Graduate school concerns

[xxflyingsoulxx]

Hello

Comments

[tisiphone]

It's not clear if you're considering a masters or a doctorate, so I'll answer with both. First, though, your father is absolutely not correct that you need to do grad school RIGHT NAO or be forever lost. If you want an academic career there are some advantages starting early, but from every other perspective it's totally OK to stop and take a look around, have a bit of experience, and think through what you really want to do past grad school and how you can get there. I will say, most of the more successful people I've been in grad school with for a couple years now have been older and have had some experience and some handle on what they're actually doing there, instead of just moving on because that's what you do. That's not to say you can't be successful with an immediate move, but it's not necessary by any means. I would suggest taking steps to stay up to date with the academic literature in your area of interest, though. That said and moving on

[tylik]

Heh, I should have known you'd be on this one, and a far better person than I to speak to international issues ;-)

[tisiphone]

The international thing is kind of iffy because things vary so widely, but unless you go for one of the few remaining social democracies that still heavily subsidize education, money's always going to be a problem :(

[xxflyingsoulxx]

Thanks so much for the quick reply! I'd like to stick it out another year too, especially because my work visa goes up to a year and I'd also like to get my feet wet professionally in Tasmania, so to speak, and I feel like 6 months just isn't enough time, especially because for the first couple months, my boyfriend and I will be visiting his folks and doing outdoorsy things. I'm considering a master's program at the moment. I don't really see myself getting a PHD, but you never know. Right now, I'm just looking at master's opportunities.

[tylik]

1) Eh. I decided to not pursue working for the State Department after my undergraduate degree, and it didn't end up being a good call - except it wasn't a horrible one, because the years in the computer industry gave me excellent experience and all those stock options are certainly are making my (eventual) graduate career more comfortable... but you make the best calls you can at the time. Don't do something that would majorly undercut your studies, but minor stuff like a good school rather than a slightly better one? We have personal lives. Grad school can be grueling, and it's important to set up the best emotional situation for yourself you can. (Which, admittedly, probably means a good support network more than anything, but hey

[tisiphone]

Re #2, oh yes, yes yes yes yes yes! I don't wish to name names, but I'd never work with one of the rockstars in my program - he's nice and genial in person, but you get some gossip going from some of his supervisees and it turns out he's actually a raging cock who demands you do everything to his precise specification. That's the opposite of what I want! (Also yes on the stock options, but not everyone has that choice :)

[tylik]

Even beyond the stock options, though... had I gone straight into grad school, I probably would have done more international studies. Which would have been great... and a totally different life. All the software years, on the other hand, have opened up a huge number of doors in biomed, because everyone needs biologists who can code.

So... it would be easy to say it was the wrong decision, and, well, I gotta say I have my doubts about having married him. But many things that came out of the decision to stay in country and work for MS has pretty cool side effects.

[xxflyingsoulxx]

Thank you for the advice as well! I am visiting 4 schools in the next couple months because they are all relatively close to me. I have appointments with the faculty members and will hopefully find a way to drink with some students as well. Any advice on that getting to do that? :) I'm excited to visit these schools because I'll get more a good feeling if I am ready or not.

I really do want to have a serious talk with my father about this, but I am not seeing him in person for 2 more months. For some reason, I am really scared about this. He's a little intimidating and close-minded, and generally doesn't understand me, but I hope he understands this and he is always saying all he wants is for me to be happy. I just don't know how to go about saying this, when all he does is claim to know best and that I'm juts a naïve 24 year old...

[foxxywith2xs]

i wish i would have gone to graduate school right after undergrad. im finishing up my MSPH and most of my classmates are right out of undergrad. i think it's a huge advantage because they are still getting work experience through internships and research jobs, but also getting a master's degree at the end of two years.i feel like my years after undergrad were pretty wasted -- i wasn't really able to be considered for the jobs i wanted and i was stuck without a master's. i have no idea if that's your situation, but my master's is huge for my professional development.

being 27 years and in graduate school sucks for me. i have a piecemeal schedule, i can't really make a lot of long term plans and i'm interested in spending my time on my personal life and goals, something that doesn't gel well with school work.

for me, being closer to 30 and in graduate school is just a lot different. im ready for it to be over at this point. its just a lot easier when you're younger imo.

[roseofjuly]

1. That depends on your relationship. My fiance and I lived apart (but only 3 hours) for the first 4 years of my PhD. He told me to look for grad schools without thinking so much about where he would end up; he ended up getting stationed in New Jersey by pure serendipity (I'm in New York). I will say that two years goes by REALLY fast and you may have some more choice on the back end if you get a better master's now - i.e., it's easier to shop around a degree from a top-ranked school in your field, or one that is well-suited for you and respected in your field, in big cities where your partner is likely to get hired than it is to shop around a lesser-known school. Also, as someone else pointed out, in 6 months if you have a bitter break up - you want to be somewhere that you'll be happy and not regret your choices

[kleios_kiss]

So my boyfriend of, who's a bit older than me, recently finished his post-doc and is now an assistant professor at a great university in NYC. He didn't go for his PhD until he was 26 (I'm 25 now), and he says that waiting to start graduate school was the best decision that he has made. He went to Stanford for a PhD in astrophysics, and he says that he simply could not relate to the kids who were there straight out of college, and that in earnest, all of the "waiters" weren't really able to connect with those kids. He said that in general, the people who didn't take time to explore themselves and careers and whatnot in "the real world" first still approached graduate school in the same way that they would have approached undergrad, or didn't have a clear idea of why they were there or what they really wanted to do, and that several of them even dropped out of their programs. So I think you're pretty much fine in having waited, and in fact I chose to wait to start applying to PhD programs largely because I found that my bf's words made