I Want to Go to Grad School

well i dont know I have two degrees and they are about 5 years between each in the workforce there are pluses on both sides of the argument you are already in the study mode now if you get a job at a school or like in social work for a state they will normally pick up the cost. what ever you decide i wish you the best but also you need to look at personal life are you wanting kids and family dont spend your youth chasing money quality of life is far more valuable in the long run

I loved college but hated grad school. I went right after college because they offered me a TA position and free tuition. It is so much more work than college and not nearly as much fun. If you feel stressed out now, you might want to take the time off. If you are in a good position to go now, you should do that. Too many people take the time off and don’t ever go back.

I worked full time and went to grad school at night. This was very tough as life happens and I ended up marrying and having kids before i finished my PhD. I did it because my work paid for my grad school. If money were not an issue, I would have gone straight to grad school from college. It is falser and I think one learns more.

Do it. Grad school is where you develop your specialization. I'm not saying it's for everyone. But it could be right for you.

Just go for it, taking time off makes it harder to get back into the school routine, you will get experience after you get Masters

why not just delay semester by semester, take a break until you feel you are ready to go back.

If you are feeling burnt out from school, then take a break.

some time has passed - what did you decide?

charge through. Life gets in the way if you wait.

So, what did you end up doing?

Old post. What are you now?

Hope that worked out for you!

Did you end up going?

did you go?

Sorry, i failed to update everyone. I did indeed start my masters program last fall and now I am in the spring semester. its a ton of work but enjoying it. thanks to everyone for their thoughts and perspective.

Oh i would say that may work is not that exciting, mostly bc half of my job is more clerical office work, the other half I get to help more with the clients/patients and that is very rewarding especially with kids. So my work experience is not dissuading me from wanting to pursue speech therapy.

Yes my parents have been a big help to me, but they made it clear that grad school is on me, like they will help with some expenses but i have to pay tuition and stuff. I am basically debt free from college bc my parents paid for that (mostly) I still had to work and pay for stuff too.

Grad school is going to be tough. So you definitely want to make sure that the topic is one you love before you go through all that work and spend all that money. And don't forget you might end up with student debt too.

The idea of working for a while before deciding on your final plan is okay, but be aware that many people do this and end up getting trapped by life. In the part of the US where I live a two bedroom apartment costs $2500/month. You can get trapped in an endless cycle of needing jobs to pay living expenses. So plan that out in advance. What you need and want is a situation with financial flexibility to save money and then take time off the job and go to grad school. Do your parents support you in most of this?

I think it is cautionary that you now work in an office that does speech therapy, but you describe the work as "not too exciting". Are you sure that you would like the job if you were the therapist? Do you think there is a chance you will end up wanting a different specialization?

I think that time away from school gives a different perspective to things. Life experience certainly make you look differently at school. I went right into grad school, burned out. Almost 7 years later I tried again and enjoyed it.

I would take the time off and get the experience. I worked for three years between college and law school and it helped me so much.

Honestly, if you work at a job in your field, you will probably learn more from the job then you would in the classroom. Good luck!

Good for you. If this is the next step, then certainly go for it.

I do recommend you get work experience first. Several reasons for that, and I'm speaking from experience.
1) Get some money. Don't have to get rich, but save up some funds.
2) Get life and work experiences. It will give you context, and respectability.
When I went to graduate school with a fellowship in an international program, the big dividing line between us was not between US and non-US students, it was between those you came straight from bachelor studies, and those with work and real-life experiences.

Congratulations on completing your undergrad and being accepted for grad degree.

I would suggest or recommend to go for your grad degree and don't take a break I wish I had not because things changed and I'm still chasing my MBA.

If you're going to get your work to pay for your grad degree while working as a part-time or working there full-time but being part time student even you can take one of those options but do not discontinue education because in my opinion when you come out of grad degree now you'll be much more ahead I may be wrong.

There are pros and cons to going to grad school right away and to waiting. Persistentone22 is correct life has a tendency to get in the way if you wait. If you don’t wait you run the risk of burning out. The nice thing about grad school is you can always look and find grants to help pay for it. Some companies might pay part of it in return for you working for that company for a year or two. It comes down to your decision. But remember he or she who hesitates is lost and he or she who should have hesitated is also lost. You will make the right choice.

I would say that it really comes down to the individual, and if someone is not so keen to be studying it may be best to charge right through and get it done.

charge through. life has a way of interfering with school so best to get it done with while you can.

I say this after getting my master's degree and PhD at night (and working full time) over the course of many years. it only got tougher once marriage and kids were involved.

What can you do to get any real-world experience that convinces you speech therapy is what you want to do? You might end up finding - for example - that there is so much regulation and red-tape that you do not get to do as much of the real work as you want to do.

You must take a break never pursue a goal that you are unsure of until your heart is in it... But you have posted this over a year ago do you still want to be a speech therapist??

take all the time you need. my brother graduated with a degree in Accounting and 2 years later went for his masters then waited a few years and went to law school. Good luck to you

I waited about 10 years that's how burnt out I was. The big gap worked for me. Do you have to have a post grad degree to be a speech therapist? If so then don't wait too long

an argument can be made for either option. If you do decide to work, live at home since the costs of apartment living (agreeing with pone) will prevent you from saving enough.

Guess that depends. I'd say if you're burned out now, I'd take a little time. PM me if you want to chat about it more. I've had similar experiences.

I think you'd be better off going now. The academics are still fresh in your mind and there are too many life distractions that can derail the best laid out plans.

The drawback to waiting is you might like the pay and the freedom etc and decide that u don’t want to go back to school with the time commitment etc

Gradschool right away vs work first decisions depends on the discipline. For your discipline it makes sense to go right away.

Sometimes the.break can be a good.thing but sometimes you could lose focus.. either way.i think its important to finish the schooling

Hopefully it would give you a different outlook and meet people who have been through it

My daughter was in the workforce for 7 years before she went to grad school at SU...

We always need time to recharge so that we can come back with a fresh outlook.

well I hope you are able to go to grad school best of luck to you

If this question is still relevant I would like to give my thoughts

Hi. Are the classes you're taking now part of a grad school program?

depends on you.. but going back is very tough --

If you're not tired of school. You should go for it

If you are also working, go right on through.

I didn't even graduate highschool

go straight to Grad school

have a break...school sux lol

So what did you decide to do?