Skip Grad School and Learn in the Real World

3. Get a part-time job. Paying your bills and expenses while working for free will require multi-tasking. It won’t be easy, but then again grad school also keeps you up at all hours. Even if you have enough in your emergency savings account to get you through this time, you will probably need to find a part-time job. The good news is you can create your own schedule with many part-time jobs (think direct sales, freelance writing, dog walking, catering) many of which you can do during evenings and weekends.

4. Diminish housing costs. Your housing costs tend to eat up the biggest portion of your income. Consider bartering for a place to stay by temporarily moving in with family or friends for free in exchange for doing chores. Or get a roommate and split the rent.

5. Continue looking for full-time work. As the saying goes, “the best time to find a job is when you have a job.” Being in the workforce keeps you in the game, and may make you more desirable to competitive employers. Attend career workshops and job fairs and continue to network on and off-line to find a full-time job. And once you’re full-time, you may be able to bank on the company’s tuition reimbursement plan and finally go to grad school for a lot less.