What should I do with my life?

February 6, 2012 2:22 PM

What should I do with my life, MetaFilter?

So, I'm in my final semester of undergraduate work and I'm at a bit of a crossroads. Be that as it may, every direction seems to be pretty boring. I have all my graduate school applications in and things are looking good on that front -- acceptances and some decent funding packages so far to my "top" school, but I don't know if that's what I want to do.

I've worked my ass off to get through Uni. without taking out loans, working multiple jobs, doing three funded internships, and basically burning myself out for graduate school. Some background: I'll graduate with B.A. literature/B.S. Biochemistry with a 3.6 GPA (English courses are a great way to boost science majors' GPAs!) I've worked for eight years: four in secretarial/administrative, four in science (technician and guided research), and three years in teaching at the high school level and tutoring college students. I'm also a cat guy with no commitments holding me in my current geographic location.

I've applied to six graduate programs in the sciences, I'm in the final round of Teach For America interviews, and I applied to AEON (Japanese TEFL thing).

So, with all that in mind, what the hell should I do with my life?

To summarize in a nice little numbered list:

1.) Suck it up and go to grad school for a while -- hell, you're already in.
2.) Do something TEFL-related. Go be a Gundam in Japan, weeaboo.
3.) Do a service program! You love helping people! You're so nice! Yeah!
4.) Get a real job, slacker. Oh, right, you have degrees in literature and biochemistry. lol good luck, bro.

5.) Your turn! What should I do?

posted by anonymous to society & culture (17 answers total)

If you can go to grad school without accruing debt, do it. There's little else that can't wait a few more years, and regardless of the field of study, more exposure to it will help.
posted by Etrigan at 2:26 PM on February 6

Yeah, I guess I would have to vote for Grad School if you are doing so with minimal debt. School is just much better than the "real" world.
posted by djduckie at 2:28 PM on February 6

School might be so much "better" but you still have to look for work when you get out. Anyone who has real world work experience will beat you in a race for jobs. I say get some work experience. (Yes, I see that you worked during school, but you need something that shows a future employer that you're able to function in a corporate or serious non-profit work environment.)

Who knows, you might like it.
posted by Ideefixe at 2:33 PM on February 6 [4 favorites]

People I spoke with when I was at a similar crossroads seemed to uniformly warn against going straight from undergrad to grad school. Since it sounds like you're burning yourself out, taking off a year or so from school doesn't sound like a bad idea. Especially since grad school is so much more labor-intensive.

I'd vote for 2 or 3, but I am biased towards traveling and helping people. I know a handful of people who have taught English in South Korea and love it.
posted by sugarbomb at 2:37 PM on February 6 [3 favorites]

2 or 3. Grad school, real jobs will both be waiting for you when you get back, which will be as a more worldly, well-rounded person.
posted by the foreground at 2:38 PM on February 6

You've been admitted to graduate school! Excellent. Presumably you have a fellowship and a stipend to attend.

You're following the "approved" path. The next question is, of course, what you want to do with your life.

You have experience in research and teaching. It sounds like you're on the right track. Ph.D.s in biochemistry aren't the path to riches, or anything, but if you like it and are good at it, you can have a good future. "Everyone" in your age group who doesn't know what they want in life is teaching English in Asia or doing a service program. Be thankful that you're on a clearly-marked-out academic/career path. But you don't sound like you have a bunch of clear goals. What are they?

o Have a career where you travel a lot?
o Make a lot of money?
o Dedicate yourself to lab research?

It sounds like your main complaint is that the options are "boring". Maybe defer grad school for a year and work in an oil field? That doesn't sound boring.
posted by deanc at 2:39 PM on February 6

You should do whatever opportunity pans out that makes the most sense and that you want the most.

If you've applied to six grad programs in the sciences and you actually want to get a graduate degree in the sciences/pursue a career in the sciences, then great! If you get in, do that!

If you get into this AEON thing, OK, that also sounds great.

If you get accepted to TFA, cool, that sounds awesome, too.

The only situation I can think of where there would be anything to really decide on your part is if you get into multiple programs and have to figure out which one you want the most. But that's a different sort of question than an open ended "what to do with my life". And of course this assumes that you actually want to do these things you've applied for and are not just putting off adult life with another structured task, because you're afraid of life without structured tasks.

If the latter, then #4, obviously.
posted by Sara C. at 2:42 PM on February 6

It sounds like you like 2 or 3 best. If you go for TEFL, I highly recommend abandoning the quip, "English courses are a great way to boost science majors' GPAs!" HTH.
posted by NikitaNikita at 2:52 PM on February 6

Another thing - If I were you, I wouldn't obsess too much with the "...with my life" end of that question. As long as you're doing something that makes you happy in the short term, everything you're thinking about doing is a perfectly valid choice. You have a lot of living to do between your early 20's and the time when you have to start thinking about being settled in a career.

Almost all of my friends graduated college, started a career in X (mostly based on the choices you're making right now), then by 30-35 settled into a career in Y based on where life took them outside the classroom.
posted by Sara C. at 2:57 PM on February 6 [1 favorite]

Don't go to grad school to delay getting a job. Don't go to graduate school because you think that having a M.S. or PhD will automatically make it easier to find a job or get better compensation. It'll be much harder to break into industry with a PhD.

