When Sarah completed her undergraduate degree in 1994, the job market was particularly tight. Several of her professors suggested that she consider an MBA degree, so Sarah applied to the graduate school and was accepted into the MBA program. This allowed her to remain in Hammonsville. She also was given a graduate assistantship in the marketing department which paid her tuition and living expenses. While working on her MBA, Sarah continued to develop her marketing research skills. She took 12 hours in her graduate program specifically in research classes and also worked on several special projects for the College of Business for publication and classroom instruction purposes. She also helped acquire secondary data from the library. Sarah had fully expected to return to her assistantship position in the fall of 1995; she had already been offered the head graduate assistant position.
Sarah had agreed to take on the additional responsibilities of head graduate assistant in her final semester of graduate school in the fall coordinating the schedules and activities of the five graduate assistants who worked in the marketing department. She was confident that the additional time needed would not interfere with either her preparation for classes or what she considered to be her most important activity finding an entry-level position in the marketing research field. By mid-summer, Sarah had updated her resume and was ready to begin aggressively pursuing the job market