So You Want to Go To Grad School?
So there you are, college degree in hand, a few years of work experience under your belt, when you realize that you don’t love what you’re doing anymore, and want a substantive change. Or maybe you’ve always wanted to be a lawyer, or a teacher, or a forensic scientist. Maybe you’re really good with numbers, but don't know where that can lead. Perhaps you really love learning, and want to return to an educational environment.
For whatever reason, if you’re considering graduate school, this diary is for you!
In tonight's edition of the Kossacks Under 35 series, we’re going to discuss different kinds of graduate school, the why’s, when’s and how’s of applying, and a few important questions to consider before you embark. But first, allow me to throw cold water on your hopes and dreams.
Don’t go to graduate school unless you are absolutely sure that it is the right thing for you to do. Don’t go because you can’t get a job, don’t go because you’re bored, don’t go just because you love to learn. Go because there is no other way for you to do what you want in your professional life. Go when you can feasibly balance the personal and financial disruptions that come with pursuing a graduate degree.
For those of you that love learning, as an educator, I commend you. If you really want to keep learning but don’t care about a degree, look for continuing education courses near your home. You will be able to take courses that interest you, without worrying about meeting degree requirements. Your courses will likely also be cheaper if you do not want to take them for credit. Most degree-granting programs have some restrictions about what you can and cannot take, so you need to figure out what best matches what you want to do. If you can actually afford to plunk down the money for the degree you won’t use, go for it, but keep in mind that you may be preventing someone who desperately wants and needs the degree from taking your place. Considering the skyrocketing cost of grad school, if you have to pay or find money for it, think long and hard about whether or not the degree itself is necessary and taking individual interesting courses instead will satisfy you.
If you are considering returning to school full-time, taking one class through continuing-education or asking to sit in on one or two classes might help you decide. But in general, graduate school isn’t the best place to find yourself. You need to be pretty darn clear on what you want to get out of grad school so that you can make it happen in the short time you’re there.
Last but not least, if you’re thinking about doing this, find 3-5 people who have the job you want, and ask them how they got there. If you don’t know anyone, use your college’s alumni directory, or just post something here on DailyKos. Ask around, and make sure to get a variety of opinions before you take the plunge.
Now, for those who are ready to go, let’s talk about what you need to do beforehand, and how to apply. We’ll also cover several specific forms of grad school: Law, Medical, Nursing, Business, MA/MS, PhD, MFA, Information/Library Science, Education, and Gov’t/Public Policy.
So You Want To Change Fields Dramatically
You work for an art gallery and now you want to get a degree in Engineering. You failed Bio in college, but now you want to go to Medical School. You had horrible math grades, but now you want to go to Business School. You’ve been a successful lawyer for a decade, but want to become an English professor. For whatever reason, your past professional and educational experiences don’t mesh up with your current plans. What to do?
For many people, additional coursework will make all the difference. If you want to pursue Medical School after a lengthy absence from college, or you simply have no background coursework in science, you will likely need to pursue a Post-Bac degree. The American Association of Medical Colleges has a website that will help you locate a Post-Bac program.
Poor math grades as an undergraduate may doom your business school application, unless your GMAT quantitative score is off the charts. Many B-school applications are considerably strengthened by the applicant taking a math class (Calculus, Statistics) at a local community college. Getting a grade in the A range will make a world of difference.
Now, as for the artist who wants to be an engineer and the lawyer who wants to be an English professor, what matters is how well you can sell yourself in your application. The artist might want to consider one or two math classes, particularly if the undergrad transcript shows no quantitative work. In general a very strong GRE score and clear research goals in the personal statement should help you get into a Master’s program. The lawyer might have an easier time – the language-oriented skills of lawyering transfer nicely. I’ve known a few people to trod this path. What it comes down to is how well you can argue in your personal statement that you are a good candidate to make this switch.
Taking extra classes before you apply may sound like a pain in the ass, but the payoff is pretty substantial – admission, often to a better program that will better enable you to do what you want to do.
It all comes down to how you sell yourself. For some people, additional qualifications will be necessary to get the graduate school to buy into you, so to speak. Your best bet? Call the programs that interest you, and ask them.
Preparing Your Application
When I am not busy blogging on DailyKos and being a grad student, I work part-time as an application essay editor, and also as a test-prep course teacher and tutor for the GRE and GMAT. I’ve critiqued an ungodly amount of grad school application school essays, and talked to a LOT of would-be grad students. I’ve also pumped my own grad schools’ admission committees for what they look for in admissions. Here’s the distilled version of everything I’ve seen and heard so far.
The Personal Statement / Statement of Purpose. This is the single most important part of the application, bar none. You must demonstrate that you are clear on your goals and that your graduate degree is absolutely necessary to achieving them, that you have clearly developed intellectual/professional/research interests that mesh with the program/degree you are after. Most importantly, you must set yourself apart. Be unique and memorable, but don’t be weird or flippant.
