Is graduate school location important in obtaining a job?
I've recently been accepted to various grad schools across the country. I'm not quite sure whether I want to go back home to LA for grad school, or whether I want to spend the next two years in a different location. (I've already been away the past four years.) I would like to eventually settle back in LA, but I'm fearful that getting a planning degree from a different part of the country will negatively affect my job opportunities in LA. All the schools I've been accepted to are highly praised programs. I only have small interning experiences, so my grad degree will be one of my most important attributes. Does anybody have any insight on my dilemma? Will there be any difference if I decide not to go to school in LA? Is regionality of my degree important for job placement?
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Location helps, but does not confine
lleitelt,
I'm currently a 2nd year (of 3) joint degree grad student at University of Wisconsin - Madison pursuing a Master's in Urban and Regional Planning, and a Master's of Public Affairs.
I am not from Wisconsin, or the Midwest even; I grew up in Miami, FL and went to undergrad in NY. Here has been my personal experience with the location question, and what I have observed with others.
1. Yes, all schools have the strongest weight in their region. USC probably has more weight in LA than Rutgers. UNC Chapel Hill probably carries strong weight on the Atlantic coast, and not as strong in the Southwest. The reason isn't the "goodness" of any one school, but good old networking. Alumni networks are strong (read "The Importance of Weak Ties.") Thus, it may be "easier" to get a job in the Midwest for me than, say, back East.
2. However, you ARE NOT stuck. I want to get a job in CA or NY. I have been successful at getting internships in public agencies in NYC, and a private firm in LA. Also, I do not foresee any problem at all finding employment outside Wisconsin or the Midwest.
Yes, most people here at UW-Madison get jobs in the region, as in the case with most schools. But those who have chosen to venture out to other parts of the country, truly, do not find difficulty. I have had friends go off to great jobs in FL, NY, CA, TX, etc.
3. It all matters about you, your accomplishments, and what you learn. You are a product to be sold in the job marketplace, and you need to make yourself a good product, with desirable skills, and well packaged.
As long as you take courses that are pertinent, do well in them, and really focus your studies, you will be fine. Personally, my focus in transportation planning has garnered me great internships and opportunities; I've been offered positions at many great places of employment in NY and CA....so now I have my pick going into my final year.
4. In short, location helps, but if you're really a good candidate, you don't "need" the location / alumni advantage. I got an internship, for example, with a top transportation planning firm with offices in the LA area, and I go to school in Wisconsin! They offered me employment after graduation due to the success of my time there. So don't think no one will know what school you went to. Let your accomplishments speak, not your alma mater.
Geography matters
Coming from a different perspective, unless you know that you are going to graduate at the top of your class and already have the necessary ties to potential employers in LA, going to school in the community where you ultimately want to settle is a wise safe choice.
Someone once wisely told me to choose where I wanted to live and then enroll there. Sadly, I made a different choice, did not excel, and am now struggling to migrate back to my preferred location. I expected the name of my school and program to sell better than it does when I was not among the elite graduates.