should I go to grad school?

[miss fortune]

I really don't like life outside of school all that much... I'm bored with doing the same damned thing every day and I can't see myself enjoying my future of working really... having to act all professional makes me want to poke my eyes out with a wooden spoon

I totally intended to go to grad school while I was in college, but my parents encouraged me to just graduate after my bachelors degrees and get a job. I've done that and I really feel kind of incredibly trapped... cornered by life in a way.

Should I go to grad school or give in to the whole grind of life?

 

[Usehername]

I think the question you should ask yourself is this: what have you got to lose by going?

Especially if you can get a TAship. The people who talk about "wasting your time" are doing it within the career framework. As in, "you could be investing your time climbing a corporate ladder," or something to that effect.

I'm fully funded right now, having the greatest year of my life, feeling challenged and inspired, and am surrounded by people who are encouraging my development. My department is, on the whole, drama-free. I'm experiencing a new chapter in my life.

I'm loving grad school. You'd love it too.

 

[iwakar]

Do you want to? Do it! I'm going back to school too. Grad school students FTW!

 

[Such Irony]

Do you have a subject area of great interest that you are willing to intensively focus on the next few years?

Are you willing to take out more student loans, adding to your debt?

It depends on what you ultimately want to do with your life. If you feel that only having a Bachelors degree is seriously limiting your job options, then graduate school would be a good option.

I wouldn't recommend going to graduate school just to escape the grind of life. If that's the case, you'd probably be better off just finding a different job.

 

[miss fortune]

I actually MISS school... I miss getting to research things, I miss writing papers... I even really miss playing with numbers and being surrounded by people who think that learning stuff is a lot of fun. I'd always planned on studying more Sociology because it's always seemed so easy to understand and INTERESTING- it involves people!

 

[citizen cane]

I'm wrestling with this same issue, but from a different angle. I'm a social work major. I figured I'd have a bit of an advantage, as with my physical disability and learning disability (not to mention my mom has worked as both a nurse and with special needs students and I've been exposed to said populations). Problem is, I don't WANT to go to grad school- and sure as hell not to be society's underpaid, overworked, and underappreciated bitch. Dont get me wrong, I love helping people who want someone to reach out to. I just hate dealing with people who don't WANT help, which happens a lot, depending on what field you end up in. I've also always wanted to relocate to a nice urban area, and social work is increasingly focused on rural populations.

*sigh*

Don't give in to life. Grab it by the balls, and bend it to your will.

 

[Usehername]

Are you willing to take out more student loans, adding to your debt?

A huge # of grad students in America are fully funded because the nation is very ESTJ hierarchical, and the higher-ups don't want to deal with freshmen. Hence, loans are relatively easy to avoid.

It depends on what you ultimately want to do with your life. If you feel that only having a Bachelors degree is seriously limiting your job options, then graduate school would be a good option.

Why on earth does grad school have to relate to a job option? Being educated to further one's job prospects is called trade school, in my home country. I see your point, but it's predicated on a false assumption that others need not share. You're assuming a lot of things.

I wouldn't recommend going to graduate school just to escape the grind of life. If that's the case, you'd probably be better off just finding a different job.

This is good advice that I agree with.

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

I think the question you should ask yourself is this: what have you got to lose by going?

I think that the question I would ask is "What have you got to win by going?"

It seems from your post that you feel kind of lost and disillusioned with the working world, and you enjoy school. If I'm wrong, please correct me. I think a lot of people attend grad school for similar reasons, but much of the time it's just a delay tactic. In two years or so, you will be back in the same place with a very expensive degree. If on the other hand you aspire to a career in academia or you want a professional degree, then grad school is not only a wise choice but a necessary one.

I recently participated in a career panel for college juniors and seniors in my discipline (communications/media/PR/journalism, etc.) and was frequently asked the grad school question. I counseled most of the students against graduate school. I enjoyed my grad school experience and I learned a great deal. I also wound up with a $22,000 M.S. that was utterly worthless as a career credential. In many cases, a master's degree is not only value neutral, but a hindrance when trying to get a job. Employers see that on a resume and may expect that you want more money than another candidate or that you may bolt the job for another one more quickly. In my case, I would have done things very differently if I knew what I know now. I would have taken that money and used it as a nest egg to enter the working world.

I know that my personal experiences and those of other people in my particular academic discipline are not applicable to everyone. But the point to take from it is that when you decide to go to grad school, think about what your discipline is and whether that degree will be an asset to you. If money is not a concern for you, then by all means education is a worthy pursuit. But that's not the case for the vast majority of people considering grad school, and you may wind up in a couple of years saddled with debt and no better outlook than you do now.

