Graduate School Alternatives

[Calculusaurus]

I've gone through most of my college career with the unchallenged assumption that I would someday attend grad school. Well, I'm now a senior, which means that I now have to take the question more seriously. Grad school, or no?

The biggest mental block in this decision is that I don't know of many options other than grad school. Grad school is just the status quo, so for me it seems like the natural path. I haven't really stopped to think about all of the other possibilities.

Don't reply with "don't go to grad school, just start your own business because Steve says people who have jobs are suckers." That shallow reasoning won't work with me. I'm looking for people with at least some insight or experience, preferably people who have the life experience to answer with more than one sentence.

Keep in mind that I'm simply brainstorming here. Grad school is still a viable option for me since I get a high from learning love working my ass off in hard classes. I also think that science is a great way for me to make a contribution to the world. I'm currently looking at the field of computational neuroscience, a field that could potentially solve many problems of the brain -- simply, how it works, which is information that could be used to treat Alzheimer's, for example.

So, again, what have your experiences been in terms of grad school vs. no grad school? If you were in my situation, what would you consider to do in place of grad school?

[Zukin]

Hi Calculusaurus,

It sounds like you may be going about this backwards. Instead of trying to figure out whether to go to grad school or not, why don't you talk to people in the field or fields that you want to go into (like computational neuroscience). For example, you can talk to computational neuroscientists and ask them:
1. What do you like about your career and what can be improved about it?
2. What is your educational background?
3. What were the most important lessons you learned from your educational background?
4. Do you have any recommendations in terms of good grad schools or how to succeed in grad school?

My story: I graduated with a liberal arts degree, I have a full time job in the information technology industry, and in my spare time I'm reading a few hundred books on business and technology as well as thousands of abstracts from papers published in business and scientific journals. This is an unusual path, and I don't know how it will turn out, but I wanted to do it this way because it is different.

In the story of the Hedgehog and the Fox, I am the fox:
The Hedgehog and the Fox - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Addict]

I am also undecided on grad school. I think it would help me find a more interesting, stimulating career, but at the same time, I'm not sure what to specialize in.

[Alex Wu]

I just graduated from college in May 2007 and started graduate school August 2007. I am not sure I would do it again.

In fall of 2006, the allure of generous funding from graduate schools and government scholarships for graduate study was irresistible. I applied, and got in to every grad school I sought admission to, as well as a government scholarship. I was excited but there was a feeling deep down inside that something wasn't right. That something was graduate school - it's not right for me. It doesn't align with my life purpose, and I don't look forward to it when I get up in the morning.

If you generally don't like school now, you won't like grad school. If you're not excited about your studies now, you probably won't be in grad school. Bottom line is, do it only if you really enjoy school and it will lead you to a career that aligns with your life purpose. Stay away from it otherwise, and get a job, or other experience. Grad school is quite a commitment, and not one you should make lightly before considering whether it is right for you.