Is graduate school really for me?

[Mikessa]

I would like to know what are the benefits of getting a Masters or a PHD in nursing? Does someone from graduate school get better jobs? I havent thought much about attending graduate school, but I know some of my friends have. I figure someone from graduate school can tell me what its like, MAYBE I might join in.

I heard they are very picky about grades.

[Moogie]

I think the more important question is to ask yourself what you want from your career and if an advanced degree would help you reach those goals. It doesn't matter what your peers are doing. What do YOU want?

It's great to be ambitious and plan ahead, but you might have a clearer idea of what you want when you're actually in a nursing program rather than just doing the prerequisites, as your profile indicates. But yes, if you are thinking that someday you might want to pursue an advanced degree, you do want to make sure your GPA is high when you're in school now. Most schools are pretty competitive and weigh grades heavily.

Additionally, most nurses don't get a feel for what area in which they'd like to focus for graduate education until they've worked in direct care for a while. While this is a huge controversy on this board (should aspiring grad students work as nurses first?) the biggest problem many who get into a grad program before they're ready report is that they feel "stuck" in a specialty or focus area that doesn't really interest them and they wished they had explored other opportunities before committing to a graduate school track.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do!