Pray Tell: Your Educational/Career Path

[AmorRoark]

Tell us all your journeys!

Would you do anything differently? Are you glad you went in the direction you did? Were your career/ education endeavors what you expected to happen? Are you happy with where you are now? What advice would you give others from your experiences? etc. etc. etc.

Curious minds want to know.

 

[satricion]

Like most middle class kids in private schools, I did well at school without really doing any work. I got a good score and went to university to study psychology because I was hoping to learn about how human beings worked. I didn't really know what it involved, and was very ignorant about the options that were available to me, but off to psychology I went.

Psychology turned out to be disappointing. After a year and a half I got low on motivation and started to smoke a lot of weed. I took a year off, worked full time at a daycare centre and did a lot of drugs. I decided this sucked, cut my year off short and went back to uni after six months.

I took some sociology and fell in love with the discipline. I cut down the drugs, changed my degree to allow more sociology, and my grades steadily improved until I had a fairly high average.

Then I decided I wanted to be an academic. I cut out all drugs except for weed and occasionally psychs, wrote an honours thesis six months before it was due and spent the second semester of my honours year chilling out and planning a phd.

Now I'm nearing the end of the second year of my phd at a good university and I'm stressed about getting academic jobs afterwards. Academia is very competitive and getting more and more unstable. Universities are increasingly treating their academics like shit, and I'm getting an insight into the fact that universities are fucked up nepotistic bureaucracies just like any other big institution. Nevertheless, academic writing is extremely satisfying and academia, if you succeed, gives you a lot of intellectual freedom. I also love teaching, even if the fact that my students don't have the same passion as I do is sometimes disappointing.

If I'd known then what I know now I wouldn't have bothered with psychology and I'd have studied philosophy or anthropology instead. I also wished I had studied harder as an undergraduate. There were too many courses that I didn't attend and was only able to do well in because the way they were assessed allowed it. I guess at the time I had other priorities, and so do my current students, but I think that most undergraduates (myself included at the time) don't realise what an enormous privilege and opportunity university is.

 

[AmorRoark]

^ Thanks! That was really interesting.

 

[L2R]

i'm in my early thirties and have only just begun studying for the first time in my life. BA (Politics and History). It goes with my work in a trade union. Want to get into policy development, but can use the same degree to get into teaching should i change my mind.

brains working wtf is this?

 

[Kenickie]

I started college way too early (16). I'll go back soon enough. But I did the private school thing, the public school thing, homeschool, all of it.

and I think all of it has it's bad and good. I wish we could some how meld all the forms of teaching and make something that actually worked for 95% of students.

 

[crevan]

I got average marks in high school, was never really motivated once boys seemed into me, which was stupidity. I now wish that I put my education before relationships back then.

I did private college for Security, graduated but found no real passion for it.

I took a few years off, like an idiot i was.

I then again went to a private college because I thought I wasn't good enough for a "normal" college, and I got pretty good marks and a pretty good average. I was achieving the 3rd highest mark in my class. I was taking Addictions and Community Service Worker. Drama and the loss of the passion got me to drop out, which was just last month.

I am hoping to pay off my student loan then go back to a "real" college for either media or poli sci / history or something of the sort that i can use in the real world for a career.

I wish I never dropped out of HS as a teen, I wish I had more passion in education than i do.

I kinda miss the whole school scene...

 

[AmorRoark]

Time for TL;DR!

I did well in high school. I actually thrived in that environment. I've heard a lot of awful horror stories about their high school experience but I just didn't have it. My school was pretty diverse though & lacked cliques... I think that helped. I was in the Honors program (but not IB that was a commitment I wasn't willing to make due to interest in extra-curricular and social activities).

I graduated with a 3.55 & a boatload of other credentials that looked good on an application. I always presumed I'd go to college right away. I wanted to go, and it was expected, so I applied my senior year to universities as is mostly the traditional route in the U.S.

I got into all the universities I applied except University of Texas. I ultimately was choosing between Texas Christian University outside Dallas/Ft. Worth, Loyola University in outer-Chicago and DePaul University in near-North Chicago. I ultimately decided upon DePaul University as I knew I wanted to live in a city, go to a Liberal Arts college and didn't care too much about going to a 'rah-rah' school.

