Confused about Grad School

[jax]

I just turned 26 years old and I'm struggling with the idea of going to grad school. I know I want a higher education than a Bachelor's Degree but I just can't decide what to get a degree in. For a while I was thinking Law School then an MBA and now I just don't know. My undergraduate degree is in Public Relations but I know for a fact I don't want to go to grad school for that. Can anyone sympathize or advise?

[marigoldny]

I just turned 26 years old and I'm struggling with the idea of going to grad school. I know I want a higher education than a Bachelor's Degree but I just can't decide what to get a degree in. For a while I was thinking Law School then an MBA and now I just don't know. My undergraduate degree is in Public Relations but I know for a fact I don't want to go to grad school for that. Can anyone sympathize or advise?

I knew what I've wanted to do for a living for awhile but to get to that point during undergrad I spent a lot of time at Borders (or whatever local bookstore you may have). Pathetic as it may sound, I spent many nights just reading the career books they had (and they have a ton of them!). There are specific career type books like social services, law, medical and also more general ones that help you formulate ideas of what you may be interested/good at. I suggest taking some time out and reading up on various careers. Take a few books at a time, grab a coffee, and relax in the cafe area while reading up on potential careers. Hope this helps!

P.S. If you have specific interests in the helping field ie. social work, psychology, therapy let me know :)

[fuzmiq]

Jax, I hear ya. I am going through the exact same situation right now.

[swordfish77]

The truth is that you need to figure out what kind of job you want. Then the answer is simple. Do you want to be a lawyer? Go to law school! Do you want to be a businessman? Go to business school!

However, I suspect that your suggestion to go to grad school in all these different fields is motivated by a desire to be a kid again. You need to grow up and pick a life path. Jacking around in grad school is not that fun. Take it from a former grad student.

[fuzmiq]

The truth is that you need to figure out what kind of job you want. Then the answer is simple. Do you want to be a lawyer? Go to law school! Do you want to be a businessman? Go to business school!

However, I suspect that your suggestion to go to grad school in all these different fields is motivated by a desire to be a kid again. You need to grow up and pick a life path. Jacking around in grad school is not that fun. Take it from a former grad student.

I think that is why the OP is weighing his/her options, because they are trying to be mature about it. Maybe they neither want to be a businessman or a lawyer...then what. Life is not always as simple as, "Well, just do it!" If it were, there would be no such thing as a quarterlife crisis and life would just work itself out. I applaud the OP for atleast thinking about it for a while before making a choice that he/she would regret later.

[dacrunkest]

I, too am looking at the prospect of grad school in two or three years. I would like to specialize in a form of insurance where I can help people. I think agricultural/crop insurance is interesting, and Kansas City area is a big center for it (lots of farmers in surrounding states). It would be neat to work for the federal crop insurance program or some state agency helping farmers and advise them on the federal crop insurance program and private insurance for crops, etc.

Since I am looking into this, I have been toying with the idea of going for K-State's master of agribusiness/agricultural economics. They offer it completely online, which is nice. And, it can be taylored around my work schedule. I do want to wait, though...because some other career opportunities may be opening up that may be just as interesting to me, so...before spending the $20k, I would like to make sure.

How sure was anyone who applied for graduate school that this was the program they wanted?

[arrow]

That's a good question, dacrunkest.

I was pretty damn sure at first but I've waffled since starting. At the time I applied, the thought of getting into higher education as a career really appealed to me. I was very interested in the subject matter (media theory) and I'd always wanted to get my masters. I'd taken the GRE 2 or 3 years earlier. But honestly at that point in my life I needed to make a decision about how to move forward instead of floating about temping and freelancing. I know people say that you shouldn't get a masters if you are doing it to escape the real world, but I honestly believed that I was doing it for all the right reasons. I still would like to teach some classes, even if I don't make it my whole career.

Then I got my job (in media), which was super convenient because I could go to school and work at the same time. I had to turn down a full ride/ assistantship, which hurt, and then I had to make a decision between a prestigious private school and a well-respected but much cheaper public school. I chose the public one, and am very glad about the low cost considering that I've been waffling about my grad school decisions since I started. My company reimburses my half my costs and I had a scholarship for my first year (may get another one for '07-'08 if I'm lucky), so I'll probably spend around $2500-$3500 for the whole Masters. If I was paying a lot more and working at the same time, I'd probably have dropped it.

[kurtfb7199]

hey i can totally identify with you, I just turned 27 I earned a BA in Sociology/Criminology in 2004 and have been working as a Youth Counselor since pretty much 2001. I recently switched and work with the state as a youth counselor, I am so burnt out and frustrated with where I am in my life. My options right now are to wait out and keep working at this job I hate and hopefully become a probation officer which is something I "think" I want to do but after 8 interviews I havent been successful at getting a position. So I've been thinking for awhile about going to grad school and I applied for this fall, for a masters in K-12 Guidance counselor. With my experience working with troubled kids I think this is a great fit but I'm waiting to hear back form the school. On the same token I have a great g/f who is 24 and has a year left in getting her masters of social work and I envy her. But I also feel like I need to get my act together I am no longer 18 years old and I need to choose a path I hope the one I am choosing works for me. I know my g/f wants me to figure it out and I do too but its so hard hopefully this summer brings me good fortune and insight. thanks for listening.

[cheshrcarol]

How sure was anyone who applied for graduate school that this was the program they wanted?
When I found my program I realized it was exactly what I want to do. I'm able to use my existing skills (communication, tech savvy) but still change fields and do something completely different.

Before I found it I kept think about a bunch of different things - mba, mpa or master's in health administration. I couldn't decide between them because nothing really interested me that much, I just wanted a way in to a better career.

I'm really happy I didn't go with any of those other options.

[capella]

It took me three years and a lot of bouncing around different ideas before I finally settled on something. I have an interview tomorrow that is so very close to what I'm getting my master's in so I hope *crosses fingers* that I get it and then get to finish my degree. It takes time to find the right thing and I felt like once I found the right one it just clicked and I wasn't waffling on it anymore. I did a lot of soul searching to find the right path. I agree with Carol. That is exactly right on the money. It just takes some time, some research and a lot of preparing for the right opportunity. Good luck!

[CTGirl]

I knew exactly what I wanted when I went to grad school, but there were a lot of people in my grad program who should not have been there because that was clearly not what they wanted. A lot of people in my program took time in between undergrad and grad to work in the field and make sure that's what they wanted to be doing before coming into the program, so they knew for sure that they liked the sort of jobs they'd be getting when they were done.