For instance, would-be Medical students should never write "I love science." Newsflash – everyone in Med school loves science. What sets you apart? Did you nurse your ailing grandma as she suffered from Huntington’s and become fascinated with neurological diseases? Did you do genetics research that inspired you to want to learn more? Did you volunteer in a clinic and devote your life to Public Health crises? Do you want to be a Doctor Without Borders? What makes you want this degree so badly?
The best Law School essays tend to focus on a formative experience that motivated the applicant to pursue a law degree. Why is the law degree necessary? I’ve seen great essays about work with refugees, internships on Capitol Hill, and volunteer work with immigrant communities. Hell, even an impassioned essay about your fascination with Mergers and Acquisitions can pass muster if it’s genuine enough. The key is to demonstrate not only why you want the degree, but why this particular law school will best help you realize your goals. You also need to demonstrate a clear understanding of what your future actually entails. You absolutely need to customize the essay for each school, and talk about how the school’s academics, extra-curriculars and/or location will help you obtain your goal.
If you are oriented towards other professional degrees such as Nursing, Social Work, Education, or Library Science degree, similarly connecting your formative personal experiences to your professional goals is the best way to go. Make sure that your personality shines through in the essay. After all, the admissions committee is interested in admitting interesting individuals, not just perfect transcripts and resumes.
For those of you who are applying for an MA, MS or PhD, you need to focus your statement on your research interests. Your personal statement is your only chance to clearly articulate who you are as a scholar. Be very clear about what you want to research and why, how you will make a contribution to your scholarly field, and demonstrate a clear understanding of the issues surrounding your research interest. If your MA or MS is your final degree, you should speak specifically to your professional goals and why the degree is necessary to do what you want professionally. Even if the answer is "advance in my career," that’s fine – just state it very clearly.
As for the essay itself, two reliable methods are to start with either a very engaging first sentence: ("As I crested the Himalayan butte in time to see the sunrise, I reflected on the volunteer work that had brought me to this august moment.") or the direct-and-confident approach: ("As a graduate student in biochemistry at the University of Michigan I will continue my research into using mitochondrial DNA as a means to determine demographic populations’ risks for specific diseases.") The more professional-school oriented your program is, the more you should tend towards the engaging sentence. The more academic/research oriented, you should go for the pithy research statement.
Again, make sure that every essay is tailored to the school. No matter what your program or research interest is, make a case that you and the school are the best fit for each other. Mention specific faculty whose research interest overlaps with yours, or particular programs that will allow you to get more hands-on training. If there is a unique opportunity that the school offers—an archive, a training facility, a partnership with a local business, international travel programs, study abroad—which will particularly help you achieve your goals, make sure to talk about it.
Before you start writing, look at the tips from a few essay editing companies. I don’t think it’s actually worthwhile for everyone to pay for their services, but the tips are pretty good. Above all, ask a friend and a colleague/former professor to read over it for some feedback.
Test Scores. For LSAT, GMAT and MCAT, there is no way around a bad score. Some schools refuse to consider your application if you have below a certain cut-off. You need to find a way to beat the test. Buy a book, learn it. Take a class if you can afford it and think that the routine is the only way to learn. (Honestly, most of my students fall into two camps: remedial and lazy.) Drill yourself with practice tests every week. Put a post on Craigslist for a tutor. The national companies often charge upwards of $100 an hour for their services, but you can snag someone on Craigslist for much less -- $40 is a pretty good offer.
For GRE-takers in the Math and Science fields, you need a very, very strong Math score. Right now, 10% of test-takers get a perfect 800 on the Math. The GRE is being adjusted to try and remedy this, but in the meantime you probably won’t be considered for many good programs with less than a 750. There are too many strong applicants with better numbers. Keep in mind that this isn’t a hard score to get if you study hard – 1 in 10 test-takers get this score.
For those in the Humanities, Social Sciences, Library Sciences, etc, think of your GRE as more of a tie-breaker. Your statement of purpose and research interests will likely be more important, but if you’re pretty close to another applicant, the test score may be the determining factor. However, if you have a really bad essay component, you may be done for. Look in the test-prep books about how the essays are scored, and follow suit. The GRE’s are not the time to try and win a Nobel Prize in Literature, but rather to get the points available. (Generally speaking, anything under a "4" out of 6 on the essay might raise serious flags about your writing skills.)
How To Pay For It
There are three ways to pay for graduate school:
- Use Your Own Money
- Take Out Loans
- Fellowships/Scholarships
Since #1 is out of the question for most of us and #2 is all-too-common, let’s talk about #3, Fellowships/Scholarships. If you are an underrepresented group in your field, you should qualify for some additional aid. Look also to professional organizations, many of whom offer nominal scholarships. For MA/MS/PhD types, look for schools that will give you either a Teaching Assistantship or Research Assistantship. Schools that only have an MA/MS, and not a PhD in your field, will necessarily give the TA-ships to the Master’s students. Something to keep in mind when choosing a program. Call the program and talk to an adminstrator about what is available. The websites are often intentionally vague, so talk to a human.