Good luck

 

[citizen cane]

^ Any advice to a junior social work major?

 

[Randomnity]

I know that my personal experiences and those of other people in my particular academic discipline are not applicable to everyone. But the point to take from it is that when you decide to go to grad school, think about what your discipline is and whether that degree will be an asset to you. If money is not a concern for you, then by all means education is a worthy pursuit. But that's not the case for the vast majority of people considering grad school, and you may wind up in a couple of years saddled with debt and no better outlook than you do now.

Good luck

I agree with this. Nothing wrong with education for the sake of education, as long as you're willing and able afford it (and as long as your future self is, as well!). Just be aware of all the potential consequences and likely outcomes, good and bad.

But you sound like you want a career change, not just education. In which case you'll want to make sure that your grad school is leading you to a career you want, and a career that's attainable for you. Sociology doesn't have a particularly high rate of grads who end up with a career working in that field, but look into your options.

 

[King sns]

I really don't like life outside of school all that much... I'm bored with doing the same damned thing every day and I can't see myself enjoying my future of working really... having to act all professional makes me want to poke my eyes out with a wooden spoon

I totally intended to go to grad school while I was in college, but my parents encouraged me to just graduate after my bachelors degrees and get a job. I've done that and I really feel kind of incredibly trapped... cornered by life in a way.

Should I go to grad school or give in to the whole grind of life?

I'm in the same boat. Lets do it together

 

[Such Irony]

A huge # of grad students in America are fully funded because the nation is very ESTJ hierarchical, and the higher-ups don't want to deal with freshmen. Hence, loans are relatively easy to avoid.

Yes, but not everyone. It depends on the program.

Why on earth does grad school have to relate to a job option? Being educated to further one's job prospects is called trade school, in my home country. I see your point, but it's predicated on a false assumption that others need not share. You're assuming a lot of things.

Are you outside the US? In the US there are certain jobs you can't get unless you have a Masters or a Ph.D. degree.

 

[King sns]

I actually MISS school... I miss getting to research things, I miss writing papers... I even really miss playing with numbers and being surrounded by people who think that learning stuff is a lot of fun. I'd always planned on studying more Sociology because it's always seemed so easy to understand and INTERESTING- it involves people!

I wish I was more like that. I don't actually miss any of the details about school. I do miss the generalized feeling of competition. And I'm also thinking... three more years.... and there could be an additional "1" added to the front of my salary number. My Te nags on and on. (Don't get me wrong, the subject matter interests me, but I like to have a good hold of my knowledge. I hate the idea of being at the bottom of another knowledge rung again. Plus I don't think anyone wants to hear anymore of my "I could only afford a butter finger for lunch because I'm in school, boohoo" stories.)

 

[skylights]

Should I go to grad school or give in to the whole grind of life?

not to state the obvious, but the way you've phrased this suggests that you already have your answer

or, at least, you know you don't want to give in to the grind.

i'm in the process of looking at postbac programs myself right now. i'm very unsure of what i want to go into, but the way i'm looking at things, it's the most sensible option. here's my reasoning:

- i want to earn a good amount of money
- i am not interested in the business world
- i need a job that is intellectually-oriented for me to care about getting up in the morning
- the economy sucks now and getting a job is very difficult; should be less of a problem in ~5 yrs (i'm aiming PhD)
- as usehername pointed out, there are a lot of programs you can get at least partial funding for
- i really like school

from where i'm looking, i stand a lot to gain and not much to lose. worst case scenario is i hate the program, drop it, and lose some money. or graduate and find no jobs and everyone hates me forever, but i think that's a little apocalyptic. it'd also not be much different from my current situation, i'd just be down a little money and friendless. either way the future would be wage-slave, might as well have tried.


now i just need to figure out what i want to do

 

[King sns]

Also, why isn't there a poll option for: "Whatever, Whatever! Do whatever you want, Whatever."

 

[A window to the soul]

I've thought about the same thing. My conclusion is that a masters degree isn't going to make or break you. I suppose it may depend on what industry you're working in and the job you're applying for. From what I've witnessed, a candidate with a masters doesn't necessarily have an edge. You might get slightly higher pay starting out, but not much.

