In the end, going to graduate school became the obvious choice for me. I did not remain in grad school because of the potential for a better pay grade. I had no idea if the extra line on my resume would even separate me from my peers. All I knew was I had one more semester to play football, a great offer from the mechanical engineering department, and the opportunity to experience college life for one year outside of athletics intrigued me.
In light of this, I do not think I can help you decide if graduate school is the appropriate next step in your life, but I am happy to share what I gained from spending a couple extra years on campus.
Lessons I learned from Graduate School:
Knowledge is not about knowing the answer but knowing the question that needs to be asked and having the bravery to ask the question even if it shows how little one actually knows.
- Learning is much more challenging than being taught. For my graduate degree I had to learn how to learn. Grinding through papers of what appeared to be gibberish to trace information back to the most basic subject that I could grasp was difficult. Taking those steps backwards showcased how effective my teachers had been. They had the ability to teach, reducing high level subjects into concepts I could grasp. Seamlessly, they brought me to a higher level of thinking. Through this realization, I gained even more respect of their talents.
- Research is not my passion. I do have a thesis with a fancy title of which I am quite proud. Developing a thesis was much different from the undergraduate projects and reports I completed. Engaging in this challenge led me to respect individuals who are doing the research to move our profession forward. Boy, am I glad they enjoy it so it does not fall on my shoulders.
- More time in college is a good thing. Though some of my peers described being burnt out after their undergraduate education, I was still eager to learn more. I also will tell you that I enjoy my job even more than I enjoyed graduate school, yet with that acknowledgement, I would attend graduate school again, if given the same opportunity. The style of the advanced degree education better prepared me to handle vague projects left on my desk in my current job.
- Understand the physics. Maybe the physics isn’t important to all disciplines, but it was a
vital piece for me as a mechanical engineer. Pushing yourself to understand
the physics bounding the problem sets the limits on your solution.
Through-out undergraduate school I wanted to know what mathematics needed to
be developed to produce a solution. I wanted to be able to ‘plug and chug’.
This approach limited the applications of my knowledge to something I had
already been introduced to. If you have the understanding to explain what is
physically happening, you can produce the mathematics to solve the problem.
My apologies if that lesson was a little too nerdy. - Those you work under will mold you the most. I spent the most time trying to acquire the knowledge my advisor had accumulated. Some information was easy to pry from him, yet some he made me discover on my own. After spending a couple years with him, his habits became mine. Take the time to learn about your advisor, potential mentors and new boss. Try to position yourself to work for the best people possible, even if it sacrifices the exact job you wanted to do. Those people have successful habits that even they might not realize they possess. Working under them will give you the opportunity to mimic those habits through their unspoken expectations.
- Respect your superiors but do not feel intimidated by them. Working with someone who is more intelligent than you can be daunting. Though no one wants to look foolish in front of them by questioning what they are doing, do not be afraid to approach them with concerns about accuracy or clarification on a subject. The willingness to learn from them, to question their solutions and engage in the work they are doing, opens the lines of communications. The ability to approach them comfortably will in turn earn their respect.
Though I will never be able to decide if graduate school is right for you, I know for me the time was well spent. I do hope that something from the lessons I learned can benefit you as you make important decisions about your future.
Rock Chalk and Happy Winter Break!