ZeChocMoose

I think it is more field specific than United States vs. Canada. In science, there does seem to be a distinction between those who pursue a Master's vs. a PhD (as Eigen pointed out) because you generally don't pursue a Master's if you are interested in the PhD. In social science (however), it is more common for people to earn a Master's at one school and then pursue a PhD at another school. Sometimes you may take some time off in between Master's and PhD, but sometimes you don't. I can't speak to humanities though as I am not sure what the norms are for that field.

Sounds like the real problem is that you haven't found your niche and may be lonely. How are the other PhD students in your program? Do you get along?

I recommend being cordial to everyone. It tends to make the program a better experience and you'll have more support from your fellow students as a result. If you feel like these individuals bring out the worst in you, then yes I would stop socializing with them as you don't find their company enjoyable. If you need to work with them either in class or on a research team, it is best not to engage them in the behavior that you feel is immature and childish. Keep on redirecting it back to the task on hand. This tends to work well for everyone you may encounter-- students, professors, staff, etc. I know it has been stated a couple times but unprofessionalism and immaturity don't magically disappear as you age. All groups of people have immature individuals. Your best bet is to learn how to cope with them effectively.

Sounds like the real problem is that you haven't found your niche and may be lonely. How are the other PhD students in your program? Do you get along?

I recommend being cordial to everyone. It tends to make the program a better experience and you'll have more support from your fellow students as a result. If you feel like these individuals bring out the worst in you, then yes I would stop socializing with them as you don't find their company enjoyable. If you need to work with them either in class or on a research team, it is best not to engage them in the behavior that you feel is immature and childish. Keep on redirecting it back to the task on hand. This tends to work well for everyone you may encounter-- students, professors, staff, etc. I know it has been stated a couple times but unprofessionalism and immaturity don't magically disappear as you age. All groups of people have immature individuals. Your best bet is to learn how to cope with them effectively.

Wow, 5 classes! To me, that seems like a lot as 3 courses is our normal load.

To be honest, your best bet would be to get in touch with current students. They can tell you whether this would be reasonable or not. Sometimes faculty don't always know what is reasonable. The current students' experiences are also fresher and they can remember more about the challenges of transitioning into the program along with the workload in the first semester.

Wow, 5 classes! To me, that seems like a lot as 3 courses is our normal load.

To be honest, your best bet would be to get in touch with current students. They can tell you whether this would be reasonable or not. Sometimes faculty don't always know what is reasonable. The current students' experiences are also fresher and they can remember more about the challenges of transitioning into the program along with the workload in the first semester.

This struck me as a major "yikes" and a red flag. I hope this doesn't come across in your interviews that you think your interviewers will be "jealous" of your accomplishments. This is highly unlikely especially since you are starting out in your career and academic awards don't tend to make normal, well-balanced individuals jealous.

Not having seen your interview style but based on your post, it may be that you are coming across too strong and are trying too hard to sell yourself. This can be very off-putting and I speak from experience having had to painfully sit through multiple interviews when the interviewee tried this tactic. Someone who constantly mentions their accomplishments unsolicited is going to be labeled as "difficult to work with" and not a "team player." The interviewer is also going to think you are always tooting your own horn and will not admit when you failed or made a mistake. Instead, I would only mention accomplishments that are relevant to the questions that are being asked. I would also refrain from mentioning every single academic award that you have received. In general, gauge your behavior by the tone and body language of your interviewer. They are trying to find a good fit for the position in terms of personality and experience. You also should be interviewing them to see if you think they will be a good teacher mentor for you and give you the support that you need for the next year.

Good luck!

Since you said that you are interested in education reform, I am assuming that you are interested on the K - 12 level. Usually with those types of jobs, you'll need to have a sufficient level of practical experiences in the field of education before anyone is going to pay you to "reform" it.

I am not sure if there is a lot of value in pursuing a law degree if you are interested in education reform. It would be more helpful to have an education policy MA or MPP and some relevant work experience. If you rather work in education law than go with the JD. Otherwise, I would rethink especially since law school tuition can be expensive.

I think the point that was trying to be made is the cost of healthcare is often divided between the university and the individual. If your individual contribution is $0, then no you won't see a difference in your stipend if you decline the university's health insurance. If your individual contribution is > 0 and you decline the health insurance, then yes you will retain that portion of money that they would have deducted for healthcare costs.

