Confessions of a Dropout

[RandomDood]

Hello everybody,

I am an ex graduate student in sociology who has "dropped out."

I don't really know why I logged on after nearly 3 years of inactivity on this board. I guess I was just thinking about how stressed out I was 3 years ago, and how different my current life is from what I had envisioned it when I was applying to graduate school.
Anyway.
I just figured I'd write a post to provide a (hopefully) useful perspective from the point of view of someone who was in your situation and ended up doing something completely different with his life. These are just some things that I personally realized after 2 years of grad school; they are not meant to be universal truths, just my personal realizations that hopefully will be of use for some of you who are currently considering a career in academia and sociology.

• To remain in academia you truly need an extremely strong drive and self-discipline. Like, really, really strong. And mind you, it's not that you need drive to succeed...you need it even just to remain in it. Three years ago I was really convinced that I did feel an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, a deep desire to just "live the life of the mind." Also, I was always an outstanding student, I am a fairly smart person, so what could go wrong? As it turns out, these characteristics have nothing to do with what is required to make it through Grad School. I have met people who actually do have what it takes, and it's a lot more than a good brain and a hint of determination: they are the people who treat academia not just as a personal quest for truth, but as a true “calling” that requires utmost dedication.
  In other words, in an environment where constrains and direction are very, very weak (even the most micromanaging programs won't get even close to the level of constraint that a 9-5 job entails), you truly need to feel like there is nothing else you'd rather do in the world than be a researcher and a teacher (more on this below), and truly dedicate your time and efforts to succeed. You need to get up every morning and realize that nobody will be giving you instructions, that you need to really build your own future block by block and, more importantly, that as opposed to many (most) 9-5 jobs you get nothing for just showing up.
  Not everyone has the level of dedication and self-discipline. Would I have been able to figure out that I did not have this unrelenting determination to be an academic and only an academic before going to Grad School? I don’t know. But I do think that people often underestimate what an important role sheer dedication, more than anything else, plays into the ability to remain in academia.
   

• Another thing that I did not fully take into account was quite obvious: I found out that I don’t particularly enjoy teaching. I was actually surprised by how many grad students I encountered don’t actually enjoy teaching, and I feel that many prospective academics have this idea that they will be spending their time with their mind deep in data, running regressions, conducting ethnographies, and coming up with clever theories and concepts.
  In reality, you need to understand that, although academia places an inordinate amount weight on research, the bulk of your time will be spent teaching. And teaching is a very specific kind of job, I would say unlike any other: some people can find it extremely stimulating and inspiring, while others find it fairly boring and/or frustrating. I do not regret trying to teach, as it’s a unique experience that I will definitely treasure. But at the same time I’d like everyone to be entirely conscious of how important teaching is in academia; I (perhaps naively) was not.
   

• Career prospects are not particularly bright for future academics. I know everyone is saying this, but I can guarantee you that people do not fully understand the extent of this until they are actually “in the profession.” And, sure, my department was not at the absolute top of the nation, but it is still a fairly respected one. Yet, although more élite schools certainly provide better prospects, the truth is that, regardless of rankings, making a livelihood in academia is extremely, extremely hard, and the odds of ending up working as an adjunct are very high for everyone. Landing a TT job is not impossible, but landing a good TT job (as in, decent pay in a good location) is absurdly hard. Even then, you need to be conscious that average salaries for sociologists are low; realistically, once you graduate IF you manage to land a TT job (and that’s a big IF), you will be making roughly 60k a year (of course, depending on location…but for reference, an AP at the “good” CUNY schools makes roughly 70-80k, and that’s New York!).
  You may look at these figures now, when you are 25 and think “wow, that’s a lot of money”, but considering that you will realistically be making that money when you are 30 (and again, only if you are the absolute top of the bunch) it’s not really a great deal. And mind you, I’m not saying this to discourage everyone; some people won’t care, namely those who really have “the calling” (see point 1) or that just don’t care that much about money. But others will care when it’s time to build a family, buy a house, pay for your children’s education, and so on. One of the reasons I took the hard decision of leaving academia is that I realized that money is not as unimportant to me as I thought it was, and I really started to learn about financial planning; please do read about these issues, and try to be entirely aware of the future implications of going to grad school. My intention is simply to make sure that people deciding about graduate school are fully aware that from a financial point of view this is a very delicate decision.
   

• At this point you probably think that my next advice will be “Oh my god, never go to grad school, it’s the worst decision you could make.” Well, yes and no. If reading points 1-3 really made you strongly doubt about your decision, I would say that perhaps it would be wise to get a “normal” job for a few years and figure out whether or not you really hate the corporate world enough to go into academia. But if what I wrote so far didn’t make you doubt, then you definitely should go ahead and try the academic path; worst case scenario you can just drop out after a few years with a good experience on your shoulders and no regrets of not trying to do what you love (or think you love).
  Because—and I can’t stress this enough—dropping out is not a failure! It’s simply a decision that can have great outcomes. I feel like some people remain in their programs because the idea of “leaving” feels like letting people down, like “not being good enough.” The reality is that academia is a specific career path, some people enjoy it/are good at it, some others don’t/are good at other things. There are plenty of very smart people outside of academia, and there are plenty of stimulating jobs outside of academia. I, for one, don’t regret leaving; of course, the corporate world can be frustrating and I don’t have as much free time as I used to. But I am making more money than I would have realistically made in 4/5 years, I have a good career path ahead of me and I am already saving to build a family with the woman I love. Some people wouldn’t trade this path with the freedom of academia, but I personally would not go back. All I am saying is, if you are really set on academia right now, please do keep in mind that there is a life outside of academia, and leaving may be the best option for you, no matter how much you feel like you are “giving up.”

