Has there ever been a more “need experience to be hired, need to be hired to get experience” industry than intercollegiate athletics? As countless individuals are competing for entry level roles. Even after making it past the stage of “needing experience to get experience”, there will be job postings that say master’s preferred in the education qualifications. Just how much does, master’s preferred, amount to in the ultimate mobility of one’s career in collegiate athletics?

After years of sifting through job postings on NCAA job market and NACDA jobs, I typically have seen upper level athletics administrator jobs requiring advanced degrees with around 5-10 years of experience. Entry level athletics roles typically require bachelor’s degrees and at least one year of experience. If one’s goal is to have an upper level position, obtaining a master’s degree becomes a when, not if scenario. That said, “when” is a tough question to answer. The value of experience cannot be downplayed, but I can attest to seeing professionals with decades of experience in their fields be denied opportunities for not having the preferred education requirements. While schools use test scores to thin out qualified candidates for admission, athletic departments are using education preferences to do the same for upper level roles. Further, many institutions will substitute education for experience, but are less likely to do the opposite for potential candidates.

Wouldn’t it be best to work if one can work, rather than pausing a career to pursue a degree? If attending graduate school and working in collegiate athletics were mutually exclusive, then sure go for the job every time, except going to grad school isn’t an MLB draftee deciding whether to turn down a career to go to school for three years.

For me, these factors played the biggest role on when was the right time for me to attend and where graduate school stood as a priority in my career.

Burnout- After graduating college most would have attended school at least 17 years. A break from school to recharge one’s scholarly battery before pursuing an advanced degree is entirely understandable. The opposite approach is to dive right in for another 2-4 years of school, capitalizing on the momentum from one level to the next.

Funding- Most are looking down the barrel at some form of loan debt, especially with millennials having the heftiest set of average debt of any generation. The availability of graduate assistantships in athletic departments certainly alleviates this situation for a few individuals each year. Still, full time roles in higher education qualify for public service loan forgiveness and most institutions have programs for employees that pay for classes.

Career Development- This should be the ultimate determinant of when and where to pursue graduate school. The same way that an undergrad views law school with the thought of that school’s network and ability to advance their career, so too, should aspiring administrators choose an institution that can provide them with opportunities to advance their career.

The saying goes that you can’t have your cake and eat it too, but after completing my master’s I will have 4 years of athletics experience on top of being qualified, on paper, for the roles I aspire to. Young professionals have the unique opportunity to engage graduate education as an opportunity to grow professionally, just as much as academically. There’s validity in a counter claim that experience outweighs education, but ultimately college is key in college athletics, the same way that student is key in student-athlete. Climbing the ranks in athletics comes with no road map, but holding an advanced degree has continued to emerge as being a universal standard when it comes to career mobility in athletics.