I spent most of undergrad assuming I'd go to graduate school for math--I was a math major after all. For me, the decision was already made. I grew up in a family where it was common for someone to have a Masters, Ph.D., M.D., or J.D., so the idea to go to graduate school was placed into my head early on. My question was never really "do I want to go to grad school" but "what will I study?" Both of these questions are very important, however. Actually, there are a lot of questions you should think about before diving in, below is a brief discussion of a few of these questions.
NOTE: Since graduate school is time consuming, please bear with me as I work to finish typing up my answers/discussions to the questions below. Also if you have a question that is a) not listed to be answered or b) listed but unanswered and you need an answer ASAP, use the Contact page to message me for an answer.
F.A.Q.
- Initial Thoughts
- Choosing an Advisor
- Hindsight from a grad-student
- What do I wish I'd known before?
- What is the best part of graduate school?
- What is the worst part of graduate school?
Initial Thoughts
What is grad school?
Graduate school refers to post-baccalaureate studies. This most commonly refers to working toward a Masters degree or Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.); however, it can also refer to professional degrees such as Ed.D (Doctor of Education), M.D. (Medical Doctorate) or J.D. (Juris Doctor). In these programs, students delve deeper into a particular area of study. Unlike undergraduate degrees where students are required to take general education classes outside of their major and study the broad spectrum within their major, graduate degrees focus on areas of interest within the student's major.Do I want to go to grad school?
There's a big difference between "do I want to go to grad school?", "should I go to grad school", and "do I need to grad school?" Wanting to pursue a higher degree is a statement of your desire to learn and experience more in a specialized area; this is not necessarily reflective of what is needed to obtain employment or what is best for your career path. As a computer scientist, a PhD is only necessary for faculty positions and obtaining a job without a Masters is fairly straight forward. On the contrary, if I was in something like Psychology, it may have been more dire that I obtain a higher degree.Wanting a higher degree is something different entirely, and is a necessity in the equation to succeed. You have to have some desire to continue studying, independent of what you need. If you don't enjoy learning, graduate school will be an even longer and more painful road. Wanting to learn more and to further your education may trump need. One example lies in interdisciplinary studies where people switch majors between undergraduate and graduate studies (i.e. from math to computer science, like myself).
The answer to "should you go" lies somewhere in between want and need. While most companies pay more for each level of degree (i.e. if a B.S. starts out earning $20 per hour, an M.S. may start at $30, and a PhD may start at $40—remember this is just an example to illustrate the point, not an actual quote, the differences may be more or less between the salaries). Higher degrees may also make you more eligible for promotions. However, I have spoken with companies that start everyone at entry level regardless of degree. If you know you want to work for a company that does this or most companies in your field do this, spending extra time on a Ph.D. is probably not worth your time monetarily. If you want to learn more, forsee a need for a higher degree in the future (academia, promotions, etc.), or don't mind the time commitment, then you should definitely consider continuing.
Deciding between a PhD vs. a Masters: What's the difference?
A PhD is higher than a Masters, but what's so different about them, you may ask—at least you should be asking that if you're contemplating graduate school and don't already know the answer. I think there are two main differences to point out. One difference is more about what you should expect to experience and what is required of you, the other is a more high level idea of what you receive from the degree.What is expected?
As a PhD student the most common question I have to answer—and the answer usually befuddles people—is "when will you graduate?". Most people, especially people who haven't been to graduate school at all, believe that like a high school diploma, undergraduate degree, or Masters Degree, the path to a PhD is a clearly marked series of classes. When I answer that I don't know because it depends on a lot of factors, many of which are not in my control, they don't seem to understand. Progress in a PhD is not dependent on passing a class or two, but in successfully completing research projects and getting them published. This, I think, is one of the fundamental differences in a Masters degree and a PhD. While you can get a Masters with thesis which will require research, it is also possible to graduate with a Masters without doing any research. I have friends who earned their Masters in one year— it took me two years (non-thesis)—however, a PhD will likely take you at least 4 years (possibly more). If you start your Masters with the intent of pursuing a PhD or skip the Masters all together, it cuts down on the amount of time it takes to complete the PhD.What do you get out of it?
