Wine, Wait, and Whine

[kris10mb]

I thought that the most stressful part of submitting grad applications would be the preparation/writing. Turns out, now that I've hit submit on those bad boys, I'm STILL a stress ball. Seriously, all night last night I dreamed about getting in, not getting in, and interviewing with programs. Thought I'd start a thread where we could commiserate together if anyone is interested in joining in my pain! 

[speechfan222]

On 12/18/2016 at 6:41 PM, kris10mb said:

I thought that the most stressful part of submitting grad applications would be the preparation/writing. Turns out, now that I've hit submit on those bad boys, I'm STILL a stress ball. Seriously, all night last night I dreamed about getting in, not getting in, and interviewing with programs. Thought I'd start a thread where we could commiserate together if anyone is interested in joining in my pain! 

 

I definitely know what you mean. It was so stressful to complete application and get them all submitted with required documents. Now that everything has been submitted, it's still stressful to have to wait for acceptance letters.

I noticed you're a sociology major. I'm interested in the field too and applied to a few online sociology programs. I don't have a Bachelors degree in Sociology, but am very interested in it. I have been researching sociology job options and opportunities with a masters degree in this field. Do you know where most Sociologists would/can work with a MA/MS in Sociology and what the job requirements are? I found a few things, but I'm sure there are several more.

I'm very interested in this field, but am still learning more about job placement and opportunities once I have my Masters degree. Let me know!!

[kris10mb]

Having just completed a terminal M.A. program in Sociology, I suppose I have a few ideas about what you can do with an M.A. degree, but these are all people that I know coming out of the same department as me so I'm sure it's not representative of the field as a whole.

Many of my classmates went on to pursue a Ph.D., but those who did not have ended up in a variety of workplaces. I know several who are now working with different law enforcement agencies (ATF, Secret Service, and FBI are the immediate ones that come to mind). My M.A. department has a criminology concentration, so many of our folks in this concentration who decided not to go further with their education followed a law enforcement track. I also know several graduates who do data analysis work for different companies and agencies. Most graduate programs require you to become familiar with statistical software (SPSS, STATA, SAS, R, etc.) and interpreting statistics, and this skill is translatable to many areas. Some of my classmates have gone on to entry-level research positions at large research firms, hoping to work their way up. Unfortunately, you will rarely be in charge of your own project at these types of companies without a Ph.D., but some folks are happy to continue to conduct research without the pressure of being in charge. I also know people working in vastly different fields from what they studied in our department, but they seem quite happy. Since completing my M.A. and waiting for the application season, I have been teaching introductory sociology courses at my previous university. You will only be hired as an adjunct/lecturer without a Ph.D. and I wouldn't advise this career track long term, however, I have found it rewarding for the time being. 

I'm not sure if I fully answered your question but feel free to ask anything else you want to know. 

[speechfan222]

On 1/1/2017 at 3:45 PM, kris10mb said:

Having just completed a terminal M.A. program in Sociology, I suppose I have a few ideas about what you can do with an M.A. degree, but these are all people that I know coming out of the same department as me so I'm sure it's not representative of the field as a whole.

Many of my classmates went on to pursue a Ph.D., but those who did not have ended up in a variety of workplaces. I know several who are now working with different law enforcement agencies (ATF, Secret Service, and FBI are the immediate ones that come to mind). My M.A. department has a criminology concentration, so many of our folks in this concentration who decided not to go further with their education followed a law enforcement track. I also know several graduates who do data analysis work for different companies and agencies. Most graduate programs require you to become familiar with statistical software (SPSS, STATA, SAS, R, etc.) and interpreting statistics, and this skill is translatable to many areas. Some of my classmates have gone on to entry-level research positions at large research firms, hoping to work their way up. Unfortunately, you will rarely be in charge of your own project at these types of companies without a Ph.D., but some folks are happy to continue to conduct research without the pressure of being in charge. I also know people working in vastly different fields from what they studied in our department, but they seem quite happy. Since completing my M.A. and waiting for the application season, I have been teaching introductory sociology courses at my previous university. You will only be hired as an adjunct/lecturer without a Ph.D. and I wouldn't advise this career track long term, however, I have found it rewarding for the time being. 

I'm not sure if I fully answered your question but feel free to ask anything else you want to know. 

 

I just saw this response now since grad cafe isn't very good at giving me notifications when I have comments on posts.

This definitely answers my questions and is very helpful, thanks! Just one more question for you... Why would not not advise teaching at a university with a MA degree for very long?

