To apply or not to apply

[neener]

Hi all,

Could very much use some advice, particularly from anyone who's already been through this process.

For several years, I've been planning to apply for PhD programs this fall. I've been out of school for about 5 years, and the plan was always to work and then go back to school with the ultimate goal of teaching at the university level. I've now done all the legwork to apply this year: GREs, research on programs, talking to undergrad professors about LORs, drafting a personal statement, etc.

But when it comes down to it, I'm having a lot of trouble deciding if this is actually the right choice for me. Too many people have told me "don't do a PhD if you can picture yourself doing anything else and being happy." The truth is, while being a professor is still my "first choice" for the next 30some years, my job now is fine, and I can picture myself doing a lot of different things and being perfectly happy.

Does anyone have any advice about how to make the decision about whether or not to take the plunge? Obviously applying is a lot of time and money, and completing a PhD programs is even more time/money, and I'm terrified I'm going to choose the wrong option here.

Thanks.

[Medievalmaniac]

Hi all,

Could very much use some advice, particularly from anyone who's already been through this process.

For several years, I've been planning to apply for PhD programs this fall. I've been out of school for about 5 years, and the plan was always to work and then go back to school with the ultimate goal of teaching at the university level. I've now done all the legwork to apply this year: GREs, research on programs, talking to undergrad professors about LORs, drafting a personal statement, etc.

But when it comes down to it, I'm having a lot of trouble deciding if this is actually the right choice for me. Too many people have told me "don't do a PhD if you can picture yourself doing anything else and being happy." The truth is, while being a professor is still my "first choice" for the next 30some years, my job now is fine, and I can picture myself doing a lot of different things and being perfectly happy.

Does anyone have any advice about how to make the decision about whether or not to take the plunge? Obviously applying is a lot of time and money, and completing a PhD programs is even more time/money, and I'm terrified I'm going to choose the wrong option here.

Thanks.

You are honestly the only one who can answer this question. I would say, take a look at the past five years of preparation. How much of it was because you want to be a college professor, and how much of it was because you want to meet your goal of getting into a program and not feel like this has all been a waste of time? There is a difference. If you can honestly say you have done all of this work because you want to be a professor more than anything else, then it's definitely the right choice. If you believe you want to be a professor but you've really been focused mainly on the process of getting into a program, then you might have some thinking to do as to your real goals in all of this. If your central goal has been getting accepted and you have only vaguely thought about what happens if you are accepted, then you might really just be in it for the challenge and because you don't want to feel as though you have wasted your time/ let yourself or others down. There's no shame in saying "You know, I thought this was what I really wanted, but now I see I just liked the idea of it, and in reality that is better for me, at least for now". There's also no shame in saying "What I've got going on now is fantastic, but it just isn't being a college professor, so I'm going for it." But you have to decide which of those paths, or what path otherwise, is yours, and none of our advice is going to be a very good replacement for your own self-awareness.

[Cicero]

Hi all,

Could very much use some advice, particularly from anyone who's already been through this process.

For several years, I've been planning to apply for PhD programs this fall. I've been out of school for about 5 years, and the plan was always to work and then go back to school with the ultimate goal of teaching at the university level. I've now done all the legwork to apply this year: GREs, research on programs, talking to undergrad professors about LORs, drafting a personal statement, etc.

But when it comes down to it, I'm having a lot of trouble deciding if this is actually the right choice for me. Too many people have told me "don't do a PhD if you can picture yourself doing anything else and being happy." The truth is, while being a professor is still my "first choice" for the next 30some years, my job now is fine, and I can picture myself doing a lot of different things and being perfectly happy.

Does anyone have any advice about how to make the decision about whether or not to take the plunge? Obviously applying is a lot of time and money, and completing a PhD programs is even more time/money, and I'm terrified I'm going to choose the wrong option here.

Thanks.

My advice would be apply to the programs that are your top choices, the ones you feel you would like the best fit for you, that you would be happy at and wouldn't be settling to attend just so you could be going to grad school. Then, go on any of the visit weekends you get invited to and see how you like it. This way, you aren't applying to a ton of programs, but you still have the option to either go to a program or stay on your current career path/not go to grad school. This way, you won't always be wondering should I have applied/what would have happened if I had applied.

If you have been thinking about this for five years, and you don't apply this year, my guess is the same issue will come up again next year. And as the other poster said, there is no shame in deciding that you don't want to be a prof. anymore.

[anthropologygeek]

My advice is you must be 100% committed to finish