A common question I’m asked by life science professionals is whether they should go back to school to get an additional degree. Often they ask about getting an MBA.

I took 7 years to earn my doctorate and I was utterly sick of school by the time I got done. If you’re like me, you couldn’t wait to get out of school with your PhD degree. So why are so many scientists going back to school for another degree, or at least in my case, seriously thought about the idea?

During my professional career in corporate employment, I seriously thought about getting a MBA or a law degree. I didn’t really need it. I thought I should get it, because some of my colleagues are doctorates getting business degrees. I thought I should stay competitive. Upon intense reflection by myself and after heavy discussions with my husband (whose qualify of life will be affected should I work full time while attending graduate school), I admitted that having more letters after my name gave me a false sense of security when competing for jobs. I was not necessarily intrigued by the MBA or JD coursework itself. Truthfully, I saw school as a way to buy time while I tried to figure out that all-encompassing question, “What am I supposed to do with the rest of my life?”

Many professionals believe that having more letters after their names made them more marketable. In fact, having too many letters after your name without commensurate numbers of years of professional working experience can work against you (you become “overqualified” for the entry level pay grade you need to get your foot in the door). Often, investing additional years for schooling and sacrificing personal life would not make one much more marketable than spending those years “acting outside the box” and tackling new projects. Most employers prefer a candidate with a proven track record of success in a diverse portfolio of relevant projects over a candidate with little professional experience to show for each of the degrees after their names.

Going back to school to get an additional degree makes sense when “…it is accompanied by the right degree of focus.” (Source: Increasingly, Professionals Use Grad School to Change Careers) There are also others who specifically embark on an additional degree for the right reasons. They are clear on what the invested time, effort, and tuition gain for them in return. They know how they plan to use specific things they will learn during the course of their education. In other words, the additional degree is a component of a broader career plan, a means, and not an end.

Sometimes it helps to remind yourself that the likes of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Michael Dell never bothered to even finish college once they knew the mission they’re on. In fact, if you’re Alex Zoghlin, you’d drop out of high school and build Orbitz to change the way consumers book their vacations.