o_rats
Oh rats! I am a
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« on: October 16, 2011, 11:40:53 AM » |
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Now that you are in graduate school do you regret your decision?
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tuxedo_cat
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« Reply #1 on: October 16, 2011, 11:48:34 AM » |
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OP, this is way too open-ended for a thread discussion. Try to come up with something more concrete and relevant to what you are hoping to study in grad school.
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« Last Edit: October 16, 2011, 11:51:05 AM by tuxedo_cat »
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The only protection from zombies is a good friend who runs slightly more slowly than you do.
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chaosbydesign
"I like to lyse bacteria. Did you know I'm utterly insane?"
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I'm doing Science and I'm still alive.
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« Reply #2 on: October 16, 2011, 02:28:47 PM » |
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No.
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Seriously, I tried to lick my own face. Ah. Typical ivory tower pedanticalness.
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bcohlan1
limericked his way to being a
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EPIC BEER
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« Reply #3 on: October 16, 2011, 02:38:17 PM » |
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Absolutely. Just say no.
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Basically the moral of the story is that bcohlan1 is talking out of his ass again.
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o_rats
Oh rats! I am a
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« Reply #4 on: October 16, 2011, 03:20:23 PM » |
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I kind of intended for this to be an open-ended opinion question. In another thread someone mentioned that they were glad that they finished their PhD but that they regretted starting one. I thought that observation was interesting, so I wondered if other people who are currently in graduate school shared the same view or not.
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ptarmigan
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« Reply #5 on: October 16, 2011, 04:51:15 PM » |
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I gave up a relatively high-paying job to come here. (If I were to magically get a tenure-track position after graduation, I would still make less money than I did before I came here.) But I don't regret it at all. My life right now is way, way better than my old life. My stipend is adequate to my needs, I have a far better social life, and I (largely) enjoy rather than dread my work (which is good, since work has taken over most of my life).
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lohai0
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« Reply #6 on: October 16, 2011, 08:09:48 PM » |
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I gave up a relatively high-paying job to come here. (If I were to magically get a tenure-track position after graduation, I would still make less money than I did before I came here.) But I don't regret it at all. My life right now is way, way better than my old life. My stipend is adequate to my needs, I have a far better social life, and I (largely) enjoy rather than dread my work (which is good, since work has taken over most of my life).
Only most? I don't regret going to grad school at all, but I will admit writing the dissertation proposal is a whole lot more unpleasant than I thought it would be. |
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This semester's going to call for an increase in my liquor budget.
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goaswerfraiejen
Junior member
Posts: 75
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« Reply #7 on: October 17, 2011, 10:46:33 AM » |
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I'm still just partway through, but definitely don't regret it. Time of my life!
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sugaree
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« Reply #8 on: October 17, 2011, 12:08:40 PM » |
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Not at all! Grad school was great (even when it was horrible) and the friends that I made there are still dear to me today.
That said, I would never recommend to a student today to follow the path I did (PhD in the highly competitive American history field, acquiring debt to get it) because I know how lucky I am to have a decent TT job now.
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where's the bourbon?
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zharkov
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« Reply #9 on: October 17, 2011, 07:47:23 PM » |
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Getting a doctorate was a lot of work, but the best "educational time" in my life.* I felt that I found "my people" in grad school.
*Educational time: Hated middle school, HS was just OK, college better, master's program better still, doctoral program the best of all.
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__________ Zharkov's Razor: Adapting Zharkov a bit to this situation, ignorance and confusion can explain a lot.
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hipgeek
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« Reply #10 on: October 17, 2011, 08:11:05 PM » |
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I don't regret getting my master's. I'll tell you about the PhD once I finish the dissertation.
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I have no tolerance for swinish behavior, except from actual swine.
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bcohlan1
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EPIC BEER
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« Reply #11 on: October 17, 2011, 10:26:42 PM » |
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« Last Edit: October 17, 2011, 10:28:43 PM by bcohlan1 »
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Basically the moral of the story is that bcohlan1 is talking out of his ass again.
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bcohlan1
limericked his way to being a
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Posts: 1,050
EPIC BEER
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« Reply #12 on: October 17, 2011, 10:27:30 PM » |
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Much of this is focusing on the experience of grad school. Yes, I will side with the majority on that point: being in graduate school is a blast. You're doing what you love, often on your own schedule, with a group of like-minded people. You don't get paid much, but you are young and can live frugally. Some people don't like writing the dissertation; for me it is without a doubt the most fun I have ever had.
The problem comes when you get the PhD and there are absolutely no jobs. You and everyone you know become wandering hobos, which is only a little different from being a grad student, yet much less fun.
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« Last Edit: October 17, 2011, 10:27:48 PM by bcohlan1 »
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Basically the moral of the story is that bcohlan1 is talking out of his ass again.
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infopri
I guess I'm now a VERY
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When all else fails, let us agree to disagree.
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« Reply #13 on: October 17, 2011, 11:57:26 PM » |
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Graduate school was one of the hardest--and one of the best--times of my life. I understand the opening lines of Dickens's Tale of Two Cities SO much better now: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way [...]
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Your experience is not universal. Words to live by.
MYOB. Y enseņen bien a sus hijos. |
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egilson
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« Reply #14 on: October 18, 2011, 07:15:27 AM » |
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As I approach the end of grad school, I find there are certainly things I wish I had done and a few things I wish I had pressured others to do. While I'm sure not better off in terms of debt than when I started, I am personally, intellectually, and professionally far ahead. I regret only that I took so long to begin.
And bcohlan1, exaggeration isn't very helpful. Except for a few who left after their master's or who utterly flamed out, those I know who have either graduated from or left our program have jobs. Most of the doctoral graduates I know who have done the work necessary to get a tenure-track job, both in advance of and during their last year, have one. And I'm in the humanities.
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To anyone who is not a blockhead, all the sciences are interesting. - Marc Bloch
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