academic major simply because you find the related courses quite fascinating. You simply enjoy studying Art History, or Psychology, or Biology! This is not at all a bad way to choose a major because it probably means that you will find your related career field quite interesting, too. But the nagging question becomes: What can I do with this major after I complete my degree?

The fact of the matter is that many academic majors - especially in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, but also in the Physical Sciences - are not training you for one specific and identified career path. A Nursing major will likely become a nurse, an Accounting major will likely become an accountant, but what does a Humanities major become? A Humanitarian? Maybe - but don't expected to get paid for such a gig. So what else can a Humanities major do for a career? Well, I am a Humanities major and I am a student development advisor, a writer, a visual artist, and a coordinator with educational and environmental non-profit organizations.

So if you love what you are studying, but are not quite sure what you are going to do once you graduate, don't despair. Your future may not be specifically defined for you, but instead you have many potential options. Check out this great resource created by the Career Development Center to connect your major to different career paths. Then develop your career skills and marketability through volunteer experiences, internships, student organizations, and other student development activities.

A Happy, High Achieving Career

The strengths-based approach to career development argues that your career path should steer toward work that fundamentally benefits from and encourages your natural ways of thinking, being, and doing; your passions; and your values.

Such a career path may be different than what the world, the culture, or other people expect of you. It may or may not lead to the "sexy" job title, to "power" and "prestige" as defined by the world, or to the highest income possible.

However, a strengths-based career path empowers you to make the most significant and compelling contributions that you are capable of making. And research shows that you are much more likely to be happy and content while doing so. This is no small matter, given the amount of time you will spend working during your life.

The world is as it is and you are as you are: bear this in mind when you look to the horizon and see paths leading to different mountains. Career paths that benefit from and encourage the utilization of your natural talents, passions, and values will produce your greatest outcomes, and you will very likely be happy while doing so.

When all is said and done, how do you define success?

No Shortage of Opportunities

Volunteering strengthens your education and your career development - explore different careers, gain valuable work experience, develop transferable skills. Volunteering also supports your local community and provides an immeasurable degree of personal satisfaction for many.

Volunteer opportunities exist to match every interest - education, homelessness, health care, the environment, construction, science, politics, and so on.

Today, technology makes it easier than ever to locate volunteer opportunities matched to your interests. Three websites that provide easy searching for volunteer opportunities in specific locations include:

www.serve.gov

www.metrovolunteers.org

www.voacolorado.org

Experiential Learning

Here is a riddle for you. Rafael wants to get a good job. However, he can only get that good job if he has both experience and a college degree. But when he is in college, he is not out gaining experience on the job, and when he is out gaining experience on the job, he does not have time for college. What is Rafael to do?

The answer: experiential learning!

Experiential learning is a broad term that covers a lot of different types of activities, including internships, service-learning, volunteer opportunities, study abroad, group projects, et cetera. The gist of experiential learning is to combine your academic learning with a "hands-on" or "out-in-the-field" activity. In its many shapes and forms, experiential learning both enhances your understanding of the classroom material and gives you a relevant "real-world" experience.

Find a wide-range of experiential opportunities on CCD Career Connnections.

Many experiential learning opportunities are teacher-directed in a classroom setting, such as service-learning. But other opportunities are directed by you on your own time, such as internships or volunteer opportunities or relevant part-time jobs.

What are you waiting for? Find an internship, volunteer experience, or part-time job that is relevant to your academic and career interests. For example, would you like to be a nurse? Then volunteer at a hospital. Would you like to work in Information Technology? Then find a work-study position in a CCD computer lab.

You will develop your knowledge and skills, while gaining an experience to put on your resume!

Find a wide-range of experiential opportunities on CCD Career Connnections.

Link your Interests to your Career

College in Colorado offers extensive career exploration tools and information for free. The website offers extensive information on the type of work, the education required, and the money and outlook for many different career paths. Especially helpful, the website offers various tools that allow you to sort career paths by your interests, personality, skills, and experience.

Any TRIO Scholars Educational Case Manager will help you navigate the many features of College in Colorado. Or, explore the website on your own by following the steps outlined below.

Go to www.collegeincolorado.org.

Under "Who are you?", pick College Level Student.

Under "Career Planning":

* "Learn about Yourself" allows you to take various personality and interest assessments. Especially helpful, careers are automatically sorted by your results from these assessments. Thus, you have a custom list of possible careers linked to your interests and personality.

* "Explore Career Clusters" allows you to browse through many careers by type, for example, Human Services, Education and Training, and Finance. Click on any interesting careers, and you will find extensive information on the type of work, the education required, and the money and outlook for that career.

StrengthsQuest

“It takes far more energy to improve from incompetence to mediocrity than it takes to improve from first-rate performance to excellence.” - Peter Drucker

StrengthsQuest is both a perspective and a tool for academic, career, and personal development.

The StrengthsQuest perspective states that an individual reaches his or her full potential by identifying and developing his or her natural talents (as opposed to identifying and remedying weaknesses).

The StrengthsQuest tool assesses your natural talents and provides a wide range of knowledge and action items specific to strengths development and utilization in your academics, career, and life.

Get started on your own StrengthsQuest today by contacting your TRIO Scholars (SSS) educational case manager.