Degree levels represent focus. The higher the degree the tighter the focus. Undergraduate teaches you a little about a lot, with a broad focus on your major. A Masters program will teach you a little more about different areas within your field of study. A PhD program will teach you a lot about a specific area within your field of study. Let's pretend that you are interested in animals, so you major in Biology in undergrad. You will take Biology classes about humans, animals, and plants; you will also take math, english, and history classes. In a Masters program you would focus solely on Zoology (the study of animals). You would learn about all the different classifications of animals (mammals, reptiles, birds, etc.). When you progressed into your PhD program you would likely focus on problems affecting a specific group of animals, such as birds. Now you would spend your time studying specific species of birds . By the time you graduated with your PhD, you would know a little about biology as it relates to humans and plants, more on biology as it relates to animals, a lot on the biology of birds, and even more on the specific species you studied during your PhD research.How to choose which you want?
If you find a specific aspect of your field particularly interesting , you may be more interested in a PhD. If you enjoy research, you definitely would be more interested in a PhD. If you want to raise your pay a little, have structure, and not put in as much effort, or you just want a broad overview of the field, I say go for the Masters.Can I Switch Majors?
This was a major question for me when I decided to go to graduate school. The short answer is yes, but the degree to how "easy" this is accomplished will vary from person to person and major to major. My suggestion is to speak with people in the department of the major you wish to pursue, as well as look for someone who has successfully made the transition. Finding a person who has successfully transitioned not only lets you know that it is possible, but provides you with a mentor should you need advice in the future. If you manage to find someone who was unable to complete the degree due to switching majors, it may also be helpful in determining what not to do. Learning from other people's mistakes is definitely as useful as learning from their successes.The first challenge in switching majors is prerequisites for both admission to your graduate program and enrolling in the classes you will be required to take. My undergraduate degree was in Mathematical Sciences, but I wanted to pursue Computer Science for my Masters and PhD (why my Masters is a Computer Engineering degree is a story for another day). Thankfully, Computer Science was my minor, so it wasn't very difficult to get information from the Computer Science department— I simply asked the professors I had for their opinions. There was also the matter of the schools I was applying to; I had to make sure I'd taken the courses they wanted to see. After speaking with the two schools to which I was seeking entry, I had a list of classes I needed to take if I was serious about switching majors for graduate school. Luckily this list only contained one class, so it didn't seem like a difficult task. I'm sure switching to something like English would have been much harder as the two fields don't share much overlap.
The second challenge is keeping up with your peers. My classmates were used to taking 3 Computer Science classes in one semester, I was not. While I was great at coding and understanding the material, I struggled with keeping up with the work for the first year of graduate school (in fact after that first year I always took two classes and research). I often wasn't as well practiced in the languages or data structures we were required to use, and I definitely didn't know as much about Computer Science as the others (StackExcahnge and Google were my life lines in the early days of graduate school...they kind of still are actually). None of this should deter you from going after a graduate degree in a new major, I am simply reminding you to be mentally prepared if you find that you have to work harder than your peers.
Choosing An Advisor
How Do I Choose an Advisor?
Choosing the right advisor is important to your success. You advisor is supposed to provide you with direction on obtaining your degree. They're also the person that has the biggest say in whether you can graduate or not. Some advisors have weekly meetings and expect progress reports during this time, while others may check in sporadically. Some advisors may expect you to submit to a paper to every top conference in your field, while others may not press you about publishing. As you're looking for an advisor, you should consider whether you prefer a professor that is more hands on or hands off.The best way to find out if you and the professor you're interested in working with are compatible is to take a class with that professor. It's also very likely that the professor will require this of you anyway, to assess your skills. While you're in their class, you can take note of behaviors such as expectations, availability, promptness at returning emails, etc. Also, since professors generally teach graduate level courses that pertain to their research, you can also use the class to gauge how interesting you find the topic. I took a few graduate-level courses in topics I thought I would think were interesting, only to find out I didn't actually like the topic.
Last by not least, don't be afraid to talk to grad students already working for a professor—they have first hand experience in working with him/her.
