I hate Graduate school!

[freemarzo]

Right now I'm in graduate school studying something really boring. Its in a field that I'm in right now, that I'm not even sure I want to stay in right now. I am in my first semester and my job is paying for everything. My question is is graduate school usually less interesting than undergrad or is it uninteresting in general? I am going wondering if I should just stick it out or bail after this first semester is over. I find the course work to be difficult and very dull. Yet at the same time, this is a very good degree to have and if I do stay in my current field it will help me out a lot. I am so confused about what to do.

[Kitty]

What is the degree?

[yankeeyosh]

Well, grad school can be rather boring if you are not 100% into the material. There is a lot more to cover, a lot more work, and it's generally at a higher level. So if you lose interest, it may not be the most exciting of times. The problem is that a lot of people feel that grad school is a means to an end, and that is unfortunate...it should only be done, whether if it's for a Ph. D., a J. D., an M. S. or an MBA, only if you have a strong interest in the subject matter.

[freemarzo]

M.S. in Statistics

[yankeeyosh]

M.S. in Statistics

Damn, that's up my alley.

[Winter Storm]

I'm in my very last semester of grad school and I am bored out of my mind with it. My class is Ethics in Global Communications and its all about ethics and I could not care less.

Like Yank said its more interesting when you are taking classes that are closely related to your major. Mine is marketing management and while I loved the marketing classes, the management ones are dull and boring.

With statistics, don't know what to tell you.

I should be reading right now, but....... :rolleyes:

[yankeeyosh]

Yeah, maybe it's the coursework. Some people are focused on a certain subfield, and anything else might seem "boring" and "uninteresting". Are you interested in applied stats? Theoretical stats? Maybe you want to switch over to pure math? Look into probability and combinatorics?

[gradgirl]

Hey, I'm in my second year of a PhD program in clinical psych...although I love some aspects, I usually have one class a semester that's sooooo boring! I think that if there are parts of grad school that you really like and maybe even get excited about, that makes the boring stuff worthwhile. But I don't see how I'd be able to get through grad school if I wasn't excited about what I'm learning...is it possible for you to start a new project (or get involved in one that's already started) that you actually find interesting?

[Winter Storm]

Are you interested in applied stats? Theoretical stats? Maybe you want to switch over to pure math? Look into probability and combinatorics?

OMG! AAAUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! :eek:

[freemarzo]

I really don't like any of my classes I'm taking. I kinda want to end the program after this semester, but I'm wondering if any of the classes will become more interesting as I go through the program. I'm also wondering if my quitting this program will affect my getting into another graduate program in the future? Its also difficult balancing grad school with work, so my motiviation is lacking.

[yankeeyosh]

I really don't like any of my classes I'm taking. I kinda want to end the program after this semester, but I'm wondering if any of the classes will become more interesting as I go through the program. I'm also wondering if my quitting this program will affect my getting into another graduate program in the future? Its also difficult balancing grad school with work, so my motiviation is lacking.

Ahhhh, that's key. If you're working F/T while going to grad school, you might not have the motivation to go to class.

Do you have to write a thesis? Maybe that will be more interesting.

[ywt]

I'm in the same boat, working a full schedule and having my organization pay for grad school at night. I've been doing it for 2.5 years and finish in May. The time management is doubly hard than it was in undergrad because I find with the full-time work schedule, there are naturally fewer hours to get all the classwork done.

My masters will be in software engineering, and I've found that all the programming related classes are really fun, interesting, enjoyable, etc. But there is a management segment to the program, and I find those classes to be boring beyond words. I couldn't even manage to motivate myself to do the reading in my last management class and ended up barely squeezing by as a result.

[MollyMe]

I love my engineering courses, but my management/business courses are so boring.
They are harder too. I'd rather learn how to solve an integer programming problem then learn a Porter theory.

[CityGal]

Working full time and going to grad school is really tough--well can't speak from personal experience but from seeing others go through it. When I was in undergrad I had two part time jobs, I was the RA (which is like a third part time), and I went to school full time. Time management should be one of your key priorities. As for the boring classes, are they required or electives? Can you switch them?

[littledancerus]

I'm starting to find grad school boring also. I'm about halfway done with my MPA. I had this problem in undergrad too. I got my BS in Legal Studies & while I was sooo excited about it at the begining, by the end I was just sick of it. So then I desided to go to grad school for something that now interested me since all things legal made me want to hurl. My MPA classes were fun & interesting for a while but now I'm just sick of it. I think maybe it's partly because you learn many of the same things over & over again. Right now I'm in an employment law class that is required for my MPA. I've taken very simmilar classes to this one twice already! Pretty much the exact same thing in undergrad & something simmilar in grad. I just get to a point where it's not as interesting anymore & I want to do something else.

[RaeRae]

I'm in the same boat as you - I'm in the middle of my first semster in my master's program, and I can't stand it. It's a 1 1/2 year program, but I'm busting my ass to get done in a year, and I WILL do it because I just can't stand this. The only difference is I'm a full time student on a full assistantship, so I don't have the extra pressure of a full time job (my assistantship is such a joke, I don't do anything). I just don't care that much about the material, and I view this as nothing more than a means to an end, which is not the way people should look at grad school, but hey, it is.

I feel your pain... don't bail though, it'll be worth it in the end, even if in the mean time it just plain sucks.

[dollface]

I'm sick of grad school now myself.

I like what I'm studying, but there is simply too much work, too many papers, always something that has to be done. It's frustrating and lonely sometimes.

[victoria.o]

Do you feel the need to not only achieve, but achieve by this pre-set schedule you've made for yourself, where you have to accomplish certain goals by a certain age? That's my problem. I'm 23, just graduated from the university, and taking a year off before going to graduate school. The only problem is, I feel like I'm already "behind" (I graduated in 5 years, not 4), and I'm taking this year off, and I really wish I'd just had my crap together and planned things accordingly so I didn't feel like I'm "wasting time." Now, I've always kind of wanted to do the Peace Corps--I wish I'd graduated in the four years and done the Peace Corps upon graduation. I feel like the Peace Corps would be such an excellent experience, especially given the area I want to go into (get an masters in public administration or public policy and focus on economic and political development), but I can't help feeling like I should just go to apply and go to grad school next fall to "stay on track." It's insane this ambivalence. I totally realize that doing the Peace Corps would be good work, personal and life experience, but on the other hand, I totally feel like it takes too much time, I should just go to grad school instead of increasing this gap year to three years and just do it -- all so I can just finish my grad school (hopefully ultimately get a phd) by the time I'm 30, so I can start having kids and have a family, etc. This is insane. How do I deal with these feelings? How do I reconcile all this and alleviate this time pressure? I think I need a shrink. Help!?!