Educational Background of PS'ers

[madelise]

Since I'm filling out apps at the moment, and have education on my mind.. .
What is the highest level of education that you completed? This question was inspired by one of those questions on my app, asking about my parents' levels of education. I know there was a thread a few years back, where people were talking about where they went to school or whatnot, but we've got quite a bit of newer people.

 

[justginger]

I've got one 4 year undergrad degree, will be starting on the next one in 2013, and will perhaps do a masters after that. I love school.

 

[lknvrb4]

I have an associates degree plus another 30 credits on top of that, I kept changing majors so I just consider myself well rounded.

 

[zoebartlett]

I loved grad school! Good luck with your applications, Madelise!

I have a masters. I'm working on the next level after masters, but it's not a PhD program. As much as I love school, I don't think I'll go for a PhD. I don't have any aspirations to be an administrator in my field. I'm happy where I am.

 

[Phoenix]

I am UK Chartered Accountant (the hardest exams I've ever had to take, bar none) and I also have a MSc in Finance (piece of cake, I came top of my class! ).

I love love love school, every single one of them! I really want to do a PhD but I need to convince DH first!

 

[justginger]

I have an associates degree plus another 30 credits on top of that, I kept changing majors so I just consider myself well rounded.

Well said and optimistic.

 

[Circe]

Ph.D.

 

[missy]

Ph.D.

That's very impressive Circe! I'm curious if you don't mind sharing your field of study (though I'm sure you probably mentioned it before- my memory doesn't retain much these days lol).

I am UK Chartered Accountant (the hardest exams I've ever had to take, bar none) and I also have a MSc in Finance (piece of cake, I came top of my class! ).

I love love love school, every single one of them! I really want to do a PhD but I need to convince DH first!

Do it girl! You deserve to if that's what you want-though what you have now is impressive as well!

 

[Phoenix]

Ph.D.

That's very impressive Circe! I'm curious if you don't mind sharing your field of study (though I'm sure you probably mentioned it before- my memory doesn't retain much these days lol).

I am UK Chartered Accountant (the hardest exams I've ever had to take, bar none) and I also have a MSc in Finance (piece of cake, I came top of my class! ).

I love love love school, every single one of them! I really want to do a PhD but I need to convince DH first!

Do it girl! You deserve to if that's what you want-though what you have now is impressive as well!

Circe, I am very impressed too.

Missy, it's been my life-long dream to do a PhD. DH however is resisting cuz i) it costs a lot of money and ii) he thinks I should just concentrate on working and earning as much as I can before I get too old!

 

[missy]

Ph.D.

That's very impressive Circe! I'm curious if you don't mind sharing your field of study (though I'm sure you probably mentioned it before- my memory doesn't retain much these days lol).

I am UK Chartered Accountant (the hardest exams I've ever had to take, bar none) and I also have a MSc in Finance (piece of cake, I came top of my class! ).

I love love love school, every single one of them! I really want to do a PhD but I need to convince DH first!

Do it girl! You deserve to if that's what you want-though what you have now is impressive as well!

Circe, I am very impressed too.

Missy, it's been my life-long dream to do a PhD. DH however is resisting cuz i) it costs a lot of money and ii) he thinks I should just concentrate on working and earning as much as I can before I get too old!

I totally understand but I think you should go for it now! It's easier now rather than later. The older one gets the harder it is (usually) to go back to school. And once you graduate your earning potential would be that much greater, no? But like I said I understand your dh's point of view for sure but it's your dream and I think dreams need to be realized (if at all possible that is)! You would be an awesome PhD candidate!!!!!

 

[Natylad]

Doctor of Civil Law

Phoenix, do what your heart desires...your husband should be proud and supportive.

 

[Phoenix]

Ph.D.

That's very impressive Circe! I'm curious if you don't mind sharing your field of study (though I'm sure you probably mentioned it before- my memory doesn't retain much these days lol).

I am UK Chartered Accountant (the hardest exams I've ever had to take, bar none) and I also have a MSc in Finance (piece of cake, I came top of my class! ).

I love love love school, every single one of them! I really want to do a PhD but I need to convince DH first!

Do it girl! You deserve to if that's what you want-though what you have now is impressive as well!

Circe, I am very impressed too.

Missy, it's been my life-long dream to do a PhD. DH however is resisting cuz i) it costs a lot of money and ii) he thinks I should just concentrate on working and earning as much as I can before I get too old!

I totally understand but I think you should go for it now! It's easier now rather than later. The older one gets the harder it is (usually) to go back to school. And once you graduate your earning potential would be that much greater, no? But like I said I understand your dh's point of view for sure but it's your dream and I think dreams need to be realized (if at all possible that is)! You would be an awesome PhD candidate!!!!!

Thank you, Missy. YOU are awesome!

Off I go to talk to DH!