All students can look for on-campus research positions in labs, archives, and the library. Another great route is to consider being a graduate residential advisor in the dorms, which should cover housing as well. Keep in mind that an off-campus or unrelated job will likely delay your progress or interfere with your studies, so weigh that into the balance as well. Can you earn enough in the summers or save enough beforehand to cover your living expenses?
No matter what, you need to file your FAFSA as early as possible. Do your taxes as soon as you have your W2’s, and file the FAFSA as soon as your return is accepted. Have it in by the end of February at the latest – even before you are accepted anywhere. Just list all of the schools to which you applied. Money runs out for the people who file late. EVERYONE should apply for financial aid, just to see what your aid package looks like. You may not get a great deal, but you don’t have to accept any of it. I got an $800 grant each semester just for the effort of applying – that’s one month’s living expenses taken care of. Be wary of private loans from private lenders (i.e. not Federal loans). The interest rates are much higher, and they are nearly impossible to consolidate.
Different Kinds of Graduate Schools
Now, we’re going to talk about specific kinds of graduate school. I’ve asked a few Kossacks who have graduated from many of these to offer tips. Again, we’re going to recap the following types of school: Law, Medical, Nursing, Business, MA/MS, PhD, MFA, Information/Library Science, Education, Social Work, and Gov’t/Public Policy.
A variety of Kossacks have been kind enough to provide information about their degrees, its uses, time to completion, career options, and motivations for pursuing it. Hopefully this will be helpful to some of you out there!
LAW
A Juris Doctor (JD) -- noweasels
Law school empowers you to do justice. You may not get to do justice very often (unless you strike gold employment wise and get to work for a terrific non-profit that does public good), but, if you are lucky, you may get to participate in the doing of justice one or more times. And there is nothing -- nothing! -- like it.
Law school empowers you, period. It teaches you how to argue cogently. Name-calling, etc. will not get you far (well, not farther than lock-up for contempt of court) in any decent court of law -- facts, well thought out arguments and the persuasive use of bon mots certainly will. Besides, when you've got good facts and good law and a great argument all prepared, making your case before a smart judge can be wonderful. And when one or more of these elements is missing -- but the case you have renders the argument still worth making -- you will grasp the twin virtues of humility and doing good for its own sake. And sometimes you'll win anyway, or make new precedent, both of which are also very good things.
You should not go to law school with the idea that practicing law will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams. For one thing, although many law jobs do provide a nice income, very, very few have the possible upside financially associated with business and other callings. For another, I've never met a lawyer who ONLY wanted to make a lot of money -- and who actually did so. Lawyers who do end up making a pile of money practicing law (an example would be John Edwards) generally do so as a consequence of being truly passionate about a particular area of the law and incredibly hard working. I've never met one who looked at the money first -- or even second or third.
You should not go to law school because you cannot think of anything else to do. FLEE immediately. Law school is a royal pain in the ass. It also involves a ton of work. I mean a TON of work (consider that you will likely be studying at least 8 hours every day on top of actual time in class . . . that is, EVERY DAY) -- it's not necessarily intellectually challenging work (although some of it is). You will be reading hundreds of pages of stuff every single day. Read that sentence again and consider it. You will called upon to train your brain to think differently -- and believe me, once it's trained that way, you can never go back to thinking like a regular human being. You will be called upon to write in new ways, some of which are mighty peculiar. And, finally, you will be required to think on your feet and respond to inane questions from professors and learn the correct methods of citing to cases, Congressional documents, treaties and the like (which, believe me, is NOT interesting) and, worst of all, memorize inordinate numbers of dumb facts for the sole purpose of spewing them back on the Bar Exam, which, I believe, was invented by the devil when he was hungover. But I digress.
Also: law school is three years out of your life and very expensive.
If you are considering going to law school, you should plan to take a review course in preparation for the LSAT about a year before you plan to be turning in your applications. I may draw disagreement here, but I would strongly encourage the review class. The LSAT is not incredibly difficult, but it's a whole lot EASIER if you know ahead of time what it will be like and have practiced (the point of the review class). Imagine being thrown into a bridge tournament or a professional football game or a polo match with no idea of the rules of the game. The review class teaches the rules and will likely add some points to your score, which will broaden the range of choices you have when you are applying to law school.
As for the applications themselves: Do not under any circumstances follow the noweasels-procrastination route with regard to those applications, either. Nosir. Do not wait until New Year's Eve to do all of them and send them off Fed Ex. Having pulled this stunt, I was lucky to have gotten in any where and I was told that I likely WOULD have gotten into my first choice school had I gotten my act together. I actually did well and got a great first job and good start where I went, but who knows? Just do not do this.
