Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by warguns, Nov 13, 2010.

Loading...
  1. warguns

    warguns Member

    warguns, Nov 13, 2010
    #1
  2. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Dave Wagner, Nov 15, 2010
    #2
  3. GeeBee

    GeeBee Member

    And you are almost certainly not in the target demographic for the book. :silly:

    People the age of my daughter (she's 24, just earned her BA, and is applying to grad schools) will think the the title is funny. In fact, as soon as I saw the title, I immediately thought that I should buy it for her.
     
    GeeBee, Nov 15, 2010
    #3
  4. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    True, but I suspect the title was chosen to grab people's attention. It got my attention. They are, after all, trying to sell something.
     
    AV8R, Nov 15, 2010
    #4
  5. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    Going to grad school may sometimes be a very bad idea, especially if you rack up lots of debt for a degree that will not pay you back. That is the only time it would really qualify as a "Stupid, Stupid" decision. If you are going to grad school with a sensible, financially sound plan to achieve a reachable goal, and to do so within your means, even if it does not work out well, you could not call that a stupid decision.

    On reading the table of contents, it appears that the author is stating something similar to the above. Many people will spend lots of money and go through the considerable effort only to find that they can't land any better job with an advanced degree.
     
    SurfDoctor, Nov 15, 2010
    #5
  6. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Continuing your education is rarely a bad idea, when "education" doesn't prove itself to be a synonym for "indoctrination" and "debt." Other than that, I have nothing more profound to say than the obvious, that each person needs to determine his/her own ROI. I am going to point someone out by name: my main man Abner. I am still overcoming the shock of just how great, and how quick, of a financial payoff his MBA will be for him, not to mention the valuable education that he experienced along the way. Compare that to someone who is unemployed and who believes that borrowing $100K for an MA in Humanities from a B&M is the key to financial success, or a young student with no career goals, but hopes than a graduate degree in "something" with lead to work in "something." You really (x 10^100) need to have a solid, viable plan with a clear payoff in mind.

    Of course, it is not ALL about the money, but we are not living in the movies, nor in the fantasies of our high school guidance counselors. This is reality- hellooooo, anybody here with me? Education is invaluable- but school is expensive. For personal enrichment purposes, we are extremely fortunate to live in a time where an endless supply of information is either, literally, around the corner at our local libraries or, literally, at our fingertips with the internet. That, and, practical experience tends to also be free and extremely effective :)

    I love the title of the book, and it is obvious that its purpose is not to denigrate graduate studies, but to be a guidebook for those who have already made up their minds. I really hope that I am not one day coerced into making that stupid, stupid decision myself. It will, of course, depend on how the sugar-free home-made cookie crumbles.

    Blaaaah. I realize that the comment above was not written in any sort of proper grammatical nor punctuational format. Forgive me this one time, please. :sorry:
     
    Maniac Craniac, Nov 16, 2010
    #6
  7. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    You can see excerpts from the book at amazon. On page 23, there is an evaluation of Distance Learning programs:

    Note that the book has a critical take on B&M programs as well.
     
    CalDog, Nov 16, 2010
    #7
  8. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    I have to admit that's pretty funny, even though its incorrect.
     
    SurfDoctor, Nov 16, 2010
    #8
  9. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    I find it funny because it is incorrect.
     
    Maniac Craniac, Nov 17, 2010
    #9

Share This Page