The following is an actual discussion my brain and I had the other night:
Brain: What do you think you are doing?
Me: It’s called Calculus, and I was hoping we could do it together…
Brain: We had deal: I function normally; you don’t push me past 9pm.
Me: That was college; we can’t get started on homework until much later now!
Brain: Keep pushing me and I guarantee I will have you humming ‘The Office’ theme song for the next 3 days straight.
Me: No! We have a test coming up in fracture mechanics!
Brain: Whatever, I’m going to bed. Have fun staring at your paper.
A month or so before I graduated undergrad, the Dean of the college of engineering sat us all down and explained our options for attending grad school:
- Immediately after graduating, being a full time student for another few years
- During our professional career, take classes part time (On the company dime)
- Taking a break from our careers and becoming once again a full time student
Its 10:30 PM, Do I Know Where My Brain Is?
Tired of money only flowing out of my bank account I decided to enter industry and let my employer pay for my schooling, which brings me to the present: I’m working 50 hours a week and taking 6 credit hours.
The advantage of this situation is obvious on paper: my company pays me back for every class that I take (and pass) and when I’m done, they have agreed to offer me a healthy bonus and a raise.
The down side of course is that for the past year and half I’ve found myself stretched quite thin and severely cranially abused.
Obviously I’ve taken option 2, so what about options 1 & 3?
Option 1: Jobs? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Jobs!
A few months after starting my professional career, another new engineer was hired. Unlike me, this engineer decided to forgo the rigors of holding down a job and went after his Master’s degree immediately after graduation. Anytime I grouse about an assignment or fret over an upcoming test, he has a satisfied smile since he knows his education days are over.
On the flip side he has approximately twice as much student debt as I do, and only makes about 10% more than me. Ha! Not to mention living the life of a graduate student was not exactly easy with a wife and a child on the way. It also didn’t prepare him to enter the work place nearly as much as he thought it would and he’s undergoing quite a bit of culture shock.
Option 3: Back in the Saddle Again
Recently, a good friend of mine decided to leave his position doing NDT work and return to the hallowed halls of academia. While he has been enjoying himself so far, it’s been quite a shock to become a full time student again. Not only has the environment changed, but he is being forced to recall study skills and a lot of technical information that was lost while working a niche job.
The advantage, though, is that he’s seen the world outside of school and has been able integrate experience many grad students lack while being able to temper academic exuberance with real world facts and expectations.
I’ve also been musing about the differences between academia and industry, but I’ll save that topic for a future. What I’d like to ask all of you is: what route to a graduate degree will you / did you take? Did you plow your way through right after undergraduate school? Did you wait a few years before going back? Or are you somewhere in the middle trying to reconcile both work and school?
I’d love to hear from all of you and hear what your thoughts are on this.