MEDICAL
An MD -- DallasDoc
My application process took place longer ago than I can safely recall, but I'll tell you what I remember. I seem to remember MCAT's being taken in late spring before senior year in college, which allows a re-do if you don't score as well as you'd like. Applications are done first half of senior year, with interviews consuming winter and spring of senior year. Don't quote me on this, though, since I graduated from college 30 years ago. A few med schools have offered combined programs, blending college and the first two years of med school into a six year total program, but I can't tell you if any still do.
I took three years off, having missed out on admission my first time round in school. The class I joined, at UC Davis, had the oldest average age in the country, so we had a lot of folks who had done other things after school (I did scientific research for those three years, putting my Biochem degree to use.) Having gone that route I highly recommend it. It gives you a chance to get out of school and experience the real world, which is a great help in empathizing with patients and adding perspective during the travails of a medical education. I was a student rep on the admissions committee at my med school, and people who had had backgrounds beyond college almost invariably brought more to their medical education than those who applied straight from school.
The usual course of med school is four years, the first two primarily course work and the last two clinical instruction. Year three is a standard rotation through the main areas of medicine: surgery, pediatrics, OB/GYN, psychiatry and internal medicine. Year four is mainly elective, allowing students to pursue specialty interests. Most travel to other locations where they are interested in pursuing residencies. Residency applications take place early senior year, and interviews occur in fall and winter. In spring there is "the match," a nationwide selection where residency programs and students submit their ranked preferences and computers sort it all out. That tells senior med students where the next phase of their lives and careers will happen. High anxiety time, with tears of joy and disappointment.
Residency is the next phase of training, where you're actually a doctor but are treated like an indentured servant. I worked 70-100 hours a week, though things have gotten a little better since the Dark Ages. Internship is the first year, probably the worst, when you work the hardest and have the most to learn. In subsequent years you acquire greater responsibilities and teaching duties. Residencies generally run between three years (most primary care) and seven (some surgical specialties). Following residency is a fellowship for those who want to subspecialize, though surgical specialties usually combine the additional training into the residency. Fellowships are usually two or three years.
Since medical training takes seven to eleven years, and you have little opportunity for a life, I again recommend people considering medical school take a break. Get out in the world, work some, have fun and maybe find somebody to love. Relationships with a medical student or resident are extremely difficult, and marriages often don't survive. My relationship didn't. Medical training isn't just education, it makes you into a different person. It's the difference between a job and a profession. It takes a lot of dedication, and demands a lot of sacrifice. I wouldn't do it over again at this point in my life, but I can't imagine any other path for my life either.
NURSING
An MSN, info courtesy of the Nursing School Education Resource Center
A master's degree (Master of Science in Nursing, MSN) is an 18-24 month program that allows a nurse to specialize in a particular area - such as an area of advanced clinical training or research. Some students take on joint degrees in related fields like business administration, public health or hospital administration. Most people working towards an MSN already have a BSN, but there are accelerated programs for ADN nurses to earn a BSN and MSN in one shot, or for non-nursing college graduates. Typical requirements include a BSN from an accredited nursing school, an RN license, minimum GPA and GRE scores, and some period of clinical work experience. Each school has its specific requirements, so make sure to check with them before applying.
Direct entry MSN programs, also sometimes called "graduate entry" or "master's entry" programs, are designed for non-nurses who hold bachelors' degrees in non-nursing fields. These programs give students credit for having completed their liberal arts requirements and allow them to complete an abbreviated schedule of undergraduate nursing course work before moving directly into graduate nursing coursework -- combining preparation for RN-licensure with advanced training in a master's specialty area. Direct entry MSN programs typically require three years to complete, with the first year being devoted to entry-level nursing course work and the last two years to master's-level study.
BUSINESS
An MBA – cskendrick
The traditional path is to get a business undergrad degree, work at a bank for 1-2 years, then go to get the MBA. I was a Poli Sci undergrad, who found he liked having disposable income in grad school, managed to finish his MA in Political Science while starting up a career as a financial analyst for a mutual fund management group in Chapel Hill, NC, then worked for a gaming company in South Carolina, then went to business school.
Only it wasn’t a traditional program, either, but rather the MIBS (or Masters of International Business Studies) program at South Carolina, where I started in the summer to learn German, then packed three semesters of academic work into two, then went overseas to take a summer term at the University of Cologne, then went to worth for six months with Siemens in Munich, then returned to pack in the specialist work for an International Finance concentration. Whew. Yeah, I was tired too.
