Class-less

As acceptance letters and class schedules fill my timeline, I beamed with excitement and pride to see some of my closest friends get ready to snag yet another degree. Though I’m happy and proud of my friends, I don’t have those same goals. 

I recently considered taking online classes for my Master’s and I’m not convinced that’s where I want my efforts to go. Let me break down my thoughts on graduate school as it pertains to me and probably some of you.

Another degree looks good on a resume and comes into play when negotiating salaries. Going back to school, especially a different school than undergrad, opens a new network of people that may be great friends and even better connects in your field. Then of course, the learning and all that.

While that’s all well and good, there are other ways to get all these things without the debt, busy work, and annoying group projects. If I wanna network, there are tons of networking events in my area and I work with an organization that also connects me to people and companies in my field. And everything else (better resume, better salary, learning) can be gained through experience. I got enough of the books and basics from undergrad, everything else I’ve learned that has gotten me this far in my career came from experience.

Before receiving my Bachelor’s, I always thought I’d do the same thing my friends did after college- work a decent job in my field while getting my master’s. I even kept it in the back of my mind that I would go to Medill at Northwestern near Chicago.

I had always loved school, loved learning, loved reading, and loved writing. But by my junior year of undergrad I was burnt out. I didn’t wanna look at school, look at a professor, a book, hell I barely wanted to write and I was a journalism major.

Fortunately, I pushed through and made it out with my Bachelor’s as planned because there was no way in hell $200k in tuition was going to complete waste. Nor was my time and effort.

But things change. Goals change, paths change, and passions change. In addition to my career goals in my field I now also have goals outside of my field, so going back to school to learn more about a field I already work in is kinda pointless for me. Especially when my loans are probably going to top my current salary. At this point, you’ll probably only see me in someone’s classroom if my job is going to pay for it or requires me to.

But I know everyone’s situation isn’t the same as mine. If you haven’t had luck breaking into your field, making those connections and gaining experience, I’d definitely recommend going back to the classroom. But as for me, I’ll be spending my days on the clock and on the beach because the classroom ain’t for me.

–Minnie

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