grad school?!

[oliveu2cm]

I graduated last May and have a great job in the computer sci field. They will pay for my graduate school, as long as I give them two years after the completion of my studies (which makes me a little nervous..) on the other hand I dont know what i'd like to study, perhaps business - love to study English but it's sort of .. unnecessary??? I don't know. But I know it's good to get the masters and get it out of the way. :/ anyone have experience with this stuff? advice, please..!

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"You just stretch it out and realise
a whisper can be louder than a scream." ~Bono

*U2TakeMeHigher*

 

[Angel]

Well if that were me... I take them up on the offer! I *so* want to get my Masters Degree, but I think finances will keep me from ever acheiving that goal. If someone were to pay my way, I'd be all for it. What's two years after? Seriously, two years is nothing. I ahve been in the same job for three and said to myself I'd only give them one. Funny how fast life passes you by.

Will they let you do your Masters Full-Time, or do you have to study at night Part-Time while maintaining your job? If it was Full-Time school then two years full-time owed to your current job, I'd do it. I see it as an amazing opportunity, but that's just my opinion.

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Game On!

 

[oliveu2cm]

Originally posted by Angel:
Well if that were me... I take them up on the offer! I *so* want to get my Masters Degree, but I think finances will keep me from ever acheiving that goal. If someone were to pay my way, I'd be all for it. What's two years after? Seriously, two years is nothing. I ahve been in the same job for three and said to myself I'd only give them one. Funny how fast life passes you by.

yeah this is very true, Angel.. I can't believe how fast this year has already gone!

Will they let you do your Masters Full-Time, or do you have to study at night Part-Time while maintaining your job? If it was Full-Time school then two years full-time owed to your current job, I'd do it. I see it as an amazing opportunity, but that's just my opinion.

wow fulltime studying would be great, not having to do both- but I would have to work and take night classes. Still manageable, but it might take me longer.

I'm definitely going to look into it- I just have to decide *what* i want to study.

 

[Lou Holtz]

Right after I graduated from Undergad I entered into a program full-time where my employer paid for all expenses/tution/board, etc. It was a pretty sweet deal however I have to work for them for three years on the date of my completion of my masters. So, I graduated grad school in August, 2000. So, I'm contractually obligated to work for the firm until August 2003. Not a terrible deal but please consider if that is what you want to do. Three years is a long time (its actually 4.5 years....I was in school for 1.5 years). To be honest, if I wasn't obligated, I'd probably have left the firm already. But, it would cost me upwards of $26,000 to break my obligation.

So, you should really think this thing through.

CK

[This message has been edited by Lou Holtz (edited 05-01-2002).]

 

[oliveu2cm]

Blargh!!

Thanks everyone! I just go from yes to no to no. LOL. I reallly don't want to study cs again and have come to the conclusion (at least today) I don't care about business or studying it!!

So I think I will wait. Although I found out that you owe the company a year of work from the day they reimburse you for the course. So I could always take a course and see how it goes and only have to work a year-- but yeah, owing a place a year of my life makes me a little :/

I totally agree Angel about bettering yourself through education.... *sigh* which I think in my case would be to study something that has no "relevance" in this world..

what was that Bono said about blind ambition?

*borrows some*




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"You just stretch it out and realise
a whisper can be louder than a scream." ~Bono

*U2TakeMeHigher*

 

[martha]

First of all, if you study what interests you, the years will be much more fun and productive. Secondly, no education is ever"a waste."
I'm working on my Master's while teaching full time. I can only manage one class a semester, so it may take me a couple hundred years to get it, but those years will go by anyway, won't they? My bachelor's was in the (haurumph!!) "meaningless" fields of English and Asian Studies. I have a job I love and I make pretty decent money; not as much as I would with my education in the private sector, but I NEVER a wake up not wanting to go to work.

Anyway, a paid-for education is something to think about, especially if your field of study is up to you.

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You have fairly generic bunions. --my podiatrist, 4-11-02

 

[~LadyLemon~]

Originally posted by oliveu2cm:
I dont know what i'd like to study, perhaps business - love to study English but it's sort of .. unnecessary???

There's nothing wrong with that! That's my major...and don't ask me what I'm going to do with it cos I don't know yet, lol...

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Just as you find me
Always I will be
A little bit too free
With myself

 

[Angel]

Hmmm, well, Part-Time studying will end up making your Masters four years instead of two, which is either good or bad, depending on what you want. Plus another two years after that you 'owe' the company, that's 6 years with the company... I guess this is the big question you have to ask yourself-> is your education and this job worth 6 years of your life? It is quite a commitment but I am sure you will make the best decision.

Good luck!!