I spent a month prepping on a Barron's CD for the GMAT; I scored a 780 in the practice but a 720 in the real thing, high enough that I could pretty much go wherever I wanted so I did not bother taking it twice. I knew I wanted an international program; the only big-name school that interested me was Stanford but it did not have a very well-defined international speciality and no language training! That left either Thunderbird out in Arizona (at $14K a year) or the University of South Carolina (at about $2K a year). No problem. I went with the Gamecocks! I called their office, as it was kind of late in the cycle (I'm always planning way ahead!) and told them my specs. They said apply for one of our Fellowships! So I did, I got it, also got a gig as a Statistics TA for the regular MBA program. It was the only program to which I applied. Again I do not do things in orthodox fashion, so I am a poor case study. :)
To succeed in this field, you have to be good with numbers, with the written and spoken word, and with people. You have to be able to work hard, work alone and work with others. Incredible personal and time pressures are customary. No shortage of peer political intriques. My own program was by its nature very strongly oriented toward team building, which mitigated the excesses of competition seen at many B-schools, but there was still some nastiness. I did not have a tough skin going into B-school. That alone would have made my life a bit easer. Also, better time management skills. But, hey, whaddya gonna do? :)
The potential career options for this degree are any industry with a bunch of suits running things. :)
The conventional wisdom is that everyone who gets an MBA instantly makes a
mint of money. Yeah, right. What an MBA does is take away one common reason to answer "no" to a lot of questions -- to answer a phone call, to accept a resume, to take a meeting, to have an interview, to make an offer, to offer a competitive salary, a promotion, a change of career paths. It works best as leverage with some form of specialist training as, say, an actuarial designation, or strong IT skills, or a law degree. My own two-fer is an MBA in International Finance and an MA in International Politics, which has prepared me famously for a career as a DKOS blogger.
An MA in Management – silvercedes
I have a MA in Management from a private liberal arts college. The program was geared towards working professionals and I took classes in the evenings and weekends. Classes were done on a quarter system, and I took one class every quarter, there were one or two quarters I took one evening class and one weekend class depending on what was offered. It took me almost three years to complete the degree; I went year-round without a summer break. The two options for degree completion were either writing a Thesis, or writing a "Personal Philosophy of Management" portfolio which included your past employment and educational history, your career goals, how you expected to apply your MA degree to your career, both present and future, and how the MA program helped shape you as a manager (or future manager) while you were attending classes.
Because all of the students in the program were already in the workforce, we had a diversity of ages and career experience. Some of us came straight from earning our undergraduate degree, and others had been in the workforce for years. Most of the students in the program were either employed by government agencies or nonprofits, including myself. I learned so much from interacting with my peers since we all brought different career experiences and perspectives to the class lectures and discussions.
Many employers offer tuition assistance for their employees. I know most federal agencies have programs, and the two state agencies I've worked for have also had tuition assistance. You often have to agree to work there for several years after graduation, but it’s worth it for many people to avoid paying for it themselves.
Before you start a program like this you should expect to spend a lot of your time writing papers and you should be prepared for lots of group work. This program stressed teamwork and group collaboration. I spent roughly 10-15 hours outside the classroom a week either in the library or meeting with my team members working on our projects and presentations for class. Before starting this program, I wished I had known how much the course grades would depend on group work. Like any group project, some team members work more than others, and it was hard to depend on certain team members.
Career options for this degree seem to be infinite. Most of my peers used their degree to advance in their current organization. Others used it to change careers (we had a respiratory therapist in the program who wanted to get into healthcare management at the hospital he worked at). This type of degree and program is great for those of us with family obligations, careers already underway and those of us who can't afford the time or money to go to graduate school full-time in a traditional academic setting. I was able to get through the program without needing financial aid; the college had set up payment plans for students where we could pay throughout the quarter for the class we were taking. I think every two weeks after I got my paycheck, I went to the registrar's office and paid a little bit for the class I was taking that quarter.
MA/MS
An MA in the Humanities – kath25
Most people pursue an MA in the Humanities (English, Art History, Philosophy, Area Studies/Language, Comparative Literature, Classics, etc.) in order to help them get into a PhD program, or determine if academia is right for them at all. Others do it thinking it will give them a leg-up on the job market. Well, a heavily academic MA probably won’t help you get a better job – you’re better off saving your money and doing something to get more practical experience (volunteering, interning). Seriously, an MA in English isn’t going to make you more attractive to a publishing company, whereas an internship there will. That being said, if you think your undergrad degree does not reflect your intellectual capacity, an MA from a good school might go a long way to impressing employers. If you think you want an MA that will help you get a job, talk to people in your field to find out what they have, and pursue similar options.
If you want to study a language or a culture with the hope of working for the State Department or a Non-Profit, an MA may be the best thing for you. Look for schools that are affiliated with the State Dept. such as the "Flagship" schools – they have the most resources and capabilities of getting you a great job. And no, working for the State Dept. doesn’t make you a Bush stoolie. Rather, you get to study the language and culture of a region or group of people, and help make informed policy decisions. Just think, a few more people with MA’s in Middle Eastern Studies might have been able to teach Bush the difference between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. (My 8th grade history class knew that too, but I digress...)
An MA usually takes 1-3 years depending on your field. You will do a research project and/or write a thesis that will demonstrate your ability to contribute to your field. Find an advisor who can help you do the best possible work. Your final result should be worthy of being published. That’s the goal, and it’s not unreachable, if you work hard and develop a good relationship with your advisor.
