expatinuk
Has spent over 1000 pounds but now holds a Brit passport!
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 6,653
From SC living in UK
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« Reply #15 on: February 16, 2008, 07:28:07 AM » |
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I worked pretty much full time during my undergrad days... and I went straight on to a masters ... still working pretty much full time (all of this was in the media field, which was my area of study). After I finished my MA I went to work extremely full time (media is like that!). After 18 years of working hard and having a great career I decided I wanted to enter academe as a shift in my career.
I returned, got my Ph.D. and have been enjoying this aspect of my life/career for nearly 15 years.
Take the time off.... learn more about who you are.
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Expatinuk seems to be a Soviet Satellite in stationary orbit over the UK
It is what it is.
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notaprof
Not a
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 11,084
This space for rent
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« Reply #16 on: February 16, 2008, 08:23:24 AM » |
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I went straight to grad school from undergrad and I think it was a mistake. I think that many people go to grad school because up until that point they have been going to school forever. For the last 17 years of a 21/22 year-old's life their time has been defined by a school cycle so that is all they know. The end of school in May is followed by the start of the next year in September, so what is more natural than planning to go to grad school next September?
I think I went to grad school just as a default option because I didn't really know what else to do and it was an easier answer to "So, what are you doing after graduation?" than saying "I don't have a job and I don't have a clue." Grad school was easier than hunting for a job, easier because it delayed a decision about what I wanted to do with my life. Deciding what you want to do with your life, after investing more time and money in grad school, is not a wise approach.
I think anyone who asks "should I go to grad school or not," should definitely take some time off in between college and grad school. It can help to prevent school burnout. And depending on the degree program you choose, having real life experience can make graduate school subjects more meaningful.
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"That's a great deal to make one word mean," Alice said in a thoughtful tone.
"When I make a word do a lot of work like that," said Humpty Dumpty, "I always pay it extra."
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t_r_b
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« Reply #17 on: February 16, 2008, 07:18:37 PM » |
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I suggest that you find some kind of teaching position. Private high schools will hire almost anyone, for example. If, after teaching full-time for a year, you decide you never want to see the inside of a classroom again, then an academic career is probably not for you. If you find working with students and helping them learn to be stimulating and rewarding, then you can decide at which level you'd like to teach. If you decide you want to teach at the college level in your humanities field, then go to grad school. Otherwise, why bother?
Depending on your situation, there may be financial benefits to waiting a year. If your grad program of choice is at a public university, working for a year in that state can get you in-state resident status, and that could end up saving you many thousands of dollars down the road.
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If you want to be zen, then stay in the freaking moment.
A lot of the people posting on this thread need to go out and get kohlrabi.
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acrimone
The Red Queen's Court Assassin
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 4,049
I am not a professor at all, despite what I say.
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« Reply #18 on: February 16, 2008, 08:35:33 PM » |
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The answer to this question should always be "not" as a default.
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"All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?"
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msmommy
Junior member
Posts: 66
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« Reply #19 on: February 20, 2008, 02:36:31 PM » |
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Work experiences gives you time to define who you are, decide what to pursue in graduate school. For myself, I'm not the same person I was and time has allowed me to evolve myself, I can say now without doubt what I want for my life's future. It's that clear goal set that will modivate me to the end, without it I'd not have the drive and determination to finish something if it got to hard. I'd burn out.
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larryc
Hu hatin'
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 18,285
Eschew the hu.
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« Reply #20 on: February 20, 2008, 03:18:06 PM » |
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Peace Corps.
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