Posted by Jen Zeman on April 16th, 2009
In the fall of 2008 I considered, and was ready to begin, a graduate degree online with the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. The master’s program was in Liberal Studies and at the time I felt this was the direction I needed to go in. I felt I had completed enough research to know whether graduate school was the right choice and that Liberal Studies was the program for me. As soon as classes started, fear and loathing consumed me. I started questioning whether starting graduate school now was really right after all and suddenly I felt like I wouldn’t be able to handle it. Not a good way to start a semester – I was setting myself up for failure. After much consideration and discussion with my husband and with myself, I decided to drop the classes and withdraw completely.
In deciding to withdraw, I took a hard look at my reasons for beginning graduate school online. I hope the lessons I learned will be helpful to you when deciding to pursue a graduate degree:
- Carefully consider the reasons why you are doing it. A lot of career fields do not require a graduate degree. Do not feel pressured to obtain one just because others around you have one (i.e. do not think of it as a status symbol). If you feel pressure from others to obtain a graduate degree, you will be miserable in the process.
- Graduate school is expensive, even if your company offers some sort of tuition reimbursement. If a graduate degree isn’t necessary to get you where you want to be, think about whether the debt you will accumulate will be worth it in the end (i.e. will you recoup the money?).
- Graduate school consumes a lot of time. If you think earning your bachelor degree online was a lot of work, multiply the workload by at least two.
For me an online graduate degree is not completely out of the question. But when considering it next time around, I will spend no less than a year researching the right program; lining up adequate funding; and I will make sure I truly have the time it takes to make graduate school a rewarding experience and to make sure I do well at the same time.
Posted by Jen Zeman on September 21st, 2008
Graduate school seems like a logical progression once you achieve your undergraduate degree. However, the reality is graduate school does not have to be the next step in your life and you have to ask yourself honestly, “Is grad school right for me?”
I recently had to ask myself that very question and the truth, at first, seemed hard to bear. I’m currently in a career field where, realistically, a master’s degree is not required to achieve advancement to within a significant salary level. However, I felt that grad school was a logical progression and reasoned that I should have my master’s degree. My reasoning? I believed people looked upon those with a master’s degree more favorably based upon the rigor demanded by graduate school and that a master’s degree would automatically open more doors for me (whatever those doors may be). I decided that I really had no desire to earn a master’s degree in the business field (which my employer would pay for), but instead insisted that if I was going to complete a master’s program, it would be in a program that I would enjoy. So I applied and was accepted into the online liberal studies program at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. I reasoned with myself that if I handled taking three undergraduate courses a semester while working full-time, I could easily handle two grad courses a semester.
The day the fall semester began I reviewed and re-reviewed the syllabi for both classes. Suddenly, my heart was filled with fear versus enthusiasm. The reading alone for one of the courses would easily consume twenty hours a week. I realized I had taken on much more than I could possibly handle. This precipitated me to contemplate why I was even taking grad courses in the first place. Confusion set in and I agonized whether I should attempt the courses or drop them both. I’m not one to quit anything, so this decision left me anxious and depressed. I had several other important activities that I wanted to accomplish on my personal time and these classes would put these activities on hold indefinitely, which was something I really did not want to do.
After a good five-mile run (highly recommended for clearing the mind), I came home and wrote two lists: pros and cons of taking grad courses. The pros list had two items while the cons had approximately ten. I realized that a liberal arts master’s degree while interesting, would not guarantee me that my writing would improve or garner me any more opportunities than my bachelor’s degree and work experience combined. I also realized based on these two facts that it wasn’t worth accumulating an additional $25,000.00 in debt for school loans. My husband is also taking classes, so with me in school as well we really would have no time for one another, which was not acceptable to me. I decided right then to drop both classes and put grad school on the backburner. It wasn’t easy, but I knew in my heart it was the best choice for me and for those close to me. I was relieved instantly.
If you are asking yourself whether grad school is right for you, consider these questions first:
- Does my career field require an advanced degree? Be honest with yourself here.
- Do I have the time to commit to the rigorous requirements of graduate courses? Just looking at the syllabi for my grad courses made me realize it is vastly different than undergraduate work and would take a considerable amount of time to complete.
- Do I want to spend the money on a graduate degree? If so, will it truly be a good investment for me? If a graduate degree won’t help you advance financially, it may not be worth it.
Take the time to review your options. Two sites I found helpful are http://gradschool.about.com/cs/shouldyougo/a/should.htm and http://www.spsu.edu/cccenter/counseling/career/Gradschool.htm. They provide targeted questions and realistic answers to help you with your decision.