Before starting my MA, I wish I’d known to look for the program with the best record of placing graduates into PhD programs. Research the various programs in your field, and talk to people there about placement rates. Ask about professional development for whatever you want to do. Do they teach you how to go to conferences or submit articles for publication? Do they have the inside scoop on job placements or internships? What kind of special bonuses are unique to the program, and will they help you? Go to the program that is the most serious about producing graduates who do exactly what you want to do. A lot of the people in my program were little more than dilettantes who loved to read or look at paintings for a year. Lucky for them, their parents paid for it. Me, I wanted to become a professor and took out a lot of loans, and in a lot of ways I got short-changed in terms of professional development in my MA program.
An MA in Hard Science – Light Emitting Pickle
At some schools, you can obtain an MS with an extra year of study. These are fairly specialized. Typically, one enters an MS program and completes some coursework and then some labwork, writes a thesis and defends the thesis (not all schools have students defend an MS thesis). This takes about 2-3 years.
What should someone know before they start? (BTW - This applies to PhD students, too.) Ask a lot of questions when picking a research supervisor. What is expected of you? What does it take to get a degree? What type of research are you interested in? Do you want knowledge, practical skills or both? What kind of supervisor can you work with? Personally, I think the science trumps all decisions. If you're interested in the science, you'll be motivated even if other aspects are unbearable. If you aren't motivated, you're honestly wasting time and resources (yours and others). That said, not everyone is me. So, some people pick a research group based on expectations (number of hours per week expected, amount of oversight, how much time you can take off), others based on how well-known the supervisor is (but again, you have to enjoy the research - besides, YOU could make a newer faculty member famous - that will get you much farther than being a cog in a well-oiled wheel, but is the riskier path).
In the sciences, there are TONS of jobs in industry. Some colleges and universities will hire MS scientists to teach, although typically, a PhD is required. If you don't want an academic research career and aren't interested in management, you probably don't need a PhD. Not everyone wants to be the boss. If this is you - consider getting a Master's degree. You'll get paid more than someone with only a BS and you'll
have better career prospects. But, you won't have the responsibility of someone with a PhD.
PhD
A PhD in Psychometrics – plf515
(plf515 has also written an excellent diary called How to Get a PhD. It’s a must-read for anyone thinking down that line.)
The average age of PhD students is impossible to say... Taking an average is silly, it's like the average height of Switzerland - it tells you nothing. Some people get their PhDs at 25, others at 45 or older. Potential careers in psychometrics include working for a testing agency, a pollster, a statistician in a variety of fields, or teaching. Why get this degree? First, there is a lot to learn about testing, survey design, statistics, reliabilty, validity and so on. Second, in most areas, a PhD is an entrance requirement.
A PhD in the Hard Sciences – Light Emitting Pickle
In my experience, most people go to grad school directly from college, but others work for a few years before starting. This is most likely field-dependent. Same for duration. I think five years is about average for a PhD.
There are many things I would have liked to have known before starting. What is good for one person is not necessarily good for you. I've found that scientists can be remarkably unscientific about certain issues, and can be frustratingly singular in their opinions. Everyone is different and everyone should find their own path. Even scientists, who are trained to be skeptics, can engage in group-think.
- On a related note, your labmate may work 100 hours a week or 40 hours a week. Neither is a good strategy for long-term success.
- Five years is REALLY NOT a long period of time, in the grand scheme of things.
- Just because someone says something doesn't make it true. I had several people say things to me that I believed just because they were older/more experienced.
Don't quit if you have doubts. Wait at least a year before making that decision. Grad school is an investment. Putting up with some crap may or may not be worth it. In my case, it was well worth it. Everyone is stressed out by grad school and everyone has second thoughts. I thought I was the only one. I thought that meant that I wasn't cut out for grad school. Until I found out that (1) others were also stressed and (2) the ones who were loudest about saying that anyone with second thoughts about grad school were losers were the ones who had been looking for jobs prematurely. I also would have liked to have had a better understanding of my field of interest. I was blown away by how much others in my entering class knew about our field. That said, being an underdog was really motivating.
In my field, there are careers in academia, industry and the government. There are plenty of non-science jobs available for someone with critical analytical abilities (e.g., consulting), as well as general expertise (e.g., winemaking). I've known a few who've pursued journalism and/or science writing. In addition, I've known quite a few people who've pursued a law degree after obtaining their PhD. A science background can't hurt.
There are a lot of jobs for people with a BS or MS degree. These positions pay well, but have limited upward mobility. I knew I would never be happy in a position with a ceiling, and I was also interested in pursuing an academic career, for which a PhD is essential. But, everyone has different career goals and strengths. Sometimes there is pressure for someone to obtain a PhD, but that person would be happier in a position appropriate for a BS- or MS-level scientist. So, I think it's really important for each person to figure out what makes sense for him/herself.
