Avoiding The Bad Economy Is Not A Good Reason to Apply to Grad School in Psychology
If it seems like I’ve been hitting you over the head with the point that the decision to attend graduate school is not to be taken lightly, then I’ve been doing my job. Really, the only major influencing factor in whether you should get a Ph.D. is if your desired career path requires a Ph.D. Ditto for whatever kind of graduate degree you want to pursue in psychology. Applying to graduate school is not a decision to be made lightly — for bragging rights, social status, or not having a clue what else to do with your life. And unless you want to waste a couple of hundred bucks in graduate school application fees, you sure ought to have a more compelling reason to present in your graduate personal statement.
I recently stumbled upon this really great article about the “costs” of attending graduate school. I agree with a lot of the major points, especially about how students are really unfamiliar about how different grad school is from undergraduate education.
Some of my favorite points about graduate school:
Sit back and lay low for two years until the economy improves – might as well “stay in school,” right? I say think again. That’s not a sufficient reason for going to graduate school, and on its own, is not a good one, either.
Myth #1: Going back to graduate school will be like more undergraduate-style learning, and you’ll get to spend more time “learning” about what you “love.”
Reality: While graduate programs certainly fall under the rubric of “education”, take this with a grain of salt. In graduate school you are now expected to be a producer of knowledge, not a consumer. If you feel like kicking back and taking time to really read up on some old classics or feel the beauty of learning a new language, take some more undergraduate courses.
To read more: The Real Costs of Graduate School
Are you sure that a Ph.D. in psychology is right for you?
Do you relish the idea of producing original research? Are you well-versed in statistics? If not, is the down economy still looking like a good reason to apply to graduate school in psychology?
If you’re really clueless about how else to establish a career in psychology besides apply to a doctoral program, might I suggest a bit of career research? There are several resources on the market to help inform you of the myriad of applications of psychology, so don’t worry, your bachelors degree was not for naught. There are tons of careers in psychology (and other related areas). You just need the right information at your disposal.
