Why are you going to grad school?

[Milo_10011]

Just wondering what reasons people have for going to grad school. In my case, it's something I've been gnawing on for about five years. Now that I'm unemployed, it just seems like a sensible time to either do it or drop it. I would be interested in other people's reasons.

[singlecell]

I voted for the last option in the poll. It took me a while to be *sure* I wanted my Ph.D. In the end, I realized that I would regret not doing it, and I don't want to have that regret. I am in love with doing research, and in the biological sciences graduate school is mainly about doing that research and getting paid to do it. Moreover, being paid to learn more about my field and not having to worry about paying the bills is like a dream come true after the struggles of putting myself though undergrad. Lastly, being accepted to a program with full funding for the next 5-6 years, well, you just can't beat that kind of job security in today's economy.

[Kitkat]

It took me a while to realize as well that what I wanted was a Ph.D. I tried working in an office for a while, and found my self growing restless. Not that what I was doing was boring, just not what I want to be doing. I realized that I would rather be doing research, and working in a museum. And considering the field that I would want to go into for this, I would be best off getting the Ph.D.

[bigant]

Just wondering what reasons people have for going to grad school. In my case, it's something I've been gnawing on for about five years. Now that I'm unemployed, it just seems like a sensible time to either do it or drop it. I would be interested in other people's reasons.

I've had friends who say that it just increases your first salary, and after a couple of years, a lot of other stuff comes into play. It depends on the functional role you have; if someone has only a regular degree and is in sales, she can make a lot of money in commissions compared to someone with a PhD.

I'm going to grad school to specialize further, in a relatively new and (I hope) upcoming field.