A PhD in History – eugene
The traditional path is that one enters a PhD program with their B.A. in hand. They spend a couple years doing coursework and get an M.A. degree. For some this is just a waystation on a longer journey. For others it is a chance to take stock of where they are at and possibly change schools (more below). After the M.A. more coursework is done, and then you take your field exams. Once you pass your exams you begin researching and writing the dissertation. Depending on your research - especially where it is (at your school? in the US? Europe?) the research part alone can take 2 years. Then you write the diss. The last stats give an average of 10 years to completion.
However, this seems a bit long. In my department the average is closer to 8 years. I anticipate being done after 7 years (I am just finishing my 6th year). The usual breakdown: 2 years to M.A., 2 years to PhD field exams, 2-3 years to research and write the dissertation. This assumes, of course, you don't have to take time out to have a family, that you don't need to go on leave to find a job to support yourself, that you and your advisor get along, that your research goes well, etc. Although there has been some welcome improvements in tenured faculty attitudes towards grad students who take time out to finish their degree, there remains very strong pressure on grad students to finish quickly, and prejudices against people who take a long time to finish are still there - prejudices that hit women the hardest.
People should know the realities of the field. History is a wonderful discipline but jobs are by no means plentiful. Read a year's worth of issues of AHA Perspectives, the magazine of our professional organization, to see the latest stats and trends on PhDs and available jobs. For some jobs in US History 200-300 people apply for ONE open position. More and more PhDs are being shunted off into adjunct hell, where they are hired on as full-time lecturers for various contract lengths but lack tenure protection, full inclusion in the department's governance and community, and wage equity. You may be a great historian, but you have as much chance of falling into this trap as a Berkeley PhD. Be aware of this before you start down the long road.
You need to have a solid financial plan. Not just funding offers from a graduate school, but some money saved up for unanticipated personal or professional costs. I would strongly recommend against going into grad school if you are single - having a partner who brings home the bacon helps out a LOT with basic finances.
You should also know something of the field. One thing I have seen colleagues do that has been of great benefit to them is attend one school for their M.A. and then go somewhere else for the PhD. While working on their MA degree they get to know their field, learn about how to be a historian, who the leading researchers are, as well as develop their own sense of purpose and academic interests. This can also be a good way to "shop around" for a better financial deal if you didn't get funding for your MA degree.
Ultimately, anyone who goes to grad school without a full financial package - NOT including loans - who is not independently wealthy is insane. If you must take out loans to do grad school, DO NOT DO IT. Walk away and find something else to do. It is not worth going into debt for. There are no guarantees you will be able to find a good job at a good wage after your PhD to pay back the loans.
Nearly 85% of history PhDs go into academia, almost always as professors. There are other options out there, in what we call "public history" - a broad category that ranges from running an oral history institute to working at a local history museum to working for the federal government. If you are interested in that kind of work, though, you need to make that a part of your graduate training - it's not something you can simply fall back on after a couple bad years on the job market. Some History PhDs wind up working for an academic press, but that too usually assumes you've had some preparation while a student.
Someone should get this degree because they love history so damn much that they are willing to give up nearly a decade of their lives - and hundreds of thousands in lost wages - to get an advanced degree. You do not pursue a history PhD out of a desire to improve your earning power or a desire to become the richest person on your block. You do it because that's what you do best, you love history and think the best thing you can do with your life is research it and teach it for a living - and because your love of it is more important than financial prosperity.
MFA
To Get an MFA or Not? Selections from UPenn’s Career Services Website
"An MFA will not, by itself, get you anywhere closer to a teaching job: possibly, it might allow you to make contacts that could help with getting published, but that’s something of a long shot. Getting an MFA can be valuable if it enables you to take your writing seriously and meet a cohort of other writers who will stimulate you. A good MFA program can be stimulating and informative; but there are a lot of mediocre ones. While reading is crucial, just reading as a solitary attempt to accumulate enough of the right knowledge seems the long way around the block. Work & life experience is the bedrock. I don’t think it’s a good idea for someone to go into an MFA program right out of college."
The right MFA program can develop confidence, discipline, and accelerate exposure to and development of technical resources, and help form or expand a community of peers. The wrong one can leave you drained, humiliated, depressed, and in debt. It really depends on what the individual writer needs most at that time in their development. Network connections can be a real benefit, depending on the goals the writer aspires to (publishing, teaching, forming "schools," etc. The best time to get an MFA is when the writer is ready for / needs that kind of learning. Depends on the individual."
"Students considering MFA programs as a means toward a teaching career should also be aware that there’s a glut of MFA graduates out there slogging away as adjuncts. An MFA gives you time to read and write and, as many people working full-time jobs know, such time is precious. Sure: work, life experience, and reading will only improve your writing, but nothing beats two years exclusively dedicated to writing pursuits."
