Thoughts on graduate school?

cocoabutterkisses_ · 2018-04-22T22:25:52+00:00

It sounds like you may be jumping the gun a little bit here. It’s great to think about these things, but you haven’t left for your undergraduate education yet and your life and plans change in unimaginable ways during your college career. My advice would be to focus on doing well in biochemistry for now and explore your options with a career counselor at school. If you end up doing a PA program, you’ll need about 2000 hours of clinical experience to be a competitive candidate. Experience like scribing, EMS, or medical assisting all pays and you can use that money to offset some of your debt. From my experience, scholarships in grad school are much easier to come by. You never know what you will be offered by the schools you apply to until you get there. Write down your ideas and see a career counselor, maybe express your concerns to them. This is an exciting time in your life and I’m sure you’ll do amazing!

dashdotdott · 2018-04-22T22:28:40+00:00

Turtles are great

asteadyheart · 2018-04-22T22:39:10+00:00

My best friend majored in biochemistry and had the same thoughts as you.

She is now doing a grad degree in computer science because she is limited in biochemistry. She also abandoned all dreams of a grad program (PhD) after getting her master's.

She regrets her path, and said that any person going into the science field should learn automation. Not quite sure what that means, but we have a friend who did that and she didn't need to finish her master's. She works in the top biotech companies in the Bay and makes a killing, all off of a BS.

I'm not sure from a RPW standpoint, but from a friend I watched struggle through all of this she would tell you to keep your options open.

She told me that grad school is where her love of science went and died.

WhatIsThisAccountFor · 2018-04-22T23:38:58+00:00

I forgot you said you were a senior in high school by the time I finished reading this post.

You should just complete your undergrad degree then decide what to do next afterward. You might meet a husband during your undergrad and that ends up changing everything. Just take like step by step. I'm sure a biochemistry major can make around 50-60k/y with no experience and an undergrad degree, maybe even more with a good internship prior. That is perfectly fine to sustain yourself and pay off loans steadily unless you're living somewhere like New York City.

mellowman81 · 2018-04-27T19:56:15+00:00

I used to work as a Paramedic & I am getting my pre-reqs for PA school. I'm getting my degree in biology. A bit of advice, if your only reason for entering the PA field is due to the salary, know that it requires a level of dedication beyond the common experience of just earning a paycheck. You get to intubate, perform suturing, insert chest tubes, administer meds. Those are skills that need to be performed to the best of your ability, which requires many hours of training & practice to become proficient at it. Professionals practice until they make no mistakes. Take an EMT course. It's a good way to get your foot in the door to see if medicine is the right field for you. It's an inexpensive course & you get to do clinical time in the ER & you have an internship with a fire department. Don't worry about loans. The biggest mistake many MDs & PAs make in this field is blowing their first year salary on crap they don't need, like an expensive car, when they should be paying off debt. Focus on you. This is your life. It's not your parents life. It's not your friends life. It's not your boyfriend life. If you are worried that your work like will outbalance your personal life, you can always work less hours once your debt is paid off. You need balance in medicine. Spend time on YOU. What we do in this life, echoes in eternity.

g_e_m_anscombe · 2018-04-23T04:56:19+00:00

I don’t think grad school or career choice is the defining feature of whether a woman will be stressed out and overworked. A high school teacher isn’t high on the pay scale but they can often be stressed/overworked. In general, the more education a woman gets, the more valuable she is even as a part time worker. I know female doctors and lawyers who have part time arrangements because they wanted to have time to focus on family. There aren’t many jobs that pay over $100 an hour and will let you work only 20-30 hours a week. For that reason, I wouldn’t discourage a woman from pursuing higher education in high paying careers. It becomes an issue when a woman goes into deep debt to study something like social work or art. Those fields typically don’t pay as well.

If you do end up in one of these higher paid fields, the answer is clear: you triage. The lawyer I know has a housekeeping service and hired tutors for her kids. You’ll probably eat out more and eat at home less; or you’ll eat at home but you’ll get more food partially prepared. My MIL might frown on this, but if I’m working and making $75 an hour, it makes sense for me to get $4 personal salads from Trader Joe’s rather than putting together and executing full meal plans every week. People judge women no matter what they do - whether it’s healthy or practical or cost efficient be damned. In the end, I won’t judge the woman who decides to stay at home and home school, and I won’t feel judged for not staying home and sending my kids to public school. A lot of people say that women can’t “have it all” and I think that’s true. But if you want to try, you just learn to triage what you can. For me, that means you outsource certain household tasks and spend more time with your kids.

KittenLoves_ · 2018-04-23T06:39:47+00:00

Look into scholarships. And if you do eventually decide on grad school, know that a lot of STEM graduate programs are funded, and that often you can find jobs TAing or RAing within the university once you're in your degree.

bloobird08 · 2018-04-25T00:41:06+00:00

I don’t know if anyone has said this, but just make sure your field is in demand. People who get grad degrees in high demand fields get jobs a lot easier and faster when they graduate. It will save you a lot of stress in the future. Look for fields that have high projected growth in the next 10 years.

est-la-lune · 2018-04-27T03:13:11+00:00

My comment is late but I'm a graduate student in biology so I hope my experience is useful.

One, 20-30k for undergrad is low. The stated cost of tuition, fees, books, and other expenses for my university is around $30,000/year, and I attend a public university. I think it's worth it, especially if the more expensive school has access to better resources and you are already comfortable taking on that debt.

I attended community college for 3 years. After I transferred, I graduated on time without debt (thanks Dad!) and my dad paid a total of $30,000 in tuition for me to receive a degree from a research university.

As a graduate student, I receive a tuition waiver for being a TA and I make approximately $1,200/month as an additional stipend that I use for gas, food, and savings. My dad sends me another $1,200/month for rent and utilities.

I highly recommend researching the graduate programs offered at different universities to see what they can offer you in terms of funding. If debt is a major concern, go to a public research university and stay out of academia. If you love research but want to earn money, I recommend a job in industry. If you're married to the idea of being a PA, volunteer at a hospital and network with doctors/nurses. Become a scribe, medical assistant, or CNA and work during your undergrad if you can to save money and gain clinical hours.

Your immediate concerns are to learn study skills, time management, and keep your GPA competitive.

Good luck!

adirp · 2018-04-23T21:02:22+00:00

Grad school is free for STEM fields. You won't be paying a dime for grad school.

One thing I recommend... look for a partner now if having a family is one of your goals.

Title	Thoughts on graduate school?
Author	Rugeanu881
Upvotes	5
Comments	12
Date	April 22, 2018 9:56 PM UTC (8 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/RedPillWomen
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/RedPillWomen/comments/8e6jcc/thoughts_on_graduate_school/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/RedPillWomen/thoughts-on-graduate-school.67262 https://theredarchive.com/post/67262

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