Grad Students: What did you think of Grad School

I'm just finishing up my MSc, and I have to say, it hasn't been bad at all. I work a lot, but my supervisor is super cool and laid back, and I love the other grad students in my lab (one of them is my gf).

However, I just got some big funding to do my phD. I haven't picked out a supervisor, but to tell the truth, I don't know if I want to do phd. Its another 4 or 5 years and I'm not exactly a spring chicken (27 years old).

How was your grad experience? Can you give me some advice or share some stories?

I didn't get a PhD, but am contemplating going back as the opportunities are limited in my field with a MS. But my experience is that unless you really want to do the PhD, you shouldn't. It's a lot of work and you really need to be committed to it and want it.

Since I have a BSc in Biochemistry, and a MSc in biology, I easily have the skills to work in most genetics/micro labs. Phd does give you an edge though...particularly in rising through the ranks at most businesses.

See, its not that I don't find research interesting. I really like it. But you really have to delay a lot of other things in your life when you do your phd. First of all, I couldnt get a house or pay student loans with the small amount of money I would be getting from the scholarship. It would be enough for a single grad student living in an apartment, but you can't start a family with that kind of money. Not that I'm in a rush, but ..five years is a long time.

Add to the fact that most of my friends wonder whether I'm still alive, and always wondering why I wont go out for a drink (cuz I'm too busy writing my thesis guys).

I would love to move to a new city and do research, but there are so many factors.

He finished 8 years ago and after dealing with a horrible excuse for an advisor, still has nightmares that he didn't finish. But, it does make him more marketable in his field.

I have been working on mine forever (so it seems). I have a weird advisor (doesn't have good social skills and is passive-aggressive) so it's been tough. If you find someone you like working with and are committed to finishing the degree, then go for it. If you are ambivalent about it, remember that tons of people end up ABD (All But Dissertation) for a reason - it's damn hard work.

I hope I didn't scare you. My Master's wasn't nearly as rough. I'm no spring chicken either (just turned 34 a few weeks ago). But, I do love to teach college-level psychology courses, so that's what it takes (unless you're at a community college). I have excellent student evaluations so I just need to finish this darn dissertation (I picked a very difficult qualitative subject) and move on. Best of luck to you!

I'm just wondering because you said, "still has nightmares that he didn't finish".

But I go to art school :D

you can." But it depends on your situation and on your field.

It's been interesting in the least. I loved the stress and dealing with it so far and I enjoy the company of the majority of other graduate students within my field.

As for my phD, I'm not quite sure, but everyone is right. You have to be damn well committed to getting it or it won't matter. Otherwise, don't worry about the age. I'll be 26 when I graduate and will be, hopefully, working on my phD. I love school and I want to continue within an academic environment instead of a CRM madness (archaeology).

Overall, I have loved my graduate experience. The first semester was some of the largest personal growth that I have ever been through in such a short period of time.

oh, 27 IS a Spring Chicken these days.....

there's research that suggests that we don't mature until 25.....
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/july-dec04/brain_10-13.html
http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060206_brain_mature.html

The degree (MS in Journalism) didn't help my in my field I'm in now (Computers) but it was a fun way to delay the inevitable.

And I proved I could go to school Full Time, work Full Time and have time for a beer every month or so.

I'd never go back or do it again in any field.

Maybe if I loved the people I was in the program with, had a great advisor, plenty of funding, etc I might have. Now it just feels like a waste of time to me. Like, there was 2 years of my life utterly wasted. It didn't help me get a job, I ended up doing something completely unrelated to my field of study, and I had student loans.

A friend of mine is going back to school right now, and she has full funding, plus a 30k a year for living expenses, and it's in a field that'll get her at least close to six figures coming out of school. That's more like a job than it is a graduate program. One year dabbling in classes and then 4-5 on her own doing research. I get that.

the day job I had. I was teaching high school and some junior college.

Once I moved into Marketing, getting my doctorate wasn't that hard. The dissertation was difficult, mainly because I was pontificating on a subject that required a LOT of anecdotal evidence, but all in all, good experience. Would do it again in a blink.

And I will say this: deciding that 27 is too old to start a Ph.D. is pure hogwash.

If you want to do it, do it. And better to do it now while you can, than to think you will be able to do it later.

Working is much tougher than any level of school. MA in poli sci was beyond easy, a breeze. Some of the other students were a bit pompous, though.

My mother finished her Ph.D. at 55 years old.

