06-16-2006, 10:08 AM | #1 (permalink) |
Crazy
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School or Job?
I was notified today that I am one of a dozen students who have been accepted into Graduate program. It’s a two year boot camp; if you complete it, you get an MFA degree and are able to teach among other things.
I graduated from college as an undergrad a year and a half ago. I had a very difficult time finding a full-time job. I went on two interviews and things just weren’t going my way. As a student, I interned for a very big company ; they offered me a part time gig (couple days a week) after graduation. While working part time, I decided I may as well go back to school since I wasn’t able to land my dream job. I studied for the GRE’s, and eventually submitted my application. Approximately six months ago, someone quit, and the company asked me to work five days a week instead of two. The work I was doing was a dream come true, and I really learned a lot. The company decided not to replace the person who quit, but instead allow people like myself and a few others to share the hours. I was told that nothing is guaranteed, but eventually I may get a chance to work full-time. I was just glad to be working, and doing what I loved. Within the last two months, I have been working on a part time basis. I have been told that I will know before the end of the summer whether the company plans to offer me a full time position or not. I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. The Graduate program officials have given me two weeks to let them know whether I am accepting my seat in the program. At work, the people who will make the decision whether to hire me or not have not told me one way or the other. Should I call my boss and tell him what I just told you? I never told anyone at work that I applied for Graduate School. I am not sure what I should do. |
06-16-2006, 11:00 AM | #2 (permalink) |
Thor
Location: 33:08:12N 117:10:23W
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There will always be jobs and other jobs on the horizon and education helps open those doors (granted, so does the networking one gets from working).
By "boot camp" I assume it is intense and leaves little room for a part-time position, let alone a full time job. How are you doing financially? Will you be able to do such a program without subsidizing your income? In my opinion, the schooling is more important. It seems to be more of an opportunity that would be hard to replace as opposed to the job. And, who knows, maybe with your advanced degree you’ll be more valuable to the current job after two years. I’d go for the sure thing: the already excepted graduate program.
__________________
~micah |
06-16-2006, 11:07 AM | #3 (permalink) |
Tilted Cat Head
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
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there's always a job in the future, there may not always be school.
I took the path that seemed less travelled which was take the job and stopped school. I have not ever looked back, and it put me head and shoulders ahead of everyone else, but that was just dumb luck. I still do miss the idea of having a bachelor's degree.
__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. |
06-16-2006, 11:11 AM | #4 (permalink) | |
Thor
Location: 33:08:12N 117:10:23W
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Quote:
__________________
~micah |
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06-16-2006, 11:18 AM | #5 (permalink) | |
Tilted Cat Head
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
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Quote:
At this point in my career it won't make that much of a difference, I highly doubt anyone would increase my salary by that much. I'm fortunate to have 20 years in the computer industry and 10 in the TV industry. For me to go back it's just a personal goal, and sometimes I think about it, and other times, I realize how much it just wasn't for me.
__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. |
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06-16-2006, 11:18 AM | #6 (permalink) |
Crazy
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The place where I am now is my dream gig. After finishing Grad school, this would be something I would kill to do. The only issue is the uncertainty and whether they want me.
I think my experience at this company had something to do with me being accepted to the graduate program. Financially I am OK. I will get paid by the graduate program; I'll be assisting Undergrads while also basking in the knowledge. Would I be off-base if I talked to my boss about this? I am 90% sure his response will be that they haven't made a decision yet, and I should do what I want. |
06-16-2006, 12:55 PM | #7 (permalink) |
Kick Ass Kunoichi
Location: Oregon
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Do the MFA.
Grad school is a thing very few people get the opportunity to do. Take advantage of it. An MFA can set you up to do a number of things. Work is always easy to go back to--school not so much. There's always an excuse or reason not to in the future, so do it now while you can.
