Books & Bottles

My career path was never linear. I had lofty dreams that changed frequently when I was younger. I very adamantly wanted to be a marine biologist and an archaeologist. Life happened, and I found myself moving 2,000 miles away from my family and becoming very comfortable (although not happy) with my job as a retail supervisor. I continually asked myself if I really was content being on the track I was on, while knowing the answer really was ‘no.’

When the time came for me to get my undergraduate degree, I knew I wanted more than my current career, but had no clue what that meant. I decided to major in what I was interested in, going back to my childhood desire of being an archaeologist and majored in Anthropology. And upon graduation, while applying to jobs and grad school, I found out I was pregnant. And so, my plans were put on hold and because of a number of factors, mostly the cost of childcare, I became a stay-at-home mom and got very used to putting everybody and everything else before myself.

Being a stay-at-home mom was the most challenging job I have ever had. I found myself in a mindless routine of redundant tasks and worrying. I went back to work when my son was one and found that to be the solution to a lot of the issues I didn’t know I had. It made me realize how much I had struggled with my own identity, or lack thereof, and sense of purpose outside of being a mother. I also felt like I was really good at what I did. I had found a social media content job and it made me fall in love with strategy, planning, brainstorming, and content calendars. The entire team was laid off while I was on maternity leave, and I almost immediately began looking for a position in marketing that aligned with what I was doing before.

However, I fell into the cycle that many professionals find themselves in at one point in their careers. I was under-qualified to do the type of work I wanted to do but overqualified for an entry-level position that would get me a foot in the door to where I wanted to be. According to a spreadsheet I made to track my applications, I applied to around 350 jobs in about a year. I needed to find a way to bridge my experience gap to qualify me for the positions I wanted.

It was always my goal to go to grad school, which is one of the reasons I justified majoring in Anthropology. But I felt selfish in considering going back to school, especially at that time, when my youngest was still a nursing infant. But as time went on, a voice in the back of my mind got louder and continued asking, “If not now, when?” I weighed all the pros and cons. I weighed them again. I read and I read. I found forums and Facebook groups. I asked myself when I would study, how we were going to afford it. I did not know everything I needed to consider and was relieved when I found Peterson’s Guide for Potential Grad Students.

Peterson’s guide helped me construct an objective as possible pros and cons list on why I should (or shouldn’t) go back to grad school. It made me realize that while the factors on my list were valid, it did not take into consideration the things that I needed to scrutinize in my decision process. I expanded on the guide by coming up with my own list of considerations with the needed lense of a mother and wife:

1. What could I afford – I knew I was going to need to pay out of pocket for my graduate education. I looked into grants and scholarships but crunched the numbers to calculate how much my estimated loan payments were based on the cost of the program, and what I could afford worst-case scenario (if we were a single income household still after graduation). I considered if I needed to put my children into daycare while I was studying, and how much that would affect our bottom line.
2. School/life/work balance – while I knew I needed to reprogram my brain to make myself a priority and get my family on board with that, I still had considerable obligations that I just couldn’t and didn’t want to give up. I wanted to make sure I was able to work and also be an involved and present mother to my children while finding some time for myself. Finding a program that allowed for optimal flexibility was crucial to my success.
3. How much time I could and wanted to spend doing schoolwork – I have always been an avid reader and finding time to read was something I was excited about. But I also knew that realistically I only had so much time to allot towards reading and schoolwork, even if I was determined to do it all. I needed to find a program that allowed me to do work in the evenings and weekends.
4. Could I get certifications – I needed to take inventory of the skills I had, and the skills I needed to get to where I wanted in my career. I looked into if certifications could help me bridge the gap between my current skill set and the skill set I needed to advance my career. I also looked into bootcamps, as there are a large number of different bootcamps for different fields.
5. How I was getting to class – considering the flexibility I needed, I had few options. I needed either a program that met on the weekends or was completely virtual with distance learning. In-person classes during the week were impossible at the time considering my husband’s commute to and from work. I would need to be on my way to class before he got home, and the logistics of that with two kids was impossible
6. School reputation – I wanted to come out of this program with a wealth of knowledge and real work skills, and I knew I needed a reputable university. I found there to be a lot of schools that were for-profit and came off as very predatory, with program offerings and enrollment processes that seemed to pray on potential students.
7. Faculty and Staff – The faculty and staff is very much related to the reputation of the university. In order to commit to a university, I needed to be given reliable information throughout the application and enrollment process. I also needed to feel confident in the knowledge and experience of the faculty teaching me.

There are countless considerations mothers need to think about when deciding to go back to school. Even if you are not a mother, it is a huge investment and commitment that needs to be considered carefully. Making a pro and cons list based on universal factors outlined in guides such as Peterson’s is incredibly useful. But you need to think carefully about your goals, your family needs, your finances, your time, and how that will all be accommodated by going back to graduate school. Taking the time to make this decision is incredibly important. The more time you put into the decision, the more likely you are to feel confident in it. Graduate school is a valuable key to success, but you need to be sure that your vision of success aligns with the program’s objectives.

References:

A Guide for Potential Grad Students: Should You Go To Graduate School? (2020, April 28). Retrieved from https://www.petersons.com/blog/a-guide-for-potential-grad-students-should-you-go-to-graduate-school/

Note about graphics: Graphics used in this post were designed by the author, Malory Brown