 

[oliveu2cm]

Thanks Angel.. I dunno the answer to that yet. Looking over these courses and the prospect of being in school for another 4 years is enuf to make me barf. especially since I don't love the subject matter.. i think it's hard, i mean, if I want children- assuming I will in 6 years- i'll want to stay home with them anyway (if possible, for as much as possible) and so is the whole education thing a waste? ach, i know these are all questions w/o answers. helps to think aloud.

 

[Angel]

Originally posted by oliveu2cm:
...Looking over these courses and the prospect of being in school for another 4 years is enuf to make me barf.

LMAO!! So true!! I tell ya, I would love to get a PhD and be a University Professor, but seriously, 6+ more years of school makes me nauxious. I love school though and have come to realize that in this day and age, we have to constantly be bettering ourselves. Education is important, but can be at times, irrelevant for certain positions. So yeah... figure out what you want to study, how it could help you in your future and go from there. I don't think you'll get anything out of a degree that you are not interested in. You have to be passionate about the subject matter I believe, particularly when you get into graduate work. Otherwise, what's the point?

 

[Lilly]

Olive, I have two views on this.

The first is from me, someone who has spent her entire year scavenging for scholarships! Woo for free!

The second is from my sister. She will graduate next May and has been looking for grad school scholarships. Apparently there are TONS and she's going to school for like $1000 a year cos she got so many of them. So if you don't like the options given, be aware that there are the same amounts, if not more, of scholarships acailable for going to grad school.

Oh, and if they offer it for free and you go down that route, who cares what you study? Within reason of course...

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Come on wisdom tooth, don't fail me now!

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

yeah, i agree with what everyone else said. if it were me, it'd all depend on whether i'd be going to school full time or part time. i can personally handle doing both full time (cuz i am now) BUT it means you get no life which is *not* fun. so i wouldn't recommend that to anyone.
lucky for me after tomorrow, i no longer have to work at my crappy job and i'm done with school until almost september. (i start back 8/26! yay!) i just hope i get to keep my scholarship...

but if you were to go ahead with it, i would recommend business over english, since an english degree doesn't really mean anything. plus business is more fun!

 

[jkayet]

You have to be passionate about the subject matter I believe, particularly when you get into graduate work. Otherwise, what's the point?

Exactly. My undergrad degree was in English, and I am eternally grateful for making that decision - I've never regretted it. I've thought about a masters in English too, although I'm doing History of International Relations instead, which doesn't have much more practical application if you are looking at it that way. My point is, I've realized you have to just do what you love and some sort of career will come out of that. While there is something to be said for a free education, I'd much rather be happy, doing what I love, and slightly poor than miserable and rich.

 

[oliveu2cm]

Originally posted by jkayet:
While there is something to be said for a free education, I'd much rather be happy, doing what I love, and slightly poor than miserable and rich.

LOl! true, true!

thanks everyone!

 

[DiGi]

I think the deal is a decent one. Free school, can't turn that down, especially if you go somewhere local and cheap where if you break an obligation it does not cost you a fortune to pay it back.

I have the same type of deal at work, but the what to study is my issue as it seems to be for you. I do not see the sense in going back to school just to have a masters of some sort, I think you should at least be interested in the topic. I got an undergrad marketing degree and really do not have the desire to get an MBA, so I am not going to. I would have no interest in it and I see my roommates classes and I think it is a big joke.

Some days I think going to medical school would be awesome. I would actually do that just for the sake of learning. I would say go back if there is something that you are totally into but not to get a degree that is only going to make you more money. Find something that interests you. Maybe take some random classes to see what else is out there before totally jumping in. Thats my 2 cents

 

[meegannie]

Originally posted by Lilly:


The second is from my sister. She will graduate next May and has been looking for grad school scholarships. Apparently there are TONS and she's going to school for like $1000 a year cos she got so many of them. So if you don't like the options given, be aware that there are the same amounts, if not more, of scholarships acailable for going to grad school.

Just out of curiousity, do you know where she's been looking for scholarships? I'm planning on going to grad school next year. I REALLY want to go to school in the UK (because I want to study European/British history and their masters program is only a year long, which will make things cheaper in the long run), but I'm terrified of taking out thousands and thousands of dollars in loans since I currently have absolutely no money in savings and still have debt from my undergrad studies. So my point is, I'm trying to find money. Oh, and if anyone would like to contribute to my fund for excellence, feel free to email me.

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"Look for oceans walls/ to gaze upon/ these distance stars/ yeah, these distance suns/ are all the reasons/ are all the reasons/ the only season in my life" -- Neil Halstead
"Left my sweet soul beneath the bedclothes/ I?m not coming down/ Walls have ears/ but no one hears/ when nobody?s around"--Starsailor