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Crystal G



Registered: 06/05/07
Posts: 19,584
Loc: outer space
Last seen: 8 months, 6 days
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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: danielx]
#23567645 - 08/22/16 10:27 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
danielx said: Political science, lulzy.
Believe it or not, people who want to work in certain sectors of the government, or administration, or public policy, or government type research, are supposed to have degrees in political science. Shocker, I know.
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nooneman


Registered: 04/24/09
Posts: 14,568
Loc: Utah
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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: Crystal G]
#23567652 - 08/22/16 10:29 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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I would say go for it, but make sure you understand what you're getting into.
Grad school is about 10x harder than undergrad. You have to maintain at least a B average. C isn't passing. You'll have to devote most of your life to school. There's a saying at MIT: school, friends, sleep, choose 2. Most of your fellow students will completely kill their social and recreational lives and devote most of their time to studying. Additionally, it's a very long and hard process with a high burnout rate. I would say as many as 80% who start never finish. You really have to devote your life to it for the duration of gradschool.
Make sure you get an MA "en route." It's the only thing that guarantees that you didn't waste years of your life if you do burn out one day.
However, there are a lot of drugs in gradschool, so there's that. Stimulants mostly (for study and work purposes). Definitely do take stimulants in grad school would be my recommendation
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akira_akuma
Φύσις κρύπτεσθαι ὕψιστος φιλεῖ


Registered: 08/28/09
Posts: 82,455
Loc: Onypeirophóros
Last seen: 4 years, 1 month
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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: Crystal G]
#23567659 - 08/22/16 10:30 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
Crystal G said:
Quote:
akira_akuma said:
that's even sadder.
It's unfortunate, but true. Americans are failing at math.
but...but...how are we going to achieve greater proficiency if we can't calculate?
oh no, we need more...engineers? no, wait, we need more..........farmers. yep, it's official. we need more people to farm...no wait...no we don't...we need more...something...fuck it, anything other than PhD's, because that shit is for losers. we need more corporate monies going into ...the pool of corporate monies so we can...have more rich people. more jobs! yeah Christ, it took me awhile to get there, but jeez, yeah, more jobs!
yeah!
_
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danielx
whatup!


Registered: 10/13/08
Posts: 6,500
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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: Crystal G]
#23567661 - 08/22/16 10:31 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Yeah, and theyre doing a fucking great job with this country. I for one love the government and bureaucracy. I mean fuck, everyone knows writing fucking research papers make someone qualified right?
Plus those sweet lobbyist with no degrees who will always be making more money then you.
-------------------- Long live kratom
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Crystal G



Registered: 06/05/07
Posts: 19,584
Loc: outer space
Last seen: 8 months, 6 days
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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: nooneman]
#23567662 - 08/22/16 10:31 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
nooneman said: I would say go for it, but make sure you understand what you're getting into.
Grad school is about 10x harder than undergrad. You have to maintain at least a B average. C isn't passing. You'll have to devote most of your life to school. There's a saying at MIT: school, friends, sleep, choose 2. Most of your fellow students will completely kill their social and recreational lives and devote most of their time to studying. Additionally, it's a very long and hard process with a high burnout rate. I would say as many as 80% who start never finish. You really have to devote your life to it for the duration of gradschool.
Make sure you get an MA "en route." It's the only thing that guarantees that you didn't waste years of your life if you do burn out one day.
However, there are a lot of drugs in gradschool, so there's that. Stimulants mostly (for study and work purposes). Definitely do take stimulants in grad school would be my recommendation 
Apparently only 44% of people who start PhD's finish. That's still pretty low.
Depending on the school, some even require at least 2 grades of honors in 2 of your classes, and reading-level proficiency in a foreign language. I've got Japanese down.
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Crystal G



Registered: 06/05/07
Posts: 19,584
Loc: outer space
Last seen: 8 months, 6 days
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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: danielx]
#23567665 - 08/22/16 10:32 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
danielx said: Yeah, and theyre doing a fucking great job with this country. I for one love the government and bureaucracy. I mean fuck, everyone knows writing fucking research papers make someone qualified right?
To do research, yes, it makes someone more than qualified. I don't know what you're complaining about, this isn't a thread about the government.
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danielx
whatup!


Registered: 10/13/08
Posts: 6,500
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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: Crystal G]
#23567669 - 08/22/16 10:33 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
Crystal G said:
Quote:
danielx said: Yeah, and theyre doing a fucking great job with this country. I for one love the government and bureaucracy. I mean fuck, everyone knows writing fucking research papers make someone qualified right?
To do research, yes, it makes someone more than qualified. I don't know what you're complaining about, this isn't a thread about the government.
then why did you even bring up government, administration, and public policy?
-------------------- Long live kratom
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Crystal G



Registered: 06/05/07
Posts: 19,584
Loc: outer space
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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: danielx]
#23567676 - 08/22/16 10:35 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
danielx said:
Quote:
Crystal G said: To do research, yes, it makes someone more than qualified. I don't know what you're complaining about, this isn't a thread about the government.
then why did you even bring up government, administration, and public policy?
Because the point was that a political science degree is useful, depending on what it is somebody intends to do with it.
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danielx
whatup!