Ultimately, I think I made the best choice for me. I was surrounded by 'arty' kids and a huge city that fit me like a glove. I was drawn to the History undergraduate program almost immediately (it was my favorite all through primary school as well). I surprised myself my second semester of my Freshman year when I realized I really enjoyed my Women's Studies class. I made it my minor.

Though I did well academically and generally enjoyed my time at DePaul I had a lot of mental/emotional problems due to depression that I refused to treat/ a sexual encounter with an ex. I ended up in a psyche ward for a week my sophomore year. I was a mess. But I finally got my shit together thanks to my friends and family.

Throughout college I took your typical crappy summer jobs: lifeguarding (best out of them), nanny, working at a shoe store.. blah blah blah. I mostly spent those summers working dumb, low-paying jobs and hanging out with my friends who either never got to college or were back for the summer as well. In retrospect I wish I had used this time for an internship... at least one summer. Anyway, I had fun so that's that.

My senior year of undergrad I realized I needed to get my ass in gear if I wanted to be a lawyer. I had the grades (3.75 GPA), the right people for recommendations in line but I really needed to study my butt off for the LSAT. Long story short I didn't enroll in a class (like I knew I should have) and I didn't spend as many hours studying on my own (I felt guilty if I didn't do extremely well in my classes). As a result I didn't do so hot on the LSAT.

I applied to a bunch of law schools. I was accepted to a few. My parents convinced me to apply to Washburn University (their alma mater) so I said "sure, why not". I toured the school and decided it was my best bet though it was in Topeka, KS (only 3 years, right?).

We (boyfriend and I) moved here a few days before I started law school. I know a lot of people say they'll never forget the first day of this or that but I definitely will never forget it. If you've seen The Paper Chase the professor's intensity was just like that. Of course the professors lightened up after the first couple weeks but they really do demand a lot out of their students.

Things have gotten easier throughout the past year and a half. I'm far more confident and relaxed in my classes. It's definitely a learning process and I'm enjoying it now (much so more than my first semester of my first year).

This past summer I took courses. One of the recommended courses is Individual Income Tax. My mom's a CPA so I thought "hey, if it sucks she can help me study". Turns out I really liked it and it's the best grade I've gotten thus far. For now, it's the field I hope to end up in.

I might go for my LLM after law school or I might just try to find a job and eventually get my LLM. I'm not sure yet but I'll be asking my tax professors about their experiences/advice.

I think that's about it.

 

[scureto1]

I went to a rural high school, not TOO backwoods but definitely not a good place to get started for being competitive in college. I wasn't extremely interested in school either, although I did take all of the college prep classes that were offered. Graduated with a 3.3 GPA, which is only soso, and a 30 on the ACT, which is pretty good. I was a little dumb at the time and didn't realize that the 30 ACT score would have been good enough to get me probably a full ride at the state universities here, so I joined the National Guard to help pay for school and went to a private university.

That only lasted one semester though, because even with the partial scholarship I got there and the money from the Guard, I still couldn't afford it. So I transferred to the state university, but, as a transfer student, I was not eligible for ANY financial aid from the school - I could only get what came from the FAFSA. Meanwhile, students fresh from high school with similar or lower ACT scores could still get scholarships. I definitely regret not going straight to the state university and getting the scholarships.

I went there for one year, as a business management major (default major for people who don't know what to do but don't want to be called undecided, apparently) and then, wouldn't you know it, my National Guard unit is called up for a deployment to Iraq. I spend 18 months doing that, working as a medic in a clinic in Iraq. Turned out as a good thing though, because this was when I realized I wanted to work in the medical field.

When I got back, I continued undergraduate, working towards a degree in chemistry, and also taking pre-pharmacy classes because I wanted to go to pharmacy school. While I was doing that, I worked for about a year at Walgreens as a pharmacy tech. I realized I hated working in a pharmacy, so I changed gears slightly and now I'm aimed at med school. I graduate in 2 more semesters and am taking the MCAT this coming spring or summer, and hopefully then on to med school.

 

[Jerry Atrick]

High school was easy for me. Got a full-ride scholarship to Mizzou and went straight into college. Changed majors several times because I just couldn't figure out what I wanted to be when I grow up. Finally settled on Cultural Anthropology but dropped out my senior year for various reasons. This was nearly 10 years ago.

