Comments on Career Coach: Don't Rush to Grad School

• Osell's negativity on graduate school
• Posted by schencka , English instructor on January 12, 2009 at 6:10pm EST

• Ms. Osell,

  The "don't go to graduate school" tracts in IHE get more annoying every time I see them.

  "...only go to graduate school if you are getting a master’s degree, and only if you are doing so in a limited number of subjects."

  The absolute language -- "only" -- is embarrassing for a writer and indicates a weird bias. I've seen the same tone when IHE commenters beg, "If adjuncts don't want to be so mistreated, they'll have to get other jobs!" As if one can't complain about workplace treatment without having to threaten to find another profession.

  My intent would certainly go against your prescription on graduate school: I want to go, and in the humanities no less, and in a bad economy, and for the PhD (I already have the MA in literature).

  Your position -- "Don't rush to graduate school" -- whether you wrote the title or not, shows a difference in opinion on the purpose of graduate school between yourself and people like me: is it about a job, or is it about knowledge? A PhD means being an expert on forgotten arcanum that only a handful of people in the entire world really care about and spend time researching. In other words, people get PhDs to become scholars because it's what they love. Your model seems to argue, "Don't bother if you can't get a job once you're done."

  I am ideologically and temperamentally opposed to your position; let me share my case. My full-time teaching job recently got changed to an adjunct position, so I lost benefits and took a large pay cut, though I do the same job. Now, I could try to get a new full-time plus benefits job -- no guarantee on this -- or I could apply to go to more gradaute school. Realize, of course, that any decent PhD program in English A) pays for tuition; B) ensures a TA teaching job (at a similar rate of pay as adjuncting); and C) comes with it a built-in network of people with similar interests in learning. In other words, similar (low) pay, the opportunity and time to study, and a better intellectual climate than -- surprise -- adjuncting at for-profits or community colleges.

  Ms. Osell, since you seem preoccupied in the endgame, i.e. what happens career-wise when Student X gets the PhD, let me address that. I love to teach and want to continue. Say I get the PhD, and that 2/2 research school job just isn't there for me. If I wish to go on teaching a mixture of composition, lit, and film at a 4/4 teaching college or a community college, my likelihood of getting that job has risen (significantly). My likelihood of adjuncting forever has significantly dropped. The only risk I run is the resentment from having a PhD and not being fully compensated for it, and not having the time to pursue scholarship. Further, I have "flooded the market" with another PhD, and perhaps I'm overqualified. In the meantime I have achieved the highest credential for what matters to me: a life of the mind. It's unlikely that I'll be a derelict PhD living below the poverty line.

  Overall, I disagree with your vision of what graduate school is about: it's not the job; it's the knowledge. Ms. Osell, where is your idealism? You write, "If you love and adore it, then I suppose you could go ahead and get a PhD, but why? If you’re adjuncting at a community college, you’re already doing the same work as thousands of PhDs; while your peers are slogging through their dissertations, you’re acquiring seniority."

  "Seniority," huh? That's my goal? Reading that just leaves a nasty taste in my mouth, and it is from grim personal experience that I suggest that the tone of "blogging-writing" has infected your writing; surely you once wrote more thoughtfully, and with a more reasonable tone. And, I pray, without CAPS, as seen on your blog "Bitch PhD." In sum, this post has taught me more about the resentments of its writer than insight into whether to go to graduate school or not.

  On that issue, better suited for people like me is what Einstein wrote in "The World As I See It":

  "Without the sense of kinship with men of like mind, without the occupation with the objective world, the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific endeavors, life would have seemed empty to me. The trite objects of human efforts -- possessions, outward success, luxury -- have always seemed to me contemptible."

• Posted by TLLee , Career Coach at TLL Human Resource Consulting, Inc on January 13, 2009 at 5:15am EST

• Hello Schencka,

  As a career coach, I agree with Ms. Osell's recommendations, but I understand your comments as well.

  I interpret Ms. Osell's advice to be directed at those individuals who are finding it difficult to find employment and react by making a knee jerk decision to go back to school. That doesn't seem to be the case in your situation. You seem to have really thought about both the pros and cons of going back to school and how it will impact your career now and in the future.

  Of course, there are some exceptions to Ms. Osell's advice, but I think her advice was pretty on point for the general population. While working as a corporate recruiter for large corporations, I rejected a large number of candidates with lots of education, but not enough work experience to qualify them for their desired job. So, strategically speaking, in most cases it makes sense to balance your education with work experience for your desired job. This is quite a challenge, but this balance can certainly be accomplished.

  Many candidates who decided to go to school during tough economic times, find it difficult to find employment once the market is better because of this imbalance of education and work. Fortunately, it sound as if you have the work experience to balance your added education for your desired job.

  But, generally speaking, I think whether or not to go back to school is a really tough decision to make. And, poor economic times should not be the only deciding factor when making this decision. Otherwise you run the risk of regretting your decision later. Ms. Osell's advice seem to be encouraging candidates to do as you did and think about both the pros and cons of going back to school before they decide.

  P.S. I see how the 'only' statements paint a picture of one size fits all. But, I don't think that was the intent.

• Grad School still Important
• Posted by Metro Universities , Programmer on January 13, 2009 at 5:15am EST

• In my country, Graduated Student from Reputable University Still have more chance to get a good job so young people still think going to grad school is must to get a good career when they finished their educations.

• Posted by Tedra on January 14, 2009 at 7:10pm EST

• where is your idealism?

  Look, idealism is fine, but it's completely irresponsible to encourage people to take on a mountain of debt and compromise their peak earning years/retirement money out of "idealism." Those who are determined to go on, will. Those who are wavering and asking for advice need to be told in no uncertain terms that graduate school is a huge financial risk--especially these days.

• Posted by TeacherJay on February 12, 2009 at 10:00am EST

• I reference this article in a recent post on making the decision to o to grad school in the poor economy. You can find it at: http://edublog.teacherjay.net/2009/02/12/economically-stimulating-students/

• Graduate School important!
• Posted by Jessica Kerr , Student at Saint Leo University Center for Online Learning on March 5, 2009 at 12:00pm EST

• I read your article and I truly believe that it is thetime to go back and get you graduate degree. I just graduated in December 2008 and with my fellow students deciding to go abroad for a few years and travel I decided to wait out the economy here and get my masters at Saint Leo University www.saintleo.com. I am working for my online masters degree in business administration and I will be done hopefully as soon as the economy turns around. It is important to keep our youth here in the US during a recession by creating incentives of graduate degrees.