DON"T GO because "school is better than the real world." Don't go just because you're smart and ambitious enough. Of course people have different experiences in grad school, but I see so many miserable, borderline suicidally depressed grad students in the sciences because they decided that grad school is where smart people go as a matter of course.

Only go to grad school if you know EXACTLY why you're getting the degree and why you need it. Only go if an area of research springs to mind that you are head--over-heals passionate about and that you would gladly study even if it meant making beans for the rest of your life. And since you raised this question, this doesn't sound like you.

You never mentioned if you enjoyed your work as a technician or your work teaching high school. That's pretty important information for someone offering advice to know. Don't be so pessimistic about getting a job with your credentials (they sound superlative). Neither English nor Biochemistry are very marketable degrees, but there are plenty of good jobs for people with persistence and the ability to think outside of the box. You don't sound like you lack persistence. I am in a similar position as yours, except I didn't have to work my way through college so my work experience is not as impressive. Definitely play that up, whatever you do.

It's hard for me to say you should teach in Japan since you never mentioned if you actually liked teaching, or if you should continue into academia since you never mentioned if you actually enjoy toiling away in a lab. For what it's worth, most people seem to have good experiences in TEFL programs, and first-hand knowledge of other cultures will be a huge advantage if you decide to go into business later on.
posted by WhitenoisE at 3:01 PM on February 6 [11 favorites]

OK... you've done the school thing well so far. You've got some working experience.... but how much have you really explored the world and what you like to do? Have you been out there? Paid-for grad school is an awesome thing, although if you've procured it once, I'd bet you can do it again. I'd say get out and explore. Find things you like to / want to do.

I went through college and grad school, pretty much straight, because that seemed like the thing to do -- once you are in that groove you just keep going. Thinking back (it's pretty far back), I'm not sure there was much benefit to it.
posted by ecorrocio at 3:20 PM on February 6 [1 favorite]

I can't second WhitenoisE hard enough. I'm a fifth year grad student, and I really wish I'd thought long and hard about why I wanted a Ph.D before I signed up. It's not all rainbows and butterflies, especially if you don't really, really want an academic career. If you DO think you want an academic career, with all the politics, pressure, relative freedom (in some ways) and relatively low salaries it implies, then go for it. Don't do it "because it's there." You'll regret it. I have made my peace with finishing this degree but if I could go back four years and shake young-me by the shoulders and advise him to pursue a different course, I probably would.
posted by Alterscape at 3:21 PM on February 6 [2 favorites]

Travel in the developing world.
posted by Nothing at 4:14 PM on February 6 [1 favorite]

Many grad schools -- even with funding offers--will permit you to defer for a year. You can ask if that is possible before deciding. They want you to arrive rested and ready to work.

I would also read the fine print on the funding package ... will it take you through the full length or is it "renewal based on performance" for the second year? If there is no second year guarantee, you may want to come in with savings. Sciences are usually better for funding you all the way through and getting you done on schedule.

Grad school can be a bit of a shocker in terms of work load (I work for a grad students union so I talk to burnt out grad students *a lot*). Having life/work experience behind you can add a lot to the grad experience, do can be a good part of a grad degree plan.

I would talk to some of the grad students in your current field and see if they have advice, or contacts in your preferred school, that you could speak to about what to expect.

Good luck!
posted by chapps at 4:56 PM on February 6

I'm really surprised at the number of people telling you to go to grad school when you have no idea why you would. Graduate school is too expensive and too difficult to be used as a shelter from the world.

Take some time off - you have no idea what you want yet, and graduate training will be a waste of time and money until you do. You can work during your time off, you can travel, you can volunteer - whatever makes sense for you - but don't go back to school until you know why you are there and are excited about it.

It will come. There is a huge difference between getting a graduate degree in something you really want and are focused about, and getting one just because you really have no better ideas. That's clock-punching. What happens when people do this is that they often end up in a professional career they don't care that much about, and then stay in because they can't stop thinking of their sunk costs in time and money that went to that graduate degree. They end up feeling 'stuck' in a field and the idea of going back one more time frustrates the hell out of them because they feel like they did that already.

Don't embark on graduate training until you are passionate about getting training in something specific. Use the intervening time to gain some life experience and notice what things keep drawing your attention, what environments you like being in, and what outcomes you like to create. When you have more answers to those questions, that's the time to go back to school.
posted by Miko at 7:41 PM on February 6

Ok, so -- I don't know you, and YMMV. But I did TFA before grad school, and I'm *very* glad I did. Doing something else first gave me a much healthier perspective on the process; I don't feel like my life is on hold or like I'm hiding from the real world, and now I know for sure that I'm in my program for the right reasons. If you're not sure, do something else first, and see where you are in two or three years.

You're welcome to MeMail me if you have any questions about TFA.
posted by sleepingcbw at 8:24 PM on February 6 [1 favorite]

Go be a Gundam! I taught in Korea for two years and it is the PERFECT "I have no idea what I wanna do" job. You get paid well, you can save a ton, you'll have lots of friends (Any American becomes a friend in a foreign land) and you can travel. When you leave you'll have a few thousand bucks to embark on whatever you choose to do next.

I waited until I was 26 to do it, I wish I'd done it at 22.
posted by GilloD at 9:00 AM on February 7