Registered: 10/13/08
Posts: 6,500
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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: Crystal G]
#23567685 - 08/22/16 10:38 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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And back to my point, the reason I said poly sci is lulzy is because I dont believe it makes you qualified to do the jobs you just listed.
-------------------- Long live kratom
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pineninja
Dream Weaver



Registered: 08/17/14
Posts: 12,468
Loc: South
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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: danielx]
#23567688 - 08/22/16 10:39 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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To conquer without risk is to triumph without glory.
-------------------- Just a fool on the hill.
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Crystal G



Registered: 06/05/07
Posts: 19,584
Loc: outer space
Last seen: 8 months, 6 days
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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: danielx]
#23567689 - 08/22/16 10:39 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
danielx said: And back to my point, the reason I said poly sci is lulzy is because I dont believe it makes you qualified to do the jobs you just listed.
You said it was lulzy before I even mentioned any of those things. In fact, I only mentioned those things after you made that comment.
I specifically mentioned in my very first post, that I intend to go into government-related research for political think tanks (i.e. RAND Corporation).
So no, try again.
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akira_akuma
Φύσις κρύπτεσθαι ὕψιστος φιλεῖ


Registered: 08/28/09
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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: danielx]
#23567691 - 08/22/16 10:39 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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oh this should be interesting. i love these pedagogical discussions.
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nooneman


Registered: 04/24/09
Posts: 14,568
Loc: Utah
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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: Crystal G]
#23567696 - 08/22/16 10:41 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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That's not as bad as I thought.
Some grad programs also require stuff like the GRE to get in, but not very many anymore (Berkeley still does). Proficiency in one or more foreign languages is almost universally required, but what "proficiency" means varies. If you've already got Japanese down then I would probably continue with that to fulfill any language requirement the degree itself has (after admission).
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Crystal G



Registered: 06/05/07
Posts: 19,584
Loc: outer space
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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: nooneman]
#23567709 - 08/22/16 10:44 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
nooneman said: That's not as bad as I thought.
Some grad programs also require stuff like the GRE to get in, but not very many anymore (Berkeley still does). Proficiency in one or more foreign languages is almost universally required, but what "proficiency" means varies. If you've already got Japanese down then I would probably continue with that to fulfill any language requirement the degree itself has (after admission).
Yeah, unfortunately I took the GRE over 5 years ago, so my test scores are no longer valid (they delete scores after 5 years). So I will have to retake it. I don't remember my exact score. All I remember was that it was well above the minimum requirement for graduate schools.
Some schools require the language proficiency, but other schools don't. Those that do simply state they require reading-level proficiency in a foreign language by the time the person finishes their degree.
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danielx
whatup!


Registered: 10/13/08
Posts: 6,500
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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: Crystal G]
#23567714 - 08/22/16 10:46 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Truthfully, I didnt even read your post. I didnt even mean this to be an attack on you, or what you want to do, but more of an attack on the concept of putting people in power with poly sci degrees and no real world experience.
To be fair, its more of an attack on higher education in general. The phds I have worked with seemed the least qualified to do the jobs. They spent the last 8 years reading books, not receiving any world world experience, then didnt have a fucking clue what it meant to actually do the job.
-------------------- Long live kratom
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Crystal G



Registered: 06/05/07
Posts: 19,584
Loc: outer space
Last seen: 8 months, 6 days
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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: danielx]
#23567739 - 08/22/16 10:53 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
danielx said: Truthfully, I didnt even read your post. I didnt even mean this to be an attack on you, or what you want to do, but more of an attack on the concept of putting people in power with poly sci degrees and no real world experience.
People aren't "put in power" just because they have a PhD. If you are referring to politicians, they often have law degrees, sometimes MBAs or PhDs. They then usually start out getting elected as mayor, then congressman, then eventually senator or whatever.
Usually this route is reserved for wealthy people who have a name associated with their family, for people who graduated from Ivy Leagues, for people who are charismatic and have the powerful connections to receive funding.
Somebody like Trump, even though he has absolutely zero experience in the public sector, he is able to do what he did because of his name, because of his connections.
If anything, you should be complaining about how we have an oligarchal system, and these elites pretty much rule everything.
Nobody is just "put in power" because they have a PhD. And people who assist in writing public policy often use data and research to make changes. People who have the degree but have no real-world experience are usually put in charge of the data analytics and R&D side of things. So, why wouldn't that degree be useful for them?
I have no interest in being a politician, even if I did, they would dig up soooooo much fucking shit about me I'd end up being on the front page tabloids for weeks dying of humiliation at all the retarded shit they dug up 
Actually... You know what? Maybe I SHOULD run for office. And once shit hits the fan and it all comes out what a shady low-balling asshole I am, I probably should be able to land at least a couple TV interviews and books deals out of it. Yeahhhhh, that wouldn't be a bad way to make a bunch of money at once after all...... .... I should seriously think about riding that gravy train....
Edited by Crystal G (08/22/16 11:29 PM)
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Brian Jones
Club 27



