Secondary BS/BA vs. Graduate School

After graduating and doing practically nothing for an entire year, I have entertained the notion of going back to school for another degree in a different discipline. Normally, one who has a BA would go straight into graduate school, but I am not particularly fond of the idea due to the program limitations in my area and the amount of debt I would be in.

I do, however, feel the odd necessity of going back to college again, since I practically pissed all of it away the first time around. Although I graduated with a high GPA, I learned nothing and did not form any meaningful relationships with professors or peers. Like many others, college was just a mandatory convention that I had to go through, and I did it as quickly and easily as possible.

I'd like to have the chance to do it all over again. I'd like to work hard towards a major that I actually care about and don't feel indifferent towards, and actually take the time to get to know my professors.

However, I am bothered by society's conventions. I'm almost in my mid-twenties, where you're expected to have a good job with a steady salary, not spending another four years in academia. I'd probably be staying with my parents until my late twenties so I could pay off the tuition more easily, which would be disgusting, unless I can find a couple of buddies to share an apartment with.

What would you guys do in my position? Or should I just get some balls and make the most of the degree I've got? Alternatively, the notion of getting a steady job, then going back to school might make more sense, but I can't figure out how people can juggle a real job along with college.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

As my professors (both Engineering and Humanities) have said: If you can't find someone to pay for your Grad school, you probably shouldn't be there.

If you've got a high GPA, look into grad assistantships, teaching assistantships, fellowships, the works.

How ya doing, buddy?

That doesn't do much good if you're not interested in what you'd be able to go to grad school for.

Lith, you might actually want to talk to BlueMikey about this. He went to grad school for CS for a few years, decided he hated it, left, did various jobs I don't think he was too happy with, and just started law school this year.

I think it really comes down to what kind of person you are. If you're someone that's going to work to live, then I don't think it should matter a whole lot what discipline you're in, just as long as you can make your living. If you're someone like myself, and live to work, then it should be completely worth it to you to go back to school to try and learn about what you love.

Of course, you should see if there's some way to get towards something you're interested without having to go back through undergrad if it's possible. Since, well, four years is a pretty significant amount of time in your career right now.

How ya doing, buddy?

Ooh.

Yeah, so I graduated with a BS in Computer Science but couldn't find a job (I was pretty much stuck in Tucson, which has a shitty job market). I eventually did find a job, but 4 years after I left school, I decided I really, really hated programming for a living. Like it was interesting to learn, but I hated doing it as a job. Not only that, but with a CS degree, you can't do anything else with it but program.

I found a couple of friends of mine going for law degrees, and the more I researched it, the better it sounded. For one, you can get almost any job you want with a law degree. I mean, other than being a doctor, there isn't much else a JD won't open doors for. And you don't even have to know what you'd want to do when you're done. They don't care what major you come from (I go to school with English majors, psych majors, CS, Poly Sci, business, biology, etc., etc.).

It's extremely challenging, it's almost a competition. And depending on the school you choose (like mine, where incoming classes are only 150) you really, really get to know some of your professors.

You have to be ready to work and interested in the process, but I recommend law school to anyone who is even remotely considering it. The last semester has been one of the most fulfilling 4-month periods of my entire life.

Regarding debt: law school is only 3 years long, and while you usually find yourself in a massive amount of debt (I go to an "affordable" school and will be in debt almost $100k), you make so much when you graduate that its easy to pay it off as long as you don't go into some extremely low paying "good" work (e.g., environmental) or the lowest government work (city claims court).

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