When it comes to the question of whether you should go to graduate school or not, I’m the last person to tell you that you need an advanced degree to succeed.

This may come as a surprise, but I hope it empowers you whether you are in graduate school or not.

The bottom line is that grad school is completely optional and you can make anything happen regardless.

You do you, and it is up to you completely. Do it for you. When you do it for you, you take off the pressure and amazing things happen.

Watch this short video where I address this topic:

I know too many people in the ultimate leadership positions at work who hold Bachelor’s degrees and nothing more when it comes to schooling, however, they generally have many, many years of work experience.

I think it all comes down to leverage when you are trying to accomplish something.

You can leverage education or advanced degrees, OR you can leverage something else that may be considered equally important or maybe even more important in some fields and that is, years of service. Time on the job.

Take your pick.

Whatever you do, do it for you. Only do graduate school if you have a genuine interest in going to graduate school. If you feel like pursuing a topic in an academic environment, grad school may be the best option. It was for me.

However, don’t feel like school is the only place to learn. You can learn plenty of things outside of school, both on your own and at your workplace. If learning or progressing yourself is all you are interested in, further formal education may not be necessary. Learning is learning and can be done without graduate school.

In some ways, I have even argued that leaving academia might be better for your overall learning. Read that post here.

How leaving academia could make you a better scientist