--- title: Maybe you shouldn’t get that master’s degree in this economy - The Hustle description: Business schools are recruiting laid-off tech workers hard. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/322771577-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-04T024415.710Z.webp --- # Maybe you shouldn’t get that master’s degree in this economy ![Sidd Finch](https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/siddfinch-1.jpg?width=48&height=48&name=siddfinch-1.jpg) [Sidd Finch](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/sidd-finch) [Sidd Finch Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/TheHustle) Published: January 05, 2023 Updated: October 11, 2023 During the Great Recession, it seemed like every millennial except Lena Dunham decided to enroll in grad school. ![Maybe you shouldn’t get that master’s degree in this economy](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/322771577-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-04T024415.710Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=322771577-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-04T024415.710Z.webp) The logic appeared sound: Wait out the squishy economy and reenter the job market with greater earning potential. These days, however, as the US confronts an economic downturn and tech companies slash payrolls, experts are warning prospective MBAs and JDs to reconsider dropping six figures for a fancy-schmancy degree, [according to *The Wall Street Journal*](https://www.wsj.com/articles/fear-in-the-job-market-is-rising-is-it-time-to-go-to-grad-school-11672716930?mod=mhp). #### **Business schools are marketing to jobless techies** Recently laid-off tech workers can apply to Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management without submitting standardized test scores. Other schools like MIT Sloan and UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business have waived entrance fees and extended deadlines. But 2023’s economic climate makes grad school less enticing than during the Great Recession: - The downturn is not widespread yet, so laid-off employees have a good chance of finding something new. - Inflation means rent and daily expenses are even less affordable on the limited salary of a student. - Average interest rates on new student loans [have increased](https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2022/07/05/student-loans-new-rates-start-this-week/?sh=164060bd7b0c), as has tuition. The median debt load of master’s degree recipients was ~$61k in 2016, a twofold increase since 2000. #### **Grad school isn’t always the wrong bet** People with professional and master’s degrees [still make more](https://advance.kent.edu/blog/why-should-you-choose-grad-school-during-a-recession), on average, than those without them. They’re also more likely to be sought for management positions. And data tools from the [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2022/article/projections-overview-and-highlights-2021-31.htm) and [College Scorecard](https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/) can help indicate whether the debt is worth it. But experts advise against using grad school as a “procrastinating tactic,” per *WSJ*. **Plus:** If you get laid off and have a gap in your resume, it might not matter. Gen Zers are actually [embracing resume gaps](https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-rewriting-rulebook-jobs-resume-gaps-career-breaks-work-2023-1). Topics: [Education](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/education) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![Student loan repayments are back and more confusing than ever](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1645811006-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-StudentLoans_20230831230545.webp) ### Student loan repayments are back and more confusing than ever - ![Looking for an edge in attracting talent? Give ’em a reasonable place to live](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1955417428-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-housing_20230816223900.webp) ### Looking for an edge in attracting talent? Give ’em a reasonable place to live - ![Academia drama involves lying about… lying](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/834884206-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-data-files_20230801221130.webp) ### Academia drama involves lying about… lying - ![Investors worry Chegg could be schooled by ChatGPT’s A+ homework help](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/478804961-httpsthe-hustle.hubspot.comhubfsDaily20Newsletter20ImagesMay205202023Chegg.webp) ### Investors worry Chegg could be schooled by ChatGPT’s A+ homework help - ![Degrees of separation: As college enrollment drops, trade school sign-ups rise](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/869946443-19-News-Brief_2023-04-24T001028.648Z.webp) ### Degrees of separation: As college enrollment drops, trade school sign-ups rise - ![It’s a pretty great time to get a PhD in AI](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1800076214-19-News-Brief_2023-04-16T234042.716Z.webp) ### It’s a pretty great time to get a PhD in AI - ![Higher education meets high finance](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1520721760-HS-News-Brief_2022-07-21T231834.548Z.webp) ### Higher education meets high finance - ![The student loan forgiveness hearing, explained](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/436575476-HS-News-Brief_2023-03-01T014833.522Z.webp) ### The student loan forgiveness hearing, explained - ![Would ChatGPT get a Wharton MBA?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1417838308-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-25T003354.977Z.webp) ### Would ChatGPT get a Wharton MBA? - ![Duolingo’s competition is TikTok and Netflix](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/765658625-final_size-FjK3434XwAIxBL7_20221205020843.webp) ### Duolingo’s competition is TikTok and Netflix Pop up for Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Get the 5-minute news brief keeping 2.5M+ innovators in the loop. Always free. 100% fresh. No bullsh*t. JOIN FREE ### 100% Free CRM Nurture and grow your business with customer relationship management software. Signup for a free account Close modal ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Sidd Finch", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/sidd-finch" }, "datePublished" : "2023-01-05T00:11:08.000Z", "headline" : "Maybe you shouldn’t get that master’s degree in this economy", "image" : [ "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/322771577-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-04T024415.710Z.webp" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/01042023-masters-degrees", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" } } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "#article", "@type" : "NewsArticle", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Sidd Finch", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/sidd-finch" }, "dateModified" : "2023-10-11T19:38:17+0000", "datePublished" : "2023-01-05T00:11:08+0000", "headline" : "Maybe you shouldn’t get that master’s degree in this economy", "image" : [ "https://7355427.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/7355427/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/322771577-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-04T024415.710Z.webp" ], "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 112, "url" : "https://fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/Blog%202021/Images/Logos/HubSpot%20Logo%20112X112.svg", "width" : 112 }, "name" : "HubSpot", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/hubspot", "https://twitter.com/hubspot" ], "url" : "https://www.hubspot.com" }, "speakable" : { "@type" : "SpeakableSpecification", "xPath" : [ "//title", "/html/head/meta[@name='description']/@content" ] } } ```