Jordan McNeill, a doctoral student in Applied Developmental Science and Special Education writing in a column for Inside Higher Ed, shares some insights she gained by working for a few years before enrolling in graduate school.
McNeill describes how most of her fellow graduate students in the School of Education have worked for a few years before going for a doctorate, a situation that’s different from graduate student populations in the hard sciences.
McNeill cites National Science Foundation statistics that show that only 12% of education doctorates are earned by students age 30 or less. The figure is more than 50% in the hard science fields.
Among her observations of “studenting” after spending six years “adulting:”
• Some lifestyle adjustments are in store for people who have been living on paychecks and then go to living on graduate student stipends.
• Those with teaching experience now the classroom issues firsthand.
• You’ve developed positive work habits and skills that can be put to work in grad school.