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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: nooneman]
#23568182 - 08/23/16 05:34 AM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
nooneman said: I would say go for it, but make sure you understand what you're getting into.
Grad school is about 10x harder than undergrad. You have to maintain at least a B average. C isn't passing. You'll have to devote most of your life to school. There's a saying at MIT: school, friends, sleep, choose 2. Most of your fellow students will completely kill their social and recreational lives and devote most of their time to studying. Additionally, it's a very long and hard process with a high burnout rate. I would say as many as 80% who start never finish. You really have to devote your life to it for the duration of gradschool.
Make sure you get an MA "en route." It's the only thing that guarantees that you didn't waste years of your life if you do burn out one day.
However, there are a lot of drugs in gradschool, so there's that. Stimulants mostly (for study and work purposes). Definitely do take stimulants in grad school would be my recommendation 
I thought grad school was easier than undergrad. You take classes in the major you chose, and don't have to take things you have no interest in like foreign language requirements. Also you usually take 3 classes, only four classes one semester in 2 grad programs. Undergrad was usually five classes per semester. Undergrad was big classes and grad school was small seminars. It's true that you can't get a C, but if they want to keep you in the program they give you a B to keep you around, like my 3rd semester of grad statistics, when I was clearly in over my head. But the department had invested a lot in me with financial aid, and I was a good teaching assistant, and got A's in all my other classes. When I was an undergrad I had slightly below a B average until first semester of senior year when I bore down and got on the dean's list so I was eligible to apply to grad school. My first time in grad school I got 2 A's per B . My second time I had a nearly perfect GPA because I was exempted from the stats and research methods classes, because I did them all before. The one thing about grad school in the social sciences (or humanities I guess) is that you have to read hundreds of pages per week, and a lot of it is original source material which is much tougher to get through than secondary sources. I don't recommend much drugs in grad school, and I stayed away from stimulants (despite their endurance advantages) because of insomnia. I don't know anything about what I consider are tough majors like math, chem or engineering, but I wouldn't even be able to do them at the undergrad level.
-------------------- "The Rolling Stones will break up over Brian Jones' dead body" John Lennon I don't want no commies in my car. No Christians either. The worst thing about corruption is that it works so well,
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Malcolm_Xtasy
Oh baby what Is you doin??


Registered: 04/04/12
Posts: 13,851
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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: Brian Jones]
#23568638 - 08/23/16 09:54 AM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Now that I'm done with udergrad there's no way I'm getting anything higher than a MBA. I busted my ass getting a Neuroscience degree and now I'm in technology sales and consulting. I don't really regret my degree but it just goes to show how useless education can be in some instances
-------------------- I'm stupid, Enlil is smart. I'm ugly, Enlil is beautiful. I'm a loser, Enlil is a winner. Someday, I hope to be like Enlil but secretly know I never will.
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Moonshoe
Blue Mantis


Registered: 05/28/04
Posts: 27,202
Loc: Iceland
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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: Malcolm_Xtasy]
#23568962 - 08/23/16 12:02 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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Yeah from my experience I would advise young people only to get an education if they can do so without debt.
I loved school and enjoyed it and benefited from it but it didn't pay off economically enough to justify going into debt.
With some exceptions I think education should be seen as a pleasure and a hobby and for personal growth and satisfaction but not as an economic strategy for making more money.
Many people will graduate and not find a job in their field . Those people would be better off debt free and working and saving for those five years instead of debt and school .
You could save up enough working full time to go on a huge trip around the world at the same time your peers are graduating 30k in debt and getting the same job you got without a degree five years ago.
School is great but debt sucks. Get a scholarship or have your parents pay, otherwise I would say work full time, stay out of debt, get job experience and save .
--------------------
Everything I post is fiction.
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akira_akuma
Φύσις κρύπτεσθαι ὕψιστος φιλεῖ


Registered: 08/28/09
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Re: I am contemplating going back to school to pursue a PhD [Re: Moonshoe]
#23569555 - 08/23/16 03:53 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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an autodidact has a better chance at receiving an education, and not having said education be a burden.
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