 

[MsP]

And once you graduate your earning potential would be that much greater, no?

I would encourage anyone interested in a PhD to seriously research this question within their field of study. IMO it is important to balance your real world experience with your book smarts. Just this month I met a young woman who has taken her PhD *off* of her resume because the field she is in just doesn't expect it or appreciate it... everyone with a PhD goes into academia. She doesn't want academia and has had very poor feedback on her job applications. I've heard stories of this happening, but this was the first case of meeting someone personally.

With that being said, I'm like Phoenix. I just love school! I'm considering law school... that would put me at 1 undergrad, 5 graduate degrees.

 

[Tanzigrrl]

I have 2 master's degrees. One is academic, one is considered professional. I completed the first master's degree immediately after finishing my undergrad work (where I did a double major) and the 2nd I finished about 10 years after my first master's.

 

[purplesparklies]

One Associates and one Bachelors.

 

[Phoenix]

Doctor of Civil Law

Phoenix, do what your heart desires...your husband should be proud and supportive.

Thank you, natyLad. I'd really love to do it but do see his point of view and I'd rather he be on board.

 

[Phoenix]

And once you graduate your earning potential would be that much greater, no?

I would encourage anyone interested in a PhD to seriously research this question within their field of study. IMO it is important to balance your real world experience with your book smarts. Just this month I met a young woman who has taken her PhD *off* of her resume because the field she is in just doesn't expect it or appreciate it... everyone with a PhD goes into academia. She doesn't want academia and has had very poor feedback on her job applications. I've heard stories of this happening, but this was the first case of meeting someone personally.

With that being said, I'm like Phoenix. I just love school! I'm considering law school... that would put me at 1 undergrad, 5 graduate degrees.

That's interesting! My plan is to go into teaching afterwards. I must be an academic at heart. However, I have friends who are PhD holders and they work in various fields, ranging from Finance to IT to Pharma.

What kind of law are you considering? My DH is a lawyer and he always says that I should've become a lawyer (the courtroom type - whatever does he mean?! ) instead of an accountant, lol!

 

[sonnyjane]

I picked "other" because I have three different Bachelor's degrees - more work than just one, but not an "advanced" degree.

 

[justginger]

Ph.D.

That's very impressive Circe! I'm curious if you don't mind sharing your field of study (though I'm sure you probably mentioned it before- my memory doesn't retain much these days lol).

I am UK Chartered Accountant (the hardest exams I've ever had to take, bar none) and I also have a MSc in Finance (piece of cake, I came top of my class! ).

I love love love school, every single one of them! I really want to do a PhD but I need to convince DH first!

Do it girl! You deserve to if that's what you want-though what you have now is impressive as well!

Circe, I am very impressed too.

Missy, it's been my life-long dream to do a PhD. DH however is resisting cuz i) it costs a lot of money and ii) he thinks I should just concentrate on working and earning as much as I can before I get too old!

Do you know this for sure? It would actually be free for me to get a PhD in my field, so long as I spent about 10 hours/week doing research assistant-type jobs. It's actually much more expensive to take the path I am, and go back for a second bachelor's degree. Maybe it's an Australian thing though, I don't know anything about PhDs in the States, moved here too young.

 

[Phoenix]

Ph.D.

That's very impressive Circe! I'm curious if you don't mind sharing your field of study (though I'm sure you probably mentioned it before- my memory doesn't retain much these days lol).

I am UK Chartered Accountant (the hardest exams I've ever had to take, bar none) and I also have a MSc in Finance (piece of cake, I came top of my class! ).

I love love love school, every single one of them! I really want to do a PhD but I need to convince DH first!

Do it girl! You deserve to if that's what you want-though what you have now is impressive as well!

Circe, I am very impressed too.

Missy, it's been my life-long dream to do a PhD. DH however is resisting cuz i) it costs a lot of money and ii) he thinks I should just concentrate on working and earning as much as I can before I get too old!

Do you know this for sure? It would actually be free for me to get a PhD in my field, so long as I spent about 10 hours/week doing research assistant-type jobs. It's actually much more expensive to take the path I am, and go back for a second bachelor's degree. Maybe it's an Australian thing though, I don't know anything about PhDs in the States, moved here too young.

Well, that's how it is in Singapore, I am not sure about other places though. I am not sure that one can get work whilst doing the research but I can certainly look into it (I haven't really looked hard enough into it to be honest, mainly because DH has been against it). And that's just the cost of the PhD itself, there's also the opportunity cost associated with doing it and not working instead.

 

[justginger]

I see - I suppose it depends on your field. I have coworkers who have been working on their PhDs while working full time, over the course of 5, 6, 7 years. They can do bits and pieces while on the clock, setting up before work, and finishing their research after work. Perhaps that is a luxury confined to the sciences.

