Thoughts on Graduate School and the Pursuit of Knowledge.

People attend graduate school for a variety of reasons. For some its the pursuit of a career that requires it, a degree in Biology or Physics for example. For others, its just what is expected of them either by admired faculty, or family pressures. Still for others, it is the continuing desire to prove themselves; a vendetta whose sole goal is to debunk that teacher or those peers who thought you would be a truck driver at best. Maybe for some, its the desire to be intellectually elevated above 95% or 99% of Americans depending on your degree. Even others will go to graduate school because they do not know what to do next. What ever your reason, it is vital that you think grad-school is for you.

For many professions, I believe the difference between attaining a Bachelors and a Masters is the probability of being hired by a company. However, a PhD is different. It doesn’t make you more or less competitive, it simply allows you to apply for a new job class. It should be noted that a PhD, depending on the field of choice, will limit your job choices greatly. This is true so long as it is not attained from a prestigious University, or you are able to pull off a Nature, Cell, or Science publication (or other top journal in your field). Otherwise, you will still start at the bottom of the corporate or academic food chain. The only difference is that you will hold a more respected position. Neither degree gives you job security, assurances of being hired, or guarantees a higher spot in the company. However, if the job you want requires a higher degree, then its either give up the career you desire, or push through graduate school.

Some will tell you that they attend graduate school in the pursuit of knowledge. Unfortunately knowledge is relative; can be gained from multiple sources; and doesn’t require classes to attain much of it. Do you really need a teacher to regurgitate the diagrams that are found in your book? Better yet, think about your favorite book. Mine was the Future of Life by E.O. Wilson. I can still recall the books main points, and several examples the author used to illustrate them. As a matter of fact, when I talk about the Environment, I use more examples from that book, than I do from many of my classes. My point? If you desire to attain knowledge, go read a book. It will be cheaper, use less time, and induce less stress in your life. I have seen people attend a Biology masters program while teaching themselves Proteomics (the study of proteins, their functions, and all their interactions). That very person proceeded to enter a career in Proteomics even though his Masters thesis never came close to this topic. If he can do it, so can you.

Regardless of the reason for attaining a higher degree, when you attend graduate school, you become your advisors apprentice, and as such, you will learn how to think. If your desire is not aligned with this, you are likely to fall short of greatness, as graduate school isn’t easily tamed.

Its no lie that being a grad student is a form of academic hazing where professors test the very limits of your knowledge and mental stability. Preliminary exams which generally include a written and oral section are among the most stressful points in any graduate student career. For those who are unfamiliar with this process, prelims’ are like a college exam on steroids’ where you are expected to know every single figure, process, or significant publication that even remotely relates to your thesis topic. Its like a test that could draw material from any single page in your Biology, Statistics, Chemistry, Cell Biology, Neuroscience, etc text book. It is around this point that most graduate students take a step back and ask “Why the hell am I doing this?” Fortunately for those of use in Masters programs, we get to evade the dreaded prelims’. However Masters students are not without our share of academic hazing as well. Ultimately there comes a point where almost every grad. student questions why they’re pursuing a higher degree.

Merit should be given to those who take a step back and examine their motives for attaining a higher degree. As stated before, a higher degree is indeed required for some professions, however, for a large proportion of other disciplines, a higher degree is not. In fact a higher degree does not even guarantee that you will get paid a higher salary, or given a specific job. So for those of you who are considering a higher degree for the these reasons, consider the following very carefully. The U.S. Department of Labor touts the fact that higher degrees do pay off in the long run. A Bachelors will yield $2.1 million over the course of a lifetime, while a Masters will yield $2.4, a PhD will yield $3.2, and a Professional (M.B.A., Law Degree, MD, etc) will pay $4.4 million. So the average difference between stopping at a B.S. Degree, and advancing to a M.S. degree is only 400,000 on average. However, this average is a bit misleading.

A student that gets admitted into a Masters program, or a PhD program are usually at the top 1% - 5% of their respective classes. Therefore the average lifetime earnings for a MS student is calculated from the top 5% of your class, while that for a PhD is calculated for the top 1% of your class. The average life time earnings for a BS takes into account the other 95% of your graduating class, even those that graduated in 7 years with a less than stellar GPA. Its like comparing Apples’, Kiwis’, and Strawberries’. If you are currently in a Masters program, then you were smart enough to be there. You are already at the top 5% of Americans, you just don’t have the degree to prove it yet. For these lifetime earnings numbers to make any sense, one must look at the starting earnings of those people in the top 5% of your class that didn’t go to graduate school. I’d bet that those people have a starting salary of $5,000 - $8,000 higher than the “average”. This compares to a starting pay increase of just $10,000 that a MS will command. This means that over the course of a 40 year career, the difference in salary (should the proportions remain relatively constant) is just $80,000. A person that stops a Masters or PhD to go out in the work force, will have between 1 and 4 years experience under their belt by the time a Masters or PhD comes around to do the same job. Besides, as a potential employer, its more economically viable to hire someone with lower qualifications, but higher experience, because training costs and time are significantly lower than having to hire someone whom I would have to spend valuable time and money training.

However, having a higher degree means that you will probably advance more quickly within a company, you will command more respect, and if you’re good, there is no limit to what you could do. You will gain access to intellectuals and be dubbed into a community that few can enter. You will have a great line on your resume complete with amazing experience. You will build lasting friendships with intellectually stimulating people. You will gain mastery of a specific field while being challenged to the very edge of your mental capacity. Both sides have their merits, and its tough being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Its easier to stay where you are, especially if you are already in a graduate program, however in the words of Alexander Graham Bell: “When one door closes, another one opens, but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones the opened for us.”
Evaluate your options carefully.

AThinkinMan