 

[miss fortune]

I actually never intended NOT to go back to school after I graduated... there's way too much to learn out there for me to be comfortable stopping going to school... I'd always wanted to go into teaching or research on a higher level (or for the government!) instead of going corporate, which sucks I'd just taken a break, gotten a job and joined the real world to make my parents happy without ever intending to actually STAY there... I'd only stay if there was something that really piqued my passions, if not I'd go back to my other passions instead... doing something that I don't really enjoy is making me feel dead... I really MISS researching something, finding all of the layers of it and then explaining what I've found... I even miss stats

the biggest problem is deciding WHAT to study, since I find a LOT of things interesting and studied enough things that I could feasably study quite a few different topics on the graduate level I've kind of been thinking that medical sociology would be interesting to study AND would have some practical implications outside of school as well...

 

[SilkRoad]

I think that the question I would ask is "What have you got to win by going?"

It seems from your post that you feel kind of lost and disillusioned with the working world, and you enjoy school. If I'm wrong, please correct me. I think a lot of people attend grad school for similar reasons, but much of the time it's just a delay tactic. In two years or so, you will be back in the same place with a very expensive degree. If on the other hand you aspire to a career in academia or you want a professional degree, then grad school is not only a wise choice but a necessary one.

Yeah, I think this post is pretty much key.

Grad school is a big commitment of time and money. Personally - and this is just me personally - I don't think it's quite enough to decide to go back because you're disillusioned with the work world and you like studying. There should probably be more of a goal to it than that.

I have a bachelors degree (English lit) and I was very seriously considering doing a masters. It's odd in a way because I am the only member of my family (that is, my parents and my older brother) who doesn't have a masters. And if you ask anyone, they would probably say that in many ways I am the most academically inclined of the family. My brother did a fantastic job of his grad degree and his thesis, but in a way I don't think he was that invested in it. I think he just did it for the accomplishment and because he could (he's very talented) and because it...amused him, in a way.

I actually think part of the reason I DIDN'T do a grad degree is because deep down I am fairly practical-minded. I would definitely have done a masters in English, because literature is definitely my number one passion and nothing else interested me enough. But in many ways a masters in English is a stepping stone to a PhD, and not much else. My brother, for instance, is a very successful freelance journalist, but I think he could have become that with just the bachelors (he also studied English lit.) I was seriously thinking of doing a masters in English with a speciality in Arthurian literature as it was my main passion when I was about 20. But seriously, what use would that have been except to become a professor with a speciality in Arthurian/medieval lit? And I just never felt like I really wanted to do that.

I have thought occasionally of doing a masters in journalism or publishing, which might open up some more doors to me. But the fact is, I now have a job with partly an admin focus and partly a literary/cultural focus, which is about as close to ideal for me as anything I can think of. Not that there aren't things I dislike about it, but there is more than enough I like about it. And I got that with a combination of experience and having a bachelors degree. I don't see many jobs that I'm interested in which require a masters degree.

So yeah, sorry for the long ramble, but I would just think about it carefully and your reasons for it, and see if you can see a clear career path (or better yet, several possibilities) from it. I really wouldn't do it if it's mainly a sort of delay/avoiding thing, even if you would really enjoy it.

I hope it all works out whatever you decide!

 

[prplchknz]

my cousin recently went back to school, I don't know if he dropped out of college or never went, but my point is continuing your education will give you more options. It's certaintly isn't a bad idea. Lots of people are going back to school because of the recession.

 

[Greta]

I think that the question I would ask is "What have you got to win by going?"

It seems from your post that you feel kind of lost and disillusioned with the working world, and you enjoy school. If I'm wrong, please correct me. I think a lot of people attend grad school for similar reasons, but much of the time it's just a delay tactic. In two years or so, you will be back in the same place with a very expensive degree. If on the other hand you aspire to a career in academia or you want a professional degree, then grad school is not only a wise choice but a necessary one.


I know that my personal experiences and those of other people in my particular academic discipline are not applicable to everyone. But the point to take from it is that when you decide to go to grad school, think about what your discipline is and whether that degree will be an asset to you. If money is not a concern for you, then by all means education is a worthy pursuit. But that's not the case for the vast majority of people considering grad school, and you may wind up in a couple of years saddled with debt and no better outlook than you do now.

Good luck

Excellent post.

Be sure you're not just going to school to escape. There are other escapes. And, if you do go, make sure it's worth it. There are loads of unsatisfied grad students and post-grads who wish they'd thought it through before diving in.

I totally intended to go to grad school while I was in college, but my parents encouraged me to just graduate after my bachelors degrees and get a job. I've done that and I really feel kind of incredibly trapped... cornered by life in a way.

I went to grad school.
I now feel incredibly trapped, more so than if I'd foregone grad school.