As you complete your graduate degree, you might be struck with uncertainty about your path. With a little patience and research, though, you should be able to navigate your way to a fulfilling career--inside or outside of academia.

"During the last few decades increasingly more students have elected to continue their education beyond the bachelor's degree level. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, enrollment at graduate schools grew 57% between 1985 and 2004.

If you choose to attend graduate school you might find it a wonderful experience. Having met the picky course requirements of your undergraduate degree program, you have earned the chance to spend several years immersed in a topic you love--and emerge ready to launch a career in academia or the corporate world with the skills you need to snare your dream job.

What happens, though, when you find that graduate school is not all you expected it to be? How do you decide whether it is worth it to push ahead and earn your degree, or if it makes more sense to seek out other options? The answers require some difficult soul-searching, but finding them will make you feel confident that you have made the best choices about your time in graduate school and about your future career.

1. My Grad Program Is Preparing Me for a Career I Don't Want

If you feel that your graduate program will no longer land you on a satisfying career path it is time to figure out why. Are you tired of the day-to-day work that you must do to complete the program? If so, talk to an advisor in your department. He or she can tell you what elements of your education will be applied in your career after graduation. For example graduate students in master's of fine arts programs usually attend weekly workshops in which their work is critiqued by fellow students. After graduation, however, this workshop element disappears.

Perhaps you are working toward your master's degree in business administration but you are quickly tiring of your economics courses. Your advisor might be able to suggest a career path that takes you away from the economic theory you dislike and in a fresh direction--human resources, for example. If you have not yet done any work in your chosen field, an internship is a great choice. During the course of your internship, seek out a professional mentor who can guide your future career decisions.

2. My Grad Program Is Preparing Me for a Job I'm Not Sure I Can Land

While some students are dying to escape the world of academia, others love their time there. It's the real world that seems less enticing--even frightening. This is especially true for Ph.D. candidates who face extraordinarily tough competition for tenure-track positions. If you love your graduate program but hate the potentially dismal job prospects that await you after graduation, don't give up hope. Many of today's academic advisors realize that everyone who earns a PhD will not be able to embark on a tenure-track position in their chosen field. They are helping students find options outside of academia in which they can still put their skills and knowledge to work. Students with PhDs in the humanities are finding jobs doing research at nonprofit organizations, writing for new media companies, and coordinating communications at public relations firms. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that some PhD holders stay on campus but work as career counselors and college administrators rather than as professors.

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