"I think the greatest benefit is acquiring a number of experienced critical voices that remain available in your head, so that you develop (both with and against the voices) a keener ability to edit your own work. This can be augmented by friendships with fellow students that sometimes remain trusted readers over the years. Next comes the confidence born of being taken seriously by writers you admire – much as with scholars in a Ph.D. program. No less important is the simple discipline of having to produce a lot of work – especially if you are not in a residential program, it forces you to find a way to work regular writing habits into an already overbooked life. Finally, if you have good teachers and fellow students, there’s essential training and practice in analyzing how good writing achieves its effects."
UPDATE!! decembersue has a great point re: non-residential MFA programs, and a helpful link:
The Creative Writing MFA Handbook
INFO/LIBRARY SCIENCE
An MLS/MIS Degree -- wikipedia
Library science, not to be confused with librarianship (non-science), is an interdisciplinary science incorporating the humanities, law and applied science to study topics related to libraries, the collection, organization and dissemination of information resources, and the political economy of information. Historically, library science has also included Archival science. This includes how information resources are organized to serve the needs of select user groups, how people interact with classification systems and technology, how information is acquired, evaluated and applied by people in and outside of libraries as well as cross-culturally, how people are trained and educated for careers in libraries, the ethics that guide library service and organization, the legal status of libraries and information resources, and the applied science of computer technology used in documentation and records management. Academic courses in library science typically include Collection management, Information Systems and Technology, Cataloging and classification, Reference, Statistics and Management. Library science is constantly evolving, incorporating new topics like Database Management, Information Architecture and Knowledge Management, for example.
(Ed. Note – a library science degree is great if you love your field and love to read but don’t want to be a Professor. You get to stay up on the latest research, publications and periodicals, and help students and professors do their research. The field has been merged with Information Sciences, such that most of the training now can consist of internet- and technology-related coursework. You can also specialize in media use, teaching kids to use computers, or something similar.)
EDUCATION
An MA in Education – mkkendrick
I have a Masters of Arts in Teaching Degree. There is no traditional path to this degree. When I was in the program in 1991, the only thing we all had in common was that we had bachelor's degrees and we wanted to teach. Some of my fellow students were straight out of college, but most of them had been out of undergrad a few years, unsure of what career path to take, and had then decided to pursue teaching as a career. My fellow students ranged in age from 22-50. Some had already had careers in business, tutoring, science, etc. One of my fellow students had even been a merchant marine.
My MAT program was a 12-month program. In that 12 months I did all the course work I needed to become certified, some more course work in my field of study (English), and my student teaching. Before I started, I wish I'd known more about the practical part of the program--the student teaching. I would've picked a program with a more involved, less-rushed form of teacher practice.
The purpose of the program is to prepare you to be a classroom teacher. You can go on to get a PhD in education if you choose. The MA will get you certified to teach quickly, and will let you start earning the master's degree pay level immediately (a big boost as a teacher).
GOV’T/POLICY/INT’L AFFAIRS
Masters in Public Policy/Administration – wikipedia
The Master of Public Policy (M.P.P.), one of several public policy degrees, is a master's level professional degree that provides training in policy analysis and program evaluation at public policy schools. Over time, the curriculum of Master of Public Policy and the Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) degrees have blended and converged, due to the realization that policy analysis and program evaluation could benefit from an understanding of public administration, and vice versa. Today, the core course offerings of many M.P.A. and M.P.P. programs are similar, with M.P.A. programs providing training in policy analysis, and M.P.P. programs providing coursework in program implementation. However, MPP programs still place more emphasis in policy analysis, research and evaluation, while MPA programs place more emphasis on operationalization of public policies and the design of effective programs and projects to achieve public policy goals. Some universities have begun offering a combined M.P.P.A. degree, Master of Public Policy and Administration.
Masters in International Affairs – wikipedia
The Master of International Affairs is a Professional Master's degree. Through study of the diverse forces that have shaped modern institutions and the ways in which diverse forces project themselves into the international sphere, the Master of International Affairs degree attempts to equip recipients to function effectively in a world of change.
UPDATE!! Note from Pav's friend (hi, friend!):
"There are really two types of MAs in IR. The quant-heavy ones and the quant-light ones. The quant-heavy MAs in IR place people in jobs at incredibly high rates. The rest? Not so much. It's important to understand that quantitative skills are more marketable to a broader range of organizations and employers."
(Ed. Note – It can be really, really hard to get a job with these degrees if you are picky about what you want to do, i.e. both Do Good and Make Money. Many friends with these degrees are still looking for work, 2+ years out from graduation.)
Most of our esteemed advice-givers from these various fields will be here tonight to answer some of your questions. So, let’s get talking!
And if you’re still confused, try this funny quiz! It will solve all of your grad-school problems for you, I swear.
Morning-After Update: Three comments that cover stuff not covered in here:
How to become qualified to teach online courses by Sharon Jumper
The benefits of online programs by 2pt5cats
A timeline for teachers from algebrateacher