How To Prep For Grad School Again After 10 Years In Industry

Before you started your career, you were likely at university or some other higher education establishment. You learned the skills you needed for the career you ultimately went on to do back then, but what if you need to return to grad school to take the next step and climb the income ladder? That’s what we look at in this guide. We explore how you can prepare for higher education once again even if you’ve been in industry for more than 10 years. 

Here’s what you need to know: 

Clarify your goals

When it comes to grad school, you don’t want to waste time. You need to clarify your goals clearly so that they align with the career you ultimately want to pursue.

Think about the basic reason why you’re going to grad school. For some, it’s for career advancement, whereas for others, it’s just because they need to pivot their skills or they have a research passion and want to join the university.

Once you know your goals, you know whether you should get a master’s degree or a PhD. Research programs that fit into your lifestyle – check whether they’re available online, in the evenings, or at weekends. Try to focus on the fit of the degree so that it aligns with your industry right now and the specific skills you need to be more productive.

Think about the location and the format of the degree. Are you able to get to campus physically? Talk to current students or alumni, and are programs coordinated by the university’s website?

Make a short list of five to ten programs that fit your goals, and then, if you were planning on doing a PhD, email professors to learn more about the specific content. 

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Strengthen your application

The next step in the process is to strengthen your application. Academic committees will look at your former transcripts and your GPA, so you’ll need to optimize these. It’s also helpful if you have a statement of purpose. This is an understanding of why you’re undertaking a particular qualification and the results that you want to get from it. Of course, one objective is to increase your pay and productivity, but a more significant outcome might be gaining the ability to do things that improve the lives of others. If you can communicate this clearly in your application, that can help your case.

At the same time, you might want to tailor your resume for academia. You could highlight the fact that you have transferable skills like project management or data analysis from your career. For PhD applications, you could highlight your ability to create reports or improve processes.

If there’s anybody who can provide you with a list letter of recommendation, then that’s useful. Old managers, even people who helped you in your academic courses in the past, can provide you with significant assistance. 

Address academic gaps

If you have academic gaps, then you’ll want to address them as soon as you can. Many STEM subjects, social sciences and business courses, require you to prepare for standardized tests like the GRE. Therefore, you might want to go on GRE prep courses if you are unsure about what to expect. 

Taking one or two relevant courses online or in a community college is useful. These allow you to test the waters and see whether a particular direction is beneficial for you. If you ace the test and show capability, then universities are more likely to look at your application seriously.

Brush up on your foundational academic reading and writing skills. Getting the basics sorted can really help you stand out when you make your application. You could also learn tools like statistics software or LaTeX, or even get into critical analysis. Demonstrating these skills shows that you’re ready for university life and you’re able to learn at the highest levels of it.

If you’re looking to start a PhD or research programme, try to read two to three papers every week from the target faculty. This shows that you’re genuinely interested in working with the people who are already at the institution. You have the background knowledge, so you can fit right in. 

Prepare for the GRE

Preparing for the GRE is a significant undertaking, and many universities still require you to take a test. Before you do anything, take a diagnostic practice test to see what level you are at right now. Sometimes you will find that you are already at a level high enough to pass the GRE and get into the institution of your choice.

If you discover that your skills aren’t where you need them to be, then study consistently. Dedicate blocks of time to preparing for the GRE on your mornings or weekends. Use various softwares and materials to accelerate your learning so that you can gain the capacity you need within eight to twelve weeks. If you have verbal or quantitative weakness, address these first. Professionals often excel in one of these areas but are lacking in another. 

Handle the logistics and timeline

If you are looking at returning to university after 10 years, you also need to think about the logistics and timeline. Going back after a long period isn’t as easy as when you were young. You don’t have the same level of freedom, and you may have things like a mortgage or a family to take care of.

Try to give yourself between 12 and 18 months to complete. Course applications are often made between December and February to start in the fall months, so work on them over the Christmas period.

Make sure you get as much financial assistance as possible since education can be difficult to pay for even if you’re established in your career. You may need an assistantship, a scholarship, or a tuition reimbursement. You should also calculate the opportunity cost of reduced work hours and salary because you have to focus on additional learning. You’ll then need to balance this against the desired reward of all of your study and hard work.