Don't use ageism as an excuse. If you're tired of going to school, that's a perfectly acceptable reason to put a hold on the doctorate. But thinking "I'm too old" is a crock.

Many people delay their graduate work for a variety of reasons. Age is an excuse, not a reason.

First - make sure you are committed to it before you even start. If not - then don't waste your time. At some point, you will not want to make the sacrifice.

Next - If you have a family (or a gf in your case), make sure they understand the sacrifices they are going to need to make. It is not easy on them either.

Third - Know the groundrules at least as well as the school. Know every little detail about what is expected of you. Nothing is too small. The font of the final version of my dissertation was not correct - and it took a lot of time to fix it. It was my mistake.

Fourth - Be very disciplined. The two years I spent on my dissertation I had very specific times for various tasks that I would not vary for any reason. I think this discipline is a minimum necessity.

Fifth - Get an advisor early on in your coursework. Try to find someone compatible. Explore dissertation topics of common interest to him/her. Make sure your committee is stable - that is likely to be around for the time you need to finish. Losing one committee member could cost you significantly.

Finally, take the degree requirements and stick them in a safe deposit box somewhere. Future changes can be significant.

added on edit - You might want to file this one away for later in your dissertation stages - I got soooooo tired of rereading those 400 pages and looking for all the grammatical errors. I finally called a local University and went to their English Department seeking a grad student who could proof my work. That was well worth the few hundred bucks it cost.

added on second edit - just thought of one other item that may be beneficial. I found an advisor who spent lots of time presenting papers at various conferences around the world. She wanted to branch out to a related area that would complement her area of expertise - and this was in line with where I wanted my research to go. My research of the literature provided her the links she was seeking - and saved her a whole lot of time. I noticed that a lot of the research that I had done ended up in her reference list. So it worked well for both of us.

Don't worry about the age thing. I've noticed much more of an age variation for doctoral students, especially these days with people coming back to school for upgrading. If you like grad school, and you have funding for a project which you are passionate about, go for it!



p.s. seconding what DrDan said above -- things are much easier if you have a doctoral supervisor you get along well with, who can provide technical/financial support and expertise, and who has a long-term interest in the field you want to study. These things are even more significant for a PhD than for the first postgrad degree. The fact you enjoyed your MSc is great, although a PhD generally takes longer (as DrDan said, something to consider if you have a family) -- and there is more nitpicking involved, since most schools push the "original research" requirement.

My officemate (in her 40s) has been having a terrible time with her advisor, who is not an expert in her area (she had to go to someone else for the forestry and satellite image background) -- and who was out of the country a lot. They ended up having some major disputes ... especially after he didn't give her the funding he'd promised. She had to go back and re-do some of her field work (in another country) because he changed his mind partway through the project. Anyway, she's handed her final copy in, and has started applying for jobs. (One came up almost immediately which required a PhD, so it does give some extra opportunities.)

I had a lot of things go wrong during my degree as well, but I'm glad I did it. My supervisor just returned from a job at the UN -- he's got a ton of research and work contacts, so I'm not totally without prospects (though right now I'm just a lowly sessional lecturer who's working on a book -- fortunately, debt-free).

Not sure I'd do it again if I had the chance.

My advisor is very difficult to work with, and his difficult-ness causes his students to take much longer than they should to complete work. One of my lab-mates has been working on a Master's for four years because every time he writes something, my advisor changes his mind and wants something else. It's crazy.

From what I can tell, this kind of thing is not limited to my advisor either. Most of the grad students I know don't get along with their advisors for one reason or another, and it causes them great stress and unhappiness.

Also, I'm fully funded, but via teaching. And teaching undergrads has been the number 1 worst thing about grad school. They can't write or think, their work is appalling, they whine all the time about everthing and are completely self-absorbed, and preparing lectures for the little assholes takes up all the time that I would otherwise spend working on my thesis.

I came to the realization the other day that my department could really care less about whether I actually graduate with any degree, because as long as I am here, they get a professor for the price of a fast-food worker. Nice deal for them, not so great for me. I work 10-12 hours a day on something I don't care about, something the undergrads don't care about, and I get paid a pittance for doing it. I would have a better time flipping burgers (and I told my advisor that the other day too). Teaching is not in any way what I came to grad school to do, but somehow it ended up being my primary activity here. The whole thing sucks. The only upside is that I don't have student loans.

Yes, I'm a little bitter about grad school. Have been thinking about leaving, but not sure what else I should do, so I am sticking it out for another semester.