Are you in IU's master's program currently? If you are interested in higher ed admin (and are not going the tenure track route), I would highly suggest that you take some time off between your master's and doctoral program to gain some full-time experience. I also don't know how IU's EdD program works but some EdD programs expect you to work full-time and attend on a part-time basis. Personally that might be a good option for you since you will gain a higher level of experience than a traditional graduate assistantship position.

In general, higher ed admin is concerned with your experience in the field so not having any is going to put you at a *huge* disadvantage especially since you are interested in an administration position. Typically people in higher levels of administration will have 10+ years of experience after their terminal degree. So, no you will not start off as a dean (!) and it may take several years or a decade or so to reach that level. I am also not sure if "dean" should be the title you should be reaching for here as they typically come up through the faculty ranks except of course dean of students and perhaps dean of undergraduate admissions. You might be more interested in a VP position or something that is not directly tied to academic affairs.

To be honest, I haven't seen people who go straight through that are interested in the admin track. Usually that happens if the person wants an academic or research/policy position and then their research is more important than their years of full time employment. To go the admin track, you need to show years of experience with increasing levels of responsibility so that the president/provost/etc will be confident in your decision making skills. You cannot demonstrate that through a degree alone.

Good luck!

I think the point that was trying to be made is the cost of healthcare is often divided between the university and the individual. If your individual contribution is $0, then no you won't see a difference in your stipend if you decline the university's health insurance. If your individual contribution is > 0 and you decline the health insurance, then yes you will retain that portion of money that they would have deducted for healthcare costs.

If the ultimate goal is to get a PhD in higher ed, you would be best served going to a master's program that emphasizes research methodology and gives you a strong grounding in statistics and research design. The problem with some programs are they are so focused on practical experiences they often overlook that higher ed is a social science discipline and it needs individuals who are able to consume and judge the merits of research studies even if these same people do not find themselves conducting these studies in their professional lives.

My other comment would be that there are a sufficient amount of master's programs that fully fund their students so there is really no reason to go into a sufficient amount of debt for this degree especially when your average starting salary with no professional experience and only a master's degree will be low.

Good luck!

I think the point that was trying to be made is the cost of healthcare is often divided between the university and the individual. If your individual contribution is $0, then no you won't see a difference in your stipend if you decline the university's health insurance. If your individual contribution is > 0 and you decline the health insurance, then yes you will retain that portion of money that they would have deducted for healthcare costs.

Although it probably doesn't seem like it now, the majority of them will get over it. They will start their own assistantships, enjoy them, and can't imagine having another position. They will find off campus housing and start loving their apartments. They will bond with members of their cohort and make new friends. Their initial disappointments will fade away into the excitement of starting a new program.

I honestly won't stress about how they will react. For the reasonable, it will be a non-issue. It is possible that a couple people will let it fester, but there is not much you can do about it. Some people are not happy no matter what the situation. If they let this defeat them, it's sad-- but it is not your problem. Surround yourself with people who will be happy for your successes and return the support/accolades when they are successful. That is how you survive grad school and build a strong professional network.

Good luck!

Although it probably doesn't seem like it now, the majority of them will get over it. They will start their own assistantships, enjoy them, and can't imagine having another position. They will find off campus housing and start loving their apartments. They will bond with members of their cohort and make new friends. Their initial disappointments will fade away into the excitement of starting a new program.

I honestly won't stress about how they will react. For the reasonable, it will be a non-issue. It is possible that a couple people will let it fester, but there is not much you can do about it. Some people are not happy no matter what the situation. If they let this defeat them, it's sad-- but it is not your problem. Surround yourself with people who will be happy for your successes and return the support/accolades when they are successful. That is how you survive grad school and build a strong professional network.

Good luck!

Although it probably doesn't seem like it now, the majority of them will get over it. They will start their own assistantships, enjoy them, and can't imagine having another position. They will find off campus housing and start loving their apartments. They will bond with members of their cohort and make new friends. Their initial disappointments will fade away into the excitement of starting a new program.

I honestly won't stress about how they will react. For the reasonable, it will be a non-issue. It is possible that a couple people will let it fester, but there is not much you can do about it. Some people are not happy no matter what the situation. If they let this defeat them, it's sad-- but it is not your problem. Surround yourself with people who will be happy for your successes and return the support/accolades when they are successful. That is how you survive grad school and build a strong professional network.

Good luck!

Although it probably doesn't seem like it now, the majority of them will get over it. They will start their own assistantships, enjoy them, and can't imagine having another position. They will find off campus housing and start loving their apartments. They will bond with members of their cohort and make new friends. Their initial disappointments will fade away into the excitement of starting a new program.

