what the fuck am i getting myself into with this grad school stuff

xp yea i agree - what i'm most excited about is the increase in earning potential after the degree

this is such a false grail

not really false in the long term. you're pretty limited in the field (both in pay and career options) if you want to be a librarian but don't have an MLS. please correct me if i'm wrong (no condescension meant here) but are there library assistants who make more than librarians? even subtracting the cost of a degree, i'm pretty sure that it's worth it financially for me to get an MLS

yeah i think an MLS is still justifiable depending on how you do it and the degree really does translate into more $ in most library situations. i just kind of fucked it up, borrowed way more than i should have, nearly dropped out my second year, was pretty underachieving in general.

mark, i live with my parents in utah right now. i'm casting my net really wide though. i'll move anywhere if it's affordable. my problem is a relative lack of experience -- i've never actually worked in a library! i have two archiving / cataloging internships that i didn't get much from. so i'm only kind of viable as an archivist, which narrows it down a lot.

living in utah seems like such a mixed blessing

i was really referring to the idea in general, not your major specifically.

yeah in general you're totally right

ha, i start this fall (library science). totally excited about the classes but i already know that the homework is gonna get old and be a total drag like 2 weeks in.

― mark cl, Tuesday, April 14, 2009 2:56 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark

what i'm most excited about is the increase in earning potential after the degree

ha, i should qualify what i said earlier a little bit. i know this is a grad school commiseration thread and i know for a fact that i don't like homework, but all in all i'm definitely excited for grad school. there's so much cool stuff about the field that i've had little to no experience in that i'm pumped to learn more about.

earning potential and career enhancement etc., of course, but i am actually excited about spending a couple years learning more about the field as an end-in-itself

btw my thesis update is: adviser liked most recent version and wants me to make some 'slight changes' to chapter 2 (where have i heard this before!!?!?!)

lol tehresa, i had this experience more than once and took to not changing the work at all and just giving it to them over again. it tended to work.

i identify so much with being too scared to look at the comments. :-/

i tried that the first time (just made really tiny changes) and then she made me do massive revisions, which she seems happy with... except the 'slight changes'...

ayo adviser says i can give thesis to dean! 1 step closer!!!

so. every week we turn in homework to our instructor and to each other in class. then, for the following class, everyone grades each other's homework, & we go over the homework in the following class.

let's say we have to miss a class. what do we think of an instructor who WONT let us use email to send each other? instead we have to go to school to turn in a physical copy or give our homework to someone to turn in for us? i say it's insane.

yeah that's dumb

i had to peer review a couple of draft final papers this week and one of them was soooo bad and i had to a) come up with a few nice things to say so it wouldn't all be negative and b) phrase my criticisms in a polite way and not just like "uh this paper sucks and you obviously didn't work on it and i worked my ass off on my paper and i'm pissed you thought it was ok to turn this in, even as a draft"

hah! that sounds like my adviser, who insists that using email is unprofessional. lady, it is 2009! i may have mentioned this already... nuts.

oh man n/a--that is so tough. i had to learn how to write critiques of fiction and stuff for workshop. it took me a couple of go rounds to learn how to say that stuff in a constructive way.

yeah--i just don't get not using the email. email works! pretty well!

what's even worse is when someone half asses a story or a chapter, turns it in, and you work hard on their critique and write a page or two and then when they critique your stuff, it's like, five sentences/a paragraph at the most

yea i pretty much hate any type of academic work in which i have to work w/ other people or rely on them for anything. always hated group projects and the like, critiquing other people's papers (unless it's a friend and they're really looking for good constructive criticism and vice-versa)

not really an anti-social thing, i just would rather do my own work. i think it's mostly b/c a shocking number of people half-ass everything in school and it makes it not worth it to collaborate

i should say that i haven't started grad school yet - i'm sure it's different from undergrad in that respect (of so many people half-assing it)?

