Most of us probably dreamed of having post-nominals such as MBA, PhD, MSc, MPA, etc. Well, graduate school is really attractive for various reasons. Let me give you one cringe-worthy reason: Post-graduate degrees are sometimes viewed as social status—i.e. the longer your post-nominals are, the smarter and more respectable you seem. Of course, that's not automatically the case. But, I can't deny that I once was a victim of that ideology. There are a lot of reasons both single-degree and multiple-degree holders deserve respect.
Post-graduate degree is already a privilege. I have succeeded my basic education and bachelor's degree with a lot of help from third-party scholarships and gifts from relatives, on top of what my parents can give me. When I graduated in university, I wanted to pass the boards and get a job as soon as possible in order to earn money and pay forward. I wasn't considering grad school back then, because it was utterly expensive. End of thought. Back then, I was looking forward to the professional growth, which is a huge income for the soul already. Yes, those experiences really happened, at a speed and magnitude beyond imagination. To cut the story short, the pressure has cut through me, or rather, has cut me through. When I took a breath, it crossed my mind—what if I take graduate or law school? I realized that I was not able to prepare even for the "possibility", financially, because it was null in my plan. But, activate that escapism—just what if.
For everyone who can relate, let's discuss this together.
I recently came across this meme:
-- In the photo: Chaeyoung from TWICE --
Let's focus on this particular issue. Young professionals tend to seek solace in graduate studies for many reasons. But, why are we attracted to it, when it is a very expensive activity?
We've been students before, and we've triumphed. On top of that, we have industry experience, higher critical thinking skills, expanded professional network, and a lot of perks we picked up along our professional journey. Thus, young professionals have a sense of pride and self-confidence that they can triumph graduate studies, too. If this is your main reason you are considering graduate studies, you might be experiencing loss of self-worth, rooted on reprimanded mistakes or failures at work. You might be looking for things you are sure you can weather, because your inner self is suffering from fear of what you don't know.
Schooling offers a lot of opportunities exclusive only to students. There are a lot of opportunities that are not open for mere young professionals, but are offered to post-graduate students. These include exchange programs, writing competitions, research pitches, and other academic endeavors. If this is your main reason, you might be looking for the nostalgia of those activities themselves. There is a certain fun and excitement in meeting people, not those you see every day at work. Most of rank-and-file office jobs are just office jobs focused on the routine functions of their respective companies. Professional meetings are for the higher-up. This is what some of us are lacking.
In school, we are mandated to achieve short- and long-term goals for our own development. That is, we see the value in everything we study for. At work, we are boxed with the defined job responsibilities, and most of the time, our professional development is just a side product of the value we put into the work. In school, we are somehow forced to produce a thesis, which is an integration of what we learned and what we plan to contribute to the society. At work, we don't get that kind of opportunity to throw ourselves into research. If this is your main reason, you might be seeking to have an impact to the community. You might also be looking for visible and undeniable proofs that your activities are directly benefiting you for the time you are pouring out.
We are distracted young souls.
These reasons are common. In a nutshell, we are looking for the warmth in a school that we can't find in our jobs. We've studied for more than a decade of consecutive schooling, and then suddenly we are in the workplace fending on our own.
But, grad school is not the absolute sanctuary. And the reasons above are slightly wrong reasons to commit to graduate studies.
Graduate school is attractive, but it takes years to pursue. Who knows what can happen in those years. For example, this pandemic is unprecedented (hence, unknown) and has redefined almost everything in the education system. In our fear of the unknown, we can instead switch roles or companies, or engage in side hustles—things we are confident to do. But on the same note, failure plays an important part of growing up. We have to accept that we are not served only with things we are sure to succeed at. That only gives us half-baked sense of success. We can't learn new things if we are stuck in the same position every time.
We can also seek out courses and summits outside of work. One hour or one week of a new experience with new people can really impact how we perceive our environment. Entering graduate school means meeting a new set of classmates and meeting them at regular intervals, which is almost the same as meeting our workmates. It may just be not "every day". There are entrants, dropouts, transferees, and cross-students, the same way as we have new hires, resignees, transferees to and from other departments, and visiting (or non-resident) workmates. Graduate school is a commitment.
We can also engage in activities that focus on ourselves. For example, we can engage in content creation (YouTube, blogging, podcasting) on our weekends. By content creation, we are forced to mobilize our brain cogs, research related topics, and most of all, flow out our insights towards the community. Graduate school is a commitment, really. Our sleepless thesis nights are going to repeat, only that we have to do our own thesis alone. Much the same as we have to do our jobs alone, render overtime alone, go home alone.
Most of all, graduate school is damn expensive. It costs a lot of money. It costs a lot of commitment. It also costs a lot of time. Of course, it's all worth in the end. That is, if we have the endurance to reach the finish, unlike our fleeting enthusiasm towards the jobs we are trying to escape from. If we eventually get overwhelmed again, by grad school this time, where are we going to run away to next?
Writing this blog reminds me so much of Koro-sensei and his class.
I hope these are worth contemplating about.
The point is, we should not use graduate studies as a mere escape to our frustrations in the workplace. Graduate studies is beautiful. A post-graduate degree is valuable. So, we have to be firm if we decide to start on it. We have to be looking at the correct reasons for pursuing it. Otherwise, we are just wasting time, thinking that it can change our lives, not realizing that it is us who refuses character development.
Graduate studies is cool. It opens a lot of opportunities, such as new roles (even upon re-entry to workforce), higher level of professional network, and greater opportunities to share/talk/inspire (not just to absorb/listen/learn). Your interests are highlighted on a deeper level than college education. That's why it is such a costly activity. It is not only for our benefit, but for the community as well. We are aiming to catalyze the development of the society and transcend the impacts up to the future. Think about this as well—when entering graduate school, you should be aiming to correct the faults you see in your current system so that it doesn't happen in future generations. There are a lot of good reasons to pursue post-graduate education.
Meanwhile, getting attracted to grad school, for whatever reason, is a good sign, that we still have dreams outside of our current realities.
While we are broke young professionals, let's stabilize our income, save money, prepare for our future, and give our best efforts to our current communities who appreciate us. If in three or five years, we decide to pursue grad school, we are stronger—mentally and financially. If we decide otherwise, we reap the fruits of our hard work and invest in whatever we think is important by that time. When we make plans, we should be flexible and openminded.
I think the most important thing I learned while writing this blog is to be at peace with the current situation and recognize both the things I can and cannot control. With the pandemic going on, and the economy down, graduate studies is not a feasible option for me. What I can do is to contemplate my reasons for getting attracted to the idea, arguing within myself all of the sides of the matter, and sharing what I learned.
댓글