Questions for grad students

belevitt
Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:35:46 +0000

Do you think education is essential to living well?
Essential? Nope, not even a bit. Quite the opposite in fact.

What benefits are you expecting to get out of your continued education? E.g. job security? Higher pay? Emotional rewards? Etc…
Continued independence in my day to day work. Access to administrative positions in the future with their attendant comfortable pay. Reputation in my field as an expert.

Are you happy with your decision to go to grad school?
Sure. Of all the choices I could have made when I chose to go to grad school, this was one of the better ones.

If you are not happy now, do expect your decision to bring you happiness at some later point?
I am happy now and if I weren’t I would immediately consider other alternatives. I hate to say it, but things don’t get better. In grad school you have job security, a community of peers, defined role, potential for anything, privilege within the university. See how many of those things carry through to postdocs.

What are the downsides of continuing your education?
Lost income from doing something more profitable, delay in family planning, delay in retirement savings, crazy work hours, potential for abuse.