 

[Rosebloom]

MFA

I too loved school and did very well but I'm surprised to find that I'm happy to be done! Well, not totally done. I'm definitely going to culinary school at some point in my life. I love to cook and it would be such a joy to really become a master.

 

[mayerling]

PhD

 

[vc10um]

I have my bachelor's and master's degrees in Biomedical Engineering.

I've considered going back to Law School, since I work in intellectual property, but the timing just isn't right at the moment. Maybe sometime down the line! On a completely different noted, I'd also love to go back and get my master's, and maybe a PhD in Public Health...but that would take a very large windfall of money and time!

 

[missy]

MFA

I too loved school and did very well but I'm surprised to find that I'm happy to be done! Well, not totally done. I'm definitely going to culinary school at some point in my life. I love to cook and it would be such a joy to really become a master.

My good friend did this in her later years (50's) and she absolutely loved it! It is very hard work though and she put in intense 12 hour days at the Culinary Institute but she so enjoyed it. In fact, when she graduated she worked part time at Gramercy Tavern (pretty impressive!) but she had to stop because she developed a very severe carpal tunnel case and needed surgery and cannot go back to being a sous chef. It can be very intense work. But she still loves to cook.

 

[Circe]

Heh - sorry to have been so (unusually!) laconic. The baby woke up just as I was about to expand on things! My degree is in English and Comparative Literature, and I'm in academia.

To join in on the discussion re: higher education, cost, and career, under no circumstances ever pay for a Ph.D in the Humanities if you intend to teach (different ball game if you're pursuing Social Work or the like, as I understand it). Reputable programs provide funding, and stipends to boot. And even then, do it in the knowledge that it's a gamble, and with poor odds to boot: there are hundreds of candidates for every job. When I applied, I figured my worst case scenario was that I spend five years doing something I loved, and THEN apply for law school.

 

[aviastar]

I have a BFA, MS, and a few professional certifications. I did love undergrad and I do use both my degrees, albeit indirectly. But if I had known at 18 that I could have had a bachelor's in the field I got my master's in (I could have), I would have gone that route. It not a common degree, so not every school has it and the 'career councellors' ( ) at my high school were a joke. If you weren't pursuing a liberal arts/ academic path at a state school they were worthless. There is no bump in empolyability or salary for a masters in my field, so I would have started out ahead by going the bachelor route- no debt, employable right away.

On the other hand, if I had gone that route I wouldn't have ended up where I was when I was to meet DH...so alls well that ends well

 

[JaneSmith]

I have a bachelor's degree.
All of you lovely people with advanced degrees and careers are making me envious! I've been wanting to go back to school and do something completely different for years. This is another push in that direction. Thank you.
I loved school and a large portion of my book buying is lay person acedemics. Teach yourself topics. This is embarrassing to admit really.

 

[Circe]

Heh - sorry to have been so (unusually!) laconic. The baby woke up just as I was about to expand on things! My degree is in English and Comparative Literature, and I'm in academia.

To join in on the discussion re: higher education, cost, and career, under no circumstances ever pay for a Ph.D in the Humanities if you intend to teach (different ball game if you're pursuing Social Work or the like, as I understand it). Reputable programs provide funding, and stipends to boot. And even then, do it in the knowledge that it's a gamble, and with poor odds to boot: there are hundreds of candidates for every job. When I applied, I figured my worst case scenario was that I spend five years doing something I loved, and THEN apply for law school.

With a further addendum ... for a long time, the academic path was reserved for people who came from money, because a lot of programs might have provided funding, but their stipends were a joke. These days that's a little better, in large part because the university system has shifted to a greater dependence on grad student labor. Of course, follow that through to its logical conclusion and you see that has to mean a lesser dependence elsewhere, and the elsewhere is tenure-track faculty.

There are fewer and fewer positions, and those that remain have been suffering stagnant salaries for a long time. In California, one of my colleagues cheerfully told me he and his family would spend their summers at the local museum, not for cultural edification, but simply because it was air-conditioned. Here in NYC, one of my best friends is coming up for tenure, and eating ramen just like we did in grad school, because the salary they pay just isn't commensurate with the cost of living here. The bottom line is that you can get by satisfactorily if you're free of all school debt and have a dual-income household, but otherwise, you can do everything right and still run the risk of actual penury. There's something screwy about the profession requiring the most schooling providing the least remuneration ... so definitely, only do it if you believe that teaching and writing are not just their own reward, but something for which it's worth sacrificing a lot of potential creature comforts.

 

[zoebartlett]

Jane, that's often the best way! Find a topic you really love and do as much research as you want without the added pressure of deadlines, grades, presentations, etc.

Did anyone else find that the leap from high school to college or college and beyond was a bit big and slightly overwhelming? I think internships in high school or some type of exploratory year before college would be really helpful for those who need extra guidance.