__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau |
06-16-2006, 03:03 PM | #8 (permalink) |
hoarding all the big girl panties since 2005
Location: North side
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School School School
It's the kinda thing that right now, you're in a good job and they're dangling the promise of full time work in front of you, and you're tempted. But don't be miopic. I'd sell my left foot on the black market for an oppurtunity like yours- having grad school PAY ME to come and do school. You won't regret it for an instant, not if you'll be studying something you're really interested in. Plus, having that Master's degree will look a helluva good on an resume when you get out of school, and all the expierence that you have gotten at your current job will help as well. Perhaps your current job will want you back once you complete grad school, who knows? Life always gives you choices to either grow or stagnate. Right now you're being offered a very rare oppurtunity to go to grad school, something that fewer and fewer people are choosing to do. A Master's degree is a BIG DEAL to employers and a great chance to get even more schooling in, which is always good. You've gotten plenty of expierence at your current job, take the plunge and go do something different that will give you expierence in a different area, plus practally gaurentee that employers will be salivating all over you when you get out! Remember... I'd trade you my left foot anyday and so would a million other people. Don't miss such a great chance
__________________
Sage knows our mythic history, King Arthur's and Sir Caradoc's She answers hard acrostics, has a pretty taste for paradox She quotes in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus In conics she can floor peculiarities parabolous -C'hi
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06-16-2006, 03:13 PM | #9 (permalink) | |
Thor
Location: 33:08:12N 117:10:23W
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Quote:
Discussing this with your boss may plant the seed that you shouldn't be considered for the permanent position.
__________________
~micah |
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06-16-2006, 03:14 PM | #10 (permalink) | |
Location: Iceland
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Quote:
Now, someone else remind me I said this, next time I get depressed about my grad program!!
__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love; for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course. --Khalil Gibran |
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06-16-2006, 03:18 PM | #11 (permalink) |
In Transition
Location: Sanford, FL (between Daytona and Orlando)
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If I were in this situation, and my boss/company was as great as you say they are, I would talk to him. Tell him that you've been offered this fabulous opportunity, and you want to take it, but you don't want to burn any bridges with your company, and would love the possibility of being able to come back after you graduate.
Maybe they'd let you stick around and only work one afternoon a week (just 4-6 hours). That would keep your foot in the door, give you a little extra wiggle room in your budget, and still allow you to go to school. Bottom line, I would talk to your boss. Maybe he has some ideas that we haven't thought of to make things work, because he knows the company and people, and we don't. As is said with every type of relationship on this entire board, communication is the key. Talk to your boss. Good luck, and let us know how things work out. =)
__________________
Don't trust anything that can bleed for a week and not die. Oh wait, that's me... nevermind... you can trust me. |
06-19-2006, 08:18 AM | #13 (permalink) |
Tilted Cat Head
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
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conversely you could say that you could never get a Grad school deal as sweet as this one.
__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. |
06-19-2006, 02:48 PM | #14 (permalink) |
A Storm Is Coming
Location: The Great White North
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You said "I had a very difficult time finding a full-time job."
That tells me that you have a special opportunity. Work part-time someplace and take advantage of the school. You'll have a much better chance of landing the job you want with a higher degree. And if your current company really appreciates you, they'll allow you to work around your school schedule.
__________________
If you're wringing your hands you can't roll up your shirt sleeves. Stangers have the best candy. |
06-23-2006, 09:31 AM | #15 (permalink) |
Tilted
Location: Rhode Island
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More and more I hear and learn for myself that a master's is becoming necesary to securing a good job. I am in a similar situation. The job I have pays well, but it is not what I want to do. To do what I want to do, more than likely I will have to get my masters. So I say, go for it. Get more schooling, and you will have many more job opputunities that you have now.
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06-23-2006, 09:42 AM | #16 (permalink) |
Transfer Agent
Location: NYC
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Stay in school. Enjoy the partying as long as possible..
Seriously, though. If you decide to go to grad school - will having this degree really make a difference down the line? Degrees are great but unless you are trying to be a thermometer work experience means an awful lot as well. In fact I think you learn more on the job than from any book. IMO anyway. Good luck.
__________________
I've yet to dephile myself... |
06-23-2006, 09:44 AM | #17 (permalink) |
Psycho
Location: In your closet
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I have seriously been thinking of getting my MBA. Only problem is the one school in my area that is AACSB accredited would take a lot longer to complete, cause of their small selection of night classes. That and the GMAT is so intimidating. I should just take the exam and see where I place and take a course if my score isn’t up to par.
__________________
Her juju beads are so nice She kissed my third cousin twice Im the king of pomona |
06-23-2006, 11:07 AM | #18 (permalink) |
Junkie
Location: In the middle of the desert.
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You will work your whole life, and probably not at the same job. Most people change every 5 to 7 years. If you have the opportunity now to increase your education, you should take it. You never know where this might lead...