I honestly won't stress about how they will react. For the reasonable, it will be a non-issue. It is possible that a couple people will let it fester, but there is not much you can do about it. Some people are not happy no matter what the situation. If they let this defeat them, it's sad-- but it is not your problem. Surround yourself with people who will be happy for your successes and return the support/accolades when they are successful. That is how you survive grad school and build a strong professional network.

Good luck!

Although it probably doesn't seem like it now, the majority of them will get over it. They will start their own assistantships, enjoy them, and can't imagine having another position. They will find off campus housing and start loving their apartments. They will bond with members of their cohort and make new friends. Their initial disappointments will fade away into the excitement of starting a new program.

I honestly won't stress about how they will react. For the reasonable, it will be a non-issue. It is possible that a couple people will let it fester, but there is not much you can do about it. Some people are not happy no matter what the situation. If they let this defeat them, it's sad-- but it is not your problem. Surround yourself with people who will be happy for your successes and return the support/accolades when they are successful. That is how you survive grad school and build a strong professional network.

Good luck!

Although it probably doesn't seem like it now, the majority of them will get over it. They will start their own assistantships, enjoy them, and can't imagine having another position. They will find off campus housing and start loving their apartments. They will bond with members of their cohort and make new friends. Their initial disappointments will fade away into the excitement of starting a new program.

I honestly won't stress about how they will react. For the reasonable, it will be a non-issue. It is possible that a couple people will let it fester, but there is not much you can do about it. Some people are not happy no matter what the situation. If they let this defeat them, it's sad-- but it is not your problem. Surround yourself with people who will be happy for your successes and return the support/accolades when they are successful. That is how you survive grad school and build a strong professional network.

Good luck!

::stands on soapbox:: I would think very carefully about what $1200/month loan payments will mean in terms of your future, whether it involves having a family, wanting to travel or the types of jobs you will be able to take. Massive loan debt could very well impact all of these things. I have more than a few friends in this situation now and in this economy especially, it is not pretty.

I agree that a masters is very helpful for some people at some points - but the loan debt can be a huge burden, especially in this field. Personally I think taking out this much in loans is a very risky decision and that a masters from a state school (or in Europe) at 1/10-1/2 of the cost can be a much more worthwhile option. I would also consider whether it might be wiser to take another year and spend literally 6-9 months studying for the GRE at nights and on weekends, or spend a year working in the field, to improve scholarship chances.

It doesn't simply have to be 140k or no grad school at all, there are many options in between and many programs that do not require such a large debt burden. There is also the option of working and saving money for a couple of years. If you are wealthy and/or have family that can support you should things get sticky, then that's a different situation.

Personally I've decided I will not spend that much, I'm looking to take on $60k max.

No one said that taking out loans in some form isn't worth it, but to the tune of 140k--especially given the salaries that one can expect out in this field--is ludicrous.

it hurts to see ppl take this amount of debt and shrugging. sometimes i wonder if ppl actually research income based repayment plans and other forgiveness plans.

Fall 2009? Hi, we're in 2011. I don't believe you.

You've got to go with what feels right to you and your wallet.

Yes, Harvard is great. But going to a great school won't change the economy or create jobs or demand that wasn't there before.

Many of the posters on these forums (perhaps because we are so young) tend to be extremely idealistic regarding future employment opportunities and salaries after graduation. Sometimes it's disconcerting how little talk there is about the realties of student debt and the uncertain economic future we face.

Sure, other people take out loans. But, they aren't the ones that will be paying for your loans and they won't be the ones eating ramen to afford the $800/month loan payments. That would be you.

I agree with you that in an office setting the priority on who gets time off or a more flexible work schedule tends to go to those coworkers that have children. (i.e. Sally can't work late because she needs to pick up Little Sprout at soccer practice, but Mary can work late because she is childless.) My understanding of being a professor (however) is that they are more autonomous on choosing what hours they are going to work and I can't imagine the scenario that you described really being relevant to the academic setting because they are not covering the operating hours of an office.

However, I could see it come to play in other ways such as scheduling classes, committee meetings, the tenure clock, course load, etc. A "family-friend" department would try to accommodate those members of the department whose schedule might not be as flexible. I don't necessarily think a "family-friendly" department has to be bad for the childless though as I would assume this environment would strive for a better work-life balance for all its members.