Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Grad School Advice #7

Another one that I've never heard anyone else suggest:

Get a job in the real world for a few years before going to grad school.

The vast majority of jobs really suck. Working retail is soul-crushingly mindless. Labor allows for freedom and exercise, but pays nothing. Desk jobs treat you like a child that has to learn to sit still. I've worked a total of eleven jobs before academia, from factory worker to office worker, and I will tell you something- they all made me very glad to be struggling through grad school.

A lot of grad students have led sheltered lives thus far, and so they have wildly unreasonable expectations about grad school. When those expectations don't pan out, they get frustrated or feel stupid and miserable. But, the truth is, grad school is better than most jobs and allows you to do what you love. After a year at the local grocery store, it seems like heaven.

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