Graduate School with No Experience?
Submitted by al322nyc on Thu, 03/27/2008 - 10:22.
Hello - I'm seriously considering entering the urban planning field, but I've been working as a litigation consultant for the past two years after graduating from a good school with a degree in economics. I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on applying to graduate programs. Do I stand a chance at admission if I have no experience in the field? Am I better off trying to find an entry-level job and then applying, or is it tough to enter the field without a masters degree?
I'm clearly starting from scratch, so any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!
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Graduate School with No Experience?
I did it, and it worked out very well.
Downside: it's an expensive entry ticket, because there's almost no financial aid for grad school in planning.
Upside: a Master's substitutes for about 2 years of planning experience, plus most public sector planning jobs require a degree or significant coursework in planning. And a graduate degree can help you later for promotions.
Many schools didn't seem to care about experience for admission. Competition wasn't so bad, and they can use the tuition money!
On the other hand, you could try for a job in economics/planning, then move into straight planning later, but you'd be limited to the private sector (see Upside).
Bottom line: if you can afford it, two years isn't a bad investment.