[kris10mb]

The working conditions are terrible compared to a tenure-track teaching job (which you can only get with a Ph.D.). The pay isn't great and it's per class, meaning you have to teach a heavy load to make a comparable salary. And you have to teach a certain number of courses to be offered health insurance. Plus, there is no job security. With the way many education budgets have been going, it's not a great time to be an adjunct. You're also not a part of departmental meetings (I'm sure there are some departments that operate differently but that has been my experience where I teach and other places I have looked into) and I don't even have an office on campus. There are all sorts of news articles about adjunct faculty protesting the way they are treated. There was even a national adjunct walkout day last February. 

I don't mean to sound terribly pessimistic about it - as I said, I've found it rewarding for the time being. Teaching has been a nice way for me to stay connected while taking a gap year and it's been great to introduce young minds to a subject that I love. It has its high and low moments, but I'm grateful for the opportunity. I just couldn't imagine trying to sustain this into a long-term career. 

[Illusio80]

Speaking of wine, I am enjoying a nice glass of Lalande de Pomerol and doing my own best not to freak out.  Wishing all of you success!

[THS]

Bah I miss wine!  No alcohol January at my house  (family tradition)...have a glass for me!  

[kris10mb]

I'm enjoying a lovely $3 bottle of Merlot and watching the snow fall...and wondering if the snow will make it longer before I hear back from the schools impacted by this southern snow storm. Because that is what my life is like now. 

[speechfan222]

13 minutes ago, kris10mb said:

I'm enjoying a lovely $3 bottle of Merlot and watching the snow fall...and wondering if the snow will make it longer before I hear back from the schools impacted by this southern snow storm. Because that is what my life is like now. 

I wish I was watching the snow as well. That sounds nice and relaxing.

[THS]

I think snow would have done me in...just dealing with the Cali rain/flooding this week was too much house time.  I went from "ok" last week to "what takes them so long" (I know why it takes time, I am referencing the feeling I have about it all right now)

[songofgallifrey]

i had an incredibly surreal dream about grad school apps where i had to go on a quest through the woods with one of my LOR writers (who while being extremely gracious in writing me a letter and very helpful throughout the process was also regularly submitting my letters with an hour to go on the deadline) to present my application to the adcomm that was basically having a seance by some river and whose members looked like ringwraiths. post-application stress is no joke fam.

[SG_SC]

The wine ran out. I had to resort to scotch.

[kris10mb]

On 1/11/2017 at 8:28 PM, montanem said:

I think snow would have done me in...just dealing with the Cali rain/flooding this week was too much house time.  

 

The snow was definitely making it worse! Nothing to do but sit in the house all day and stress. Luckily(?), I got sick on day two of being snowed in, so I had a couple day respite from worrying about my applications...But today I found out someone from my M.A. cohort was accepted into a school that I applied to (and haven't heard anything from) so my anxiety levels have reached new highs. I know that I'm probably driving myself crazy, but does anyone know how programs feel about accepting multiple students from the same program? I haven't heard of many people who go to the same Ph.D. programs as folks from their previous institution, but I'm not sure if that's due to an unspoken rule of the admissions committees or just because of choice/fit/etc. Anyone know anything about this? 

9 hours ago, SG_SC said:

The wine ran out. I had to resort to scotch.

Wise plan.

[Illusio80]

Maybe a stupid question:  Does anybody know what time zone this website runs on?  Seems like it must be Newfoundland or something.  It's 10:00 Central and there's already a results post dated Jan 13.

[kris10mb]

3 hours ago, Illusio80 said:

Maybe a stupid question:  Does anybody know what time zone this website runs on?  Seems like it must be Newfoundland or something.  It's 10:00 Central and there's already a results post dated Jan 13.

 

I'm not sure...maybe the person who posted it is in a different time zone. I spent some time in Europe this summer and when I posted things on Facebook my friends in the US would see a time stamp that said my pictures were posted "tomorrow."

 

[csot]

10 hours ago, Illusio80 said:

Maybe a stupid question:  Does anybody know what time zone this website runs on?  Seems like it must be Newfoundland or something.  It's 10:00 Central and there's already a results post dated Jan 13.

I agree with kris10mb. I'm not sure what time zone the website runs on, but it's possible that the applicant was an international student.

[jojokitty47]

anyone else seriously contemplating all the stress-eating until more programs start releasing interview and acceptance/rejection emails

[kris10mb]

Weekends are hard for me because I want to check my email every 5 seconds, but know that it's very unlikely to get any official communication from a school on a non-work day. I was excited that today is Monday, because that meant I might hear back from SOMEWHERE, ANYWHERE -- and then I realized it's MLK day...