__________________
DEMOCRACY is where your vote counts, FEUDALISM is where your count votes. |
06-23-2006, 02:17 PM | #19 (permalink) |
Observant Ruminant
Location: Rich Wannabe Hippie Town
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If you stick with the job, you have no assurance that you'll ever get the full-time position you want. They sure are being coy about filling the vacancy. Why not, when they can use eager part-timers and not pay benefits? These days, even half-decent employers are playing that game.
So if you stick with your employer, you might lose; you might never get what you want. But if you go to school, you _will_ get that MFA (if you don't screw up). And the MFA will pay off down the line and (in the interim) support you while you get it. Here's what I would do: make the commitment to go to grad school, then tell your boss what you're doing and why. He might: 1) Get pissed off and tell you to clean out your desk. 2) Give you a pat on the back and best wishes. 3) Sit down and figure out a way to keep you on part-time. If 1), you were probably never gonna get that job. Or it wouldn't have been especially secure. But no half-decent boss is going to get pissed at you for going back for more education. Frankly, with an MFA and a teaching certificate, you will get a job. It may not be the job of your dreams right off the bat -- it might be one or two classes (non-tenured) at two or three different community colleges or high schools, to start. But you will have work. I tell you this: if you don't go for the MFA now, you probably never will. I don't know you, but that's just the way these things usually work out. Life gets more complicated as time goes on. Extra demands are made on you. College remains forever "in a couple of years." |
06-24-2006, 07:56 AM | #22 (permalink) | |
In Transition
Location: Sanford, FL (between Daytona and Orlando)
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Quote:
__________________
Don't trust anything that can bleed for a week and not die. Oh wait, that's me... nevermind... you can trust me. |
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07-25-2006, 05:25 AM | #23 (permalink) |
Crazy
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Here's an update:
Two weeks came --and left-- and I didn't hear back from my boss. In the last month I have worked part time for the company at a different location; I haven’t been in contact with my boss. A month has passed and I still haven't heard back from him. I registered for classes a couple days ago. I was very attached to getting this job and I have gone through mild depression and have been on the verge of insanity waiting around for a phone call. I still have a feeling that I'll get a phone call a week before classes start asking if I want the full-time position. That's how things usually work there. I gave two years of my life to this company and met some great people. I am still very confused as to why my boss --who embraced me on the phone after I told him I had two weeks to let the grad school know whether I was coming-- never got back to me. I have decided to just proceed with school and cease driving myself nuts over it. I am not going to call my boss for an explanation. |
07-25-2006, 05:28 AM | #24 (permalink) | |
Tilted Cat Head
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
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Quote:
__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. |
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07-25-2006, 05:39 AM | #25 (permalink) |
Crazy
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No, I did not call at all --and I won't. I was very clear that I had a two week deadline to notify the school of my decision. He mentioned that he was under the assumption I'd be offered a potion, but that he would let me know for sure before the deadline. He never got back to me.
As of two weeks ago, people in similar situation as I -- still didn't know their future at the company. From limited information, I know one person was laid off within the last few weeks and the person who I was supposed to replace was still working in his old position (he was supposed to be promoted or let go by now) I have an incredible opportunity to get a Master's degree and deepen my knowledge. Throughout the whole process School was just a backup plan, but never a realistic option. You know what tho? It's a pretty damn good backup plan -- too bad it took me so long to climb off the roof where I was waiting for money to start falling from the sky. Last edited by dualman7; 07-25-2006 at 05:47 AM.. |
07-25-2006, 05:43 AM | #26 (permalink) | |
Tilted Cat Head
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
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Quote:
__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. |
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07-25-2006, 05:53 AM | #27 (permalink) | |
Tone.
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Quote:
Nor should you. You've been used. They've been stringing you along because you're giving them the work of a fulltimer without costing them half as much money as a full time employee would. They were gonna keep you going as a part timer until you figured out what they were up to, then they cut you loose. You didn't miss out on anything here. |
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07-25-2006, 05:56 AM | #28 (permalink) |
Crazy
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Cynthetiq -- I appriciate your advice. I think actions speak louder than words, and this past month has just been a microcosm of my tenure at the company. I understand the boss could have forgotten -- actually I don't know how you could forget an emotional 10 minute conversation-- but he has had a month to remember it. It's all well and done. This has sparked another gear in me and I plan to do a lot with this degree.
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07-25-2006, 06:51 AM | #29 (permalink) | |
Tilted Cat Head
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
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Quote:
Good luck with the degree path. It's just as well, and things played out as they should have.
__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. |
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