Getting the Experience You Need to Get Into Grad School

Published May 13, 2009 @ 04:19PM PT

Kate Jongbloed commented to ask "a lot of the entry level jobs that I'm looking at require a master's degree, but in order to get into grad school, they'd like you to have a bit of experience in your field. It's a catch 22! How do you recommend getting around this issue?"

People ask me that question a lot. Luckily, there is an answer that most people can achieve. Graduate schools don't need you to have experience in the exact field you want to study or work in after graduation. They just want you to have shown a real interest and commitment.

In the context of global health, that means either an international background or a health background will generally suffice, and you can do that with a bachelor's degree. There are a lot of vaguely administrative jobs you can get with an international slant - international education and exchange organizations, refugee resettlement, or even teaching English as a foreign language in the US or overseas.

There are also entry-level health jobs and volunteer work you can do in health. I was a volunteer for Planned Parenthood. I filed medical records and assisted with sexuality education programming. We had paid clinic assistants as well. Most health clinics have work like that. I know there are human services jobs open to people with bachelor's degrees, and program assistant jobs at health non-profits.

Getting that kind of experience in the US will help build the skills you need to show graduate schools you are serious, and get that first job after you finished your graduate degree.

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Comments (4)

Hi Alanna,

Great suggestions- just wanted to bring the Princeton in Asia fellowship to your readers as another potential opportunity to get some introductory experience in international public health. Anyone with an undergraduate degree (doesn't have to be Princeton) can apply and there are a few spots with NGOs in Public Health in Asia. I've had a great experience working in reproductive health and maternal and child health in the Philippines and Indonesia because of it and highly recommend readers checking it out!

Posted by Helen Smith on 05/13/2009 @ 07:26PM PT
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Thanks for the suggestion!

Posted by Alanna Shaikh on 05/13/2009 @ 08:59PM PT
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So maybe a good follow-up to this post for next Wednesday would be "Now that you've gotten into grad school, how to make sure you're not wasting $40,000 and a year of your life". I'm sure this applies to a lot of people out there starting a master's course who are nervous about the short time they've got (max two years, sometimes just one, like in my case) to get everything out of their university and contacts there as they can, before being shipped off to the "real world" once again.

Posted by Patrick Mayne on 05/15/2009 @ 08:20AM PT
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Thanks for this post. I have a BA in International Studies but want to get a MPH. There are tons of volunteer programs out there, you just have to look and of course unpaid internships as well. All it takes is contacting someone and asking how you can get involved. This summer I am hoping to be interning with our local city clinic and volunteering at a WIC clinic.

Posted by Eighmey Engle on 05/18/2009 @ 08:22AM PT
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Author

Alanna Shaikh has spent the last ten years immersed in global health; she has worked for NGOs, companies, universities, and the US government on projects that ranged from preventing antibacterial resistance to improving maternal and child health.