[THS]

@kris10mb I did the same thing this morning!  Woke up, checked my e-mail, moved on to read the morning news and realized it is a holiday...it looks like some people got news today though on the results page (I shouldn't have looked).

[c11m07]

I am starting to get seriously antsy. Driving myself nuts looking through past years to try to figure out when programs might notify. One thing I learned by going through this process last year is that trying to sketch out timelines is generally a futile endeavor (last year I got an email about being on a waitlist at 10:30PM local time one evening, I got another generic official email to students on said waitlist on a Saturday afternoon... several programs I applied to last year didn't follow the timing I anticipated at all, etc.). That being said-- here I am, scouring through the results page. I was thinking we might hear some news from UCLA or Minnesota today, but seems like nothing yet. :/

[csot]

36 minutes ago, c11m07 said:

I am starting to get seriously antsy. Driving myself nuts looking through past years to try to figure out when programs might notify. One thing I learned by going through this process last year is that trying to sketch out timelines is generally a futile endeavor (last year I got an email about being on a waitlist at 10:30PM local time one evening, I got another generic official email to students on said waitlist on a Saturday afternoon... several programs I applied to last year didn't follow the timing I anticipated at all, etc.). That being said-- here I am, scouring through the results page. I was thinking we might hear some news from UCLA or Minnesota today, but seems like nothing yet. :/

Just know that you're not alone. I'm feeling antsy as well, but it's possible that we'll hear (good) news when we least expect it.

[THS]

16 hours ago, c11m07 said:

I am starting to get seriously antsy. Driving myself nuts looking through past years to try to figure out when programs might notify. One thing I learned by going through this process last year is that trying to sketch out timelines is generally a futile endeavor (last year I got an email about being on a waitlist at 10:30PM local time one evening, I got another generic official email to students on said waitlist on a Saturday afternoon... several programs I applied to last year didn't follow the timing I anticipated at all, etc.). That being said-- here I am, scouring through the results page. I was thinking we might hear some news from UCLA or Minnesota today, but seems like nothing yet. :/

 

Yup, pretty much me too.  Tomorrow is the first day that one of the schools I applied to sent out news last year.  I spent an hour yesterday figuring out which schools I applied to  will have an interview process since people have been posting about interviews and that made me crazy.  This whole process is nuts. 

[Beals]

My last applications were due Jan 15, so I managed to keep myself from stressing about hearing results until after that deadline.  I was actually really proud of myself for not bugging too much!  But, alas, the deadline has passed, and now the anxiety is creeping in....

 

Also, does anyone else both love and hate how confident everyone is that they'll get accepted!?  I'm super grateful that my friends and family believe in me so much, but "don't worry, you'll get in" doesn't help when all I can think is "but what if I don't!??!?!" 

(literally, my answer is "I will move to China to teach ESL for a year" if I don't get in, but emotionally, I have no short answer)

[kris10mb]

2 hours ago, Beals said:

Also, does anyone else both love and hate how confident everyone is that they'll get accepted!?  I'm super grateful that my friends and family believe in me so much, but "don't worry, you'll get in" doesn't help when all I can think is "but what if I don't!??!?!" 

 

This has been my experience 100%. Even my professors keep assuring me that I'll get in, but until I receive an email/call proving them right, I'm filled with doubt. It's nice to have support, but at the same time, I just want to scream "BUT YOU DON'T KNOW THAT FOR SURE!"

It doesn't help that the whole process is somewhat arbitrary. I've heard of many people who didn't get in one year, then sent in an almost identical application the next year and get admitted...I just hate feeling like I have no real control over what happens. 

[THS]

4 hours ago, Beals said:

My last applications were due Jan 15, so I managed to keep myself from stressing about hearing results until after that deadline.  I was actually really proud of myself for not bugging too much!  But, alas, the deadline has passed, and now the anxiety is creeping in....

 

Also, does anyone else both love and hate how confident everyone is that they'll get accepted!?  I'm super grateful that my friends and family believe in me so much, but "don't worry, you'll get in" doesn't help when all I can think is "but what if I don't!??!?!" 

(literally, my answer is "I will move to China to teach ESL for a year" if I don't get in, but emotionally, I have no short answer)

 

I remember when I applied for my MA and was just so ignorant of the chances of not getting in...I would love to go back to those days.