Sadly, it's not that different. Don't get me wrong - I've had a few group projects this year that were OUTSTANDING because the other members actually contributed their fair share and turned in things on time. But for the most part, "group work" still means you do all the work and the rest of the group gets a good grade for doing absolutely nothing.

In other news, on the thesis front I'm starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel (which I fucking should because it's due in two weeks!), AND I got a call from the EPA today saying "we really want to work for us bro". It's been a good day!

want YOU to work for us bro

huh i've had pretty good luck with group work i guess, all of my projects have been reasonably evenly distributed. but i'm in a distance education program so maybe not meeting face-to-face does something to make everyone think "oh shit i better work on this"

Then again, when I think about it the truly awful group projects I've had the past few years have invariably involved undergrads and/or PhDs who never show up.

yea tbh i feel like it would be easier to designate work to people over email xpost

congrats ZS btw!

most of my classmates are such hyperactive overachievers that group work is sort of a breeze. i'd probably be the freeloader if any of them could actually write. luckily(?), they can't, so i've been designated writer/editor of all the projects we've done, which is a nice arrangement, since i can do everything from home.

^this is my experience with my big project this semester. My only complaint is changing any cell in our rambling excel model pretty much means a coffee break.

In other news, on the thesis front I'm starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel (which I fucking should because it's due in two weeks!), AND I got a call from the EPA today saying "we really want to work for us bro". It's been a good day!

― "buttz" (Z S), Thursday, 23 April 2009 13:29 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Its a good time to get a job at DoE or EPA, EPA especially are screaming for anyone who can make turn lab results into NPV/IRR.

man this semester needs to end, like, yesterday. ugh.

at least the project that caused me to lose my mind upthread is more or less done, or the tough part of it was anyway

yes.

also: last class of the year is next tues. it is my turn to host a small panel. i had a cancellation last minute and now can not find a 2nd panelist! if i fail this with 1 week of grad school left i will die.

but i am turning my thesis over to the dean tomorrow!

i'll be on yr panel. can i talk about how email is evil?

NO.

you need to talk about public relations strategies and tactics for attracting non-traditional audiences.

MY THESIS WAS APPROVED!

high five!

:D

congratz

psyched!

thanks, dudes!

congrats

next week is the last week of classes but i still have four papers due before i'm done. one is "finished" but i'm holding it off on turning it in in case i have any last-minute epiphanies (not due til next week), one is nearly done but i'm still implementing some suggested additions from the reviewer, and two i haven't started yet. of the two i haven't started, one is a short "what have i learned" essay (easy), but the other is the big final project for the class :/

WOO and indeed YAY: hearty congrats.

WAY 2 GO, TZA!

next week is written finals

lab final for neuro this coming friday, physical exam final this afternoon (gotta go study....now!)

then i light out for the territories

i am hosting my panel tonight (finally confirmed 2nd panelist on sunday afternoon lol) and next tues we have a party. guys... i can't believe i am finally done with this grad school stuff!!!!

good luck n/a and gbx!

been stressed lately, mainly about final papers but also because most of my classmates seem so dorked out about what we're studying, like they're really into it and know all about it and have conversations about it, while i basically am just doing what i need to do to get through school and i feel guilty for being bored by a lot of this shit, especially because that's how i treated college and i feel like i didn't really "take advantage" of being in college educationwise and careerwise (making connections etc).

i wouldn't feel guilty--you're using grad school as a means to an end. i was bored by college too (and i've been bored in grad school 75% of the time) but i've gotten enough other stuff out of it that i feel it's worth it and stuff

tehresa, I am giving you a virtual high five that reverberates loudly into the digital night!

It sounds like this:

Wha-POW-ow-ow-wwwwwwwwwww

^_^

btw next week, I think Wednesday/Thursday, if all goes well I'll be here soliciting digital high fives because by then my thesis will also be approved. :)

i think we need to have an end of the semester sing along to School's Out

omg awesome congratulations tehresa!!!!!!!!

Awesome job Tehresa. caps and gowns all round.

Roll on May 11th for my final deliverables.

zs, i will reciprocate your fiveness!