8 Things No One Tells You About Grad School

So, you're trying to decide whether or not to go to graduate school. You've likely graduated or are about to graduate with your undergrad degree (hooray for you!) but are tossing around the idea of whether or not to further your education.

I ultimately decided to get my Master's degree in Technology. I have no regrets about the decision, but there are a few things I wish someone had told me about grad school before signing on the dotted line.

1. Getting another degree doesn't always help with getting a job.

Here I am, a few months after graduation and still job searching. I have about three years of work experience, two college degrees, and some glowing recommendation and references, but I don't ever hear back about interviews. I'll admit, I'd gone back to school in part because I thought it would help solve my job problem, but it hasn't. At least not yet.

Statistics will tell you that you are likely to earn more with a graduate degree, which is true, but you still need to land a job first. My bit of advice to you is to network, do side hustles, and volunteer on the side while getting your degree (if you're not fortunate enough to have a job already). This will put you in the sights of some people that may be hiring down the road, and you will already have the connection you're going to need to land a position.

2. Group work is still a thing.

In a group-work-obsessed society, I have no idea why I thought I'd be able to escape group work in grad school. Don't get me wrong, the groups are more reliable and want to do the work (most of the time), but there's still the issue of dividing up work evenly, gently poking people that aren't doing their share, and there's almost always that one passive aggressive somebody you have to contend with.

If you're a fan of group work, wonderful. You will have a more enjoyable time in a master's program than I did. I personally tend to do better on my own, but this isn't to say that you don't learn some valuable skills while working in groups. You learn how to communicate clearly, how to work with all different kinds of people, and you learn patience. Especially with Passive Aggressive Penny.

3. Grad school isn't a monster.

I enrolled in my grad program thinking I was going to be slaving away reading about 20 textbooks a semester, having 10 papers due for each class, and ultimately stressing more often than not. Imagine my surprise when I figured out that grad school really isn't that much different from undergrad. You still have normal homework assignments (unless you're in a PhD program), you do have to read entire textbooks, but you have reasonable amounts of time to read them, and I realized I stressed out a lot more when getting my undergrad degree.

Graduate school isn't this huge beast that's ready to chew you up and spit you out. Grad school has professors that are more than willing to work with you and talk to you for hours about a topic you're not fully understanding. Grad school is a lot more freedom than you think it is. Grad school is actually kind of a fun experience that I would recommend for anyone (so long as you aren't swimming in debt afterward). And speaking of money...

4. It doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg.

In my degree program, they offered assistanceships, grants, and scholarships for students to alleviate the burden that comes with more expensive schooling. To be honest, I am one of the fortunate few who graduated with no debt for either my undergrad or grad degrees.

Yes, grad school does cost more than your undergrad, generally speaking. The textbooks are more, the tuition is more, and the fees are higher. However, graduate programs do offer financial help to those who request it and fight for it. You will need to decide how much debt you're willing to go into if you want that second degree badly enough, but the number you come up with should be lower if you take advantage of the financial aid options they provide.

5. You make a lot of close friends.

It didn't occur to me that grad school would have much smaller class sizes and it was a pleasant surprise. About three semesters into the program, I would recognize about 75 percent of the people in the class since I had class with them before (which made item #2 on this list much easier to deal with). I honestly may not have passed my statistics class without the help of one of my classmates.

The class sizes ranged from about 10-20 people tota,l and that easily beat some classes I had in the past where there would be about 100.

6. The average student age is about 30-35.

There I was, fresh out of college at 23 years old, and I was ready to go back into the fray to get my grad degree. I was one of the youngest people in several of my classes while other people were working professionals and/or parents that had just come off of work to show up to night classes. Honestly, they were some of the most fun people I've ever hung out with.

7. You do even more soul-searching.

In your undergrad, you're trying to decide what you want to do when you graduate; and to be honest, that doesn't always go away when you go to grad school either. Now, if you are one of the lucky few who've known they wanted to be a biomedical engineer since they were five, then good for you. However, most of us are still flip-flopping on what we want to do when we grow up even after we've hit adulthood.

When you're in grad school, you may still second-guess whether or not this was the right choice. There's one bit of advice I can give you and this is how I knew my undergrad was the right pick, too. You can always see yourself doing something else, but does this feel right? Do you think about your path and feel content? Never mind the money or annoying classmate, do you feel like you are in the right place right now? If that doesn't work, then just remember that there is no wrong answer.

8. You're life doesn't really change.

You may think you are making some life-altering decision about deciding whether or not to go to grad school, but ultimately, you will still be the same person no matter which route you take. Sure, you'll feel better about yourself maybe having two degrees, but going to grad school isn't going to change your life. It'll just be another stepping stone if you choose to go, and it'll be a lot less hassle and research if you decide not to.

Whichever decision you make, be sure to keep yourself in mind. Are you doing grad school for you or are you doing it to make someone else happy? Are you doing it so you can help people? Or are you doing it just because you might possibly make more money? Going to grad school will change your life for the worse if you are doing it for something other than fulfilling your dream or purpose. Make sure you want it before going into it. If yes, then hooray for you, you have another degree. If no, then go forth and do your thing.