That's a relief... I hear mixed opinions about grad school all the time. In all honesty, I slept/zoned out through a good chunk of my undergraduate studies (psychology, anthropology, philosophy)... pretty much half-assed it because I was figuring out personal stuff. I kind of regret not putting all the effort in and I want to see if I have what it takes to go further (I think it's my version of e3 regret) or I should move on.
But, at the same time, I might just ultimately want credentials
because I wrote content/accomplished tasks but because of my lack of "credibility", I basically have to have experts/PhDs sign off on it. I think it comes down to whether if it is worth the effort or if it's just a purely ego thing.
Sorry for all the rambling, but I figured a more experienced e3 could have more pointers. lol
I can't deny that I'm a fan of credentials. They're extrinsic awards, you know?
A thing, though -- higher degrees give credibility, for sure. But they're not a panacea.
There are still, many,
many times where my once-supervisor-now-mentor gets the credit for my ideas/work/contracts. because he's more established and experienced.. and so it's taken as a given that he's the one behind it all. (At least three times, it's happened with my
magnum opus.) That
can happen no matter what your credentials are, no matter how fair your colleagues/coworkers are, etc.
It's an ego thing, sure. But there can also be other, more 'objectively' important consequences -- e.g. not really being able to point to the full extent of your actual work in resumes, proposals, articles, etc. So it can be an ego thing
and still 'objectively' be worth the effort. It's purely case-by-case.
Thankfully, I haven't yet run across that particular 'objective' consequence. But still, that credit aspect is important
to me as a living, breathing, feeling person. (There's no getting around it, but there is tempering it with a thorough examination of the situation, its actual consequences, etc.)
(And stealing credit where it's
not due to you, of course, places a few more cards on your already-flimsy house.)
*ahem* Anyway..
On having gone further in undergrad -- depends on whether or not you were/are interested in the subject. If you weren't/aren't, there's no real reason to trod down that path. It's hard to make yourself do things that you're not interested in. In undergrad, I had no idea what I was interested in
because I put off the personal stuff until around the end of my degree.
I also completely understand the need to challenge yourself. To see what you're capable of just for the hell of it.