   

Well, this was a long post. But I hope some of you will find at least some of my advice useful. Of course, feel free to ask me anything, I’d be happy to answer any of your questions J

 

Edited February 25, 2016 by RandomDood

[litany239]

I've always considered the monetary aspect of academia. A bachelors in sociology will land you a job approximately 35k but after 5 years, you will be making the exact same as a 1st year TT professor. On top of that, after 5 years at the same job, assuming you're an excellent worker, you will be respected as someone who knows what they're doing. A 1st year TT professor on the other hand, gets hazed like a fraternity pledge (okay maybe not that bad).

[any5]

I am the opposite.. I am "dropping out" of the 'real world' to go back and get my PhD. I have done well for myself over the past 15 or so years working full time in a lucrative industry, but which was ultimately not very personally rewarding or beneficial to society (i.e. capital markets), and where technology was every day creeping in to shunt the mental capacity of its workforce, or eliminate workers (and entire departments) altogether.  

The grass is always greener on the other side, but the grass is always brown. 

That said, I know what it is like to work and be self-motivated. I did complete an MA (evenings, but classified as full time) while working days full time. I understand the competition in the labor market. 

But the competition in this labor market is little different from others. "White collar" jobs are increasingly outsourced to foreign labor or to technology. My brother is a lawyer, went to a great law school and works at a decent firm. He hates every single living minute of it. But he can't leave because he'd never find a job again save start his own practice and struggle in competition with all others who did the same. My best friend growing up is a doctor. Very successful, but never sees his family or friends, is constantly exhausted, and has been so traumatized by stuff he has seen as a medical student and then resident in an ER that he openly admits it has sapped his humanity. His sister is a dentist, that should be better right? Maybe when she has paid off the $275,000 in student debt & professional insurance premiums she owes.

Even computer programmers are unable to (often) move up the ladder and get stuck doing the same old repetitive coding on the same sort of projects day in and day out.

I rather have the potential for intellectual reward and academic success than have a manager telling me what to do, and who can fire me or downsize me at any moment. Worse, I could be the manager who makes a bit more salary but is even more self-loathing (ask any mid-level manager you may know to confirm or deny).

I understand the awkward financial position that many new straight out of undergrad or out of entry-level work find themselves in. The grass has to be greener working for a stable corporation. Right? Perhaps stability (financial or otherwise) is a fair trade for monotony, under-appreciation, and slim chances of breaking through the glass ceiling. At my last job, everybody had at least a Masters degree. It's needed just to get the interview these days. At least with a PhD you can figure out a little bit about how the world works. Or not- but at least you tried and maybe even got paid to do it. Otherwise, exchange that stimulation of the mind for a cubicle, commuter traffic, and truly depressing happy hours

 

 

Edited February 25, 2016 by any5

[UrbanMidwest]

On 2/24/2016 at 0:57 PM, any5 said:

I am the opposite.. I am "dropping out" of the 'real world' to go back and get my PhD. I have done well for myself over the past 15 or so years working full time in a lucrative industry, but which was ultimately not very personally rewarding or beneficial to society (i.e. capital markets), and where technology was every day creeping in to shunt the mental capacity of its workforce, or eliminate workers (and entire departments) altogether.  

The grass is always greener on the other side, but the grass is always brown. 

That said, I know what it is like to work and be self-motivated. I did complete an MA (evenings, but classified as full time) while working days full time. I understand the competition in the labor market. 

But the competition in this labor market is little different from others. "White collar" jobs are increasingly outsourced to foreign labor or to technology. My brother is a lawyer, went to a great law school and works at a decent firm. He hates every single living minute of it. But he can't leave because he'd never find a job again save start his own practice and struggle in competition with all others who did the same. My best friend growing up is a doctor. Very successful, but never sees his family or friends, is constantly exhausted, and has been so traumatized by stuff he has seen as a medical student and then resident in an ER that he openly admits it has sapped his humanity. His sister is a dentist, that should be better right? Maybe when she has paid off the $275,000 in student debt & professional insurance premiums she owes.

Even computer programmers are unable to (often) move up the ladder and get stuck doing the same old repetitive coding on the same sort of projects day in and day out.

I rather have the potential for intellectual reward and academic success than have a manager telling me what to do, and who can fire me or downsize me at any moment. Worse, I could be the manager who makes a bit more salary but is even more self-loathing (ask any mid-level manager you may know to confirm or deny).

I understand the awkward financial position that many new straight out of undergrad or out of entry-level work find themselves in. The grass has to be greener working for a stable corporation. Right? Perhaps stability (financial or otherwise) is a fair trade for monotony, under-appreciation, and slim chances of breaking through the glass ceiling. At my last job, everybody had at least a Masters degree. It's needed just to get the interview these days. At least with a PhD you can figure out a little bit about how the world works. Or not- but at least you tried and maybe even got paid to do it. Otherwise, exchange that stimulation of the mind for a cubicle, commuter traffic, and truly depressing happy hours

 

 

Stimulation of the mind ... Okay. You'd think all that stimulation produced a Utopia by now.

I believe professors still commuted to their university, at least all of mine did -- two live about an hour away. Depressing happy hours? Speak for yourself.

bold - I'm not sure about that. Academia is basically a bubble.

Grass is always greener, eh? Don't answer that.

Edited April 26, 2016 by UrbanMidwest