A few years later I found myself homeless living in Denver. That was an interesting experience which didn't last long. Moved back in with my parents not too long ago which was pretty tough, but it beats living on the streets.

Finished up my degree this past May but still haven't been able to find a decent job so I decided to go to grad school. Made a decent score on the GRE and applied to a couple of schools here in Texas. I plan on getting my PhD in Cultural Anthropology and becoming a college professor. Needless to say, I'm still in the middle of my educational/career path.

 

[rockparker]

I have started with new job few months back and I am quite satisfied with my work as I have got my dream job now.

 

[Cyc]

My middle and high school years were spent in city of roughly 30,000. Three public and one catholic high school, all government funded. Private schools are very rare in Canada, as the government sees the value in providing equality of education. I believe they were forbidden in my municipality.

Grades were never stressed in my home. My mom was too busy with drugs/alcohol, and whatever new guy she was seeing. I was left pretty much to do whatever I wanted. There were no parent-teacher meetings, no talks around the dinner table about that "C" in math, and nobody to push me into extra-extracurriculars. I played football anyways.

Naturally, I did what most kids would do in my situation. I got drunk, got high, and partied my ass off. I dropped out of high school needing 2 elective credits to graduate. After a few years, the drugs and partying caught up to me and I had a major mental meltdown. If I could sum up my life in a week, this was Sunday morning, the drugs are wearing off, dawn just cracked, and the DJ just went home.

After screwing my head back on a bit, I quickly finished my last two credits at an adult school and applied to have my diploma mailed to me. I then registered as a mature student to a community college with my (then) girlfriend, and we moved to a bigger city not far away, which is where I live today.

After graduating with an associates degree in IT, I took a post-graduate certification for another year in technical writing, and went out into the working world, finding jobs in various support roles. After a few years of doing crappy jobs for crappy pay, I found a decent paying job that was flexible enough to allow me to attend University part-time.

I applied, and took a 60% course load my first year, while working full-time at this job. I quickly found out that University is NOT the same as Community College, and I'm not nearly as smart as I thought I was. I dropped down to 20% course load, learned how to function in University and kept my admission. It was a splash of cold water, but I learned quick.

I got laid off from that job earlier this year, which has allowed me to focus on University, while working part-time projects, living basically on government loans and the charitable nature of my girlfriend. I am taking 80% course load this year, and next year will be finishing my 10th credit and applying to the PA program in another city.

My goal for the next 3 years is to graduate with a B.Sc.(PA), work in that field for a couple years, then apply to medical school.

 

[rangrz]

went to uni in pharma and quit because I hated the academia crowd. then I focused hard ass on my military career, racking up every "hard core" course(path finder, US ranger school, clearence diver ect) I could and made it into SOF. all while being tweaker.

pretty much, chasing excitement, dopamine and adrenaline.

 

[oohcow]

my story is the same in and the same out...

No motivation, always got that low ball GPA, only reason schools love me is my high test scores...

highschool was a breeze, i was just that kid that never went, was always in trouble, and literally didn't do anything, (no homework no nothing). 2.4 GPA (thats how easy highschool is, you don't have to do anything to get near a 2)

I attend northern illinois university, at first for business administration, then switched to accounting. I now hold a 3.0 gpa (not hot, not not).... and taking the LSAT or GMAT or both this year. Worst case scenario i go to graduate school for accounting... best case scenario i score a 175+ on the act and attend a top law school preferably university of michigan .

i scored a 31 ACT with a 36 in math and science... slept through the english section... I can only hope that i can score as well on the LSAT

 

[Chaos Butterfly]

High school... who cares. So long ago. Doesn't matter.

Undergrad, Bachelor of Chemical Engineering. Got into it because I loved chemistry, but wanted to do a degree that would lead to a job, so I didn't do Science. As with all schooling for me, it started well, then I slacked the fuck off for a year, then got my shit together and finished phenomenally well. Finished with Honours (2nd Class, 1st Division) which was good enough to get me into my PhD program.

Postgrad: PhD in Chemical Engineering. Submitted a couple of months ago and am still waiting for the results to come in. Was an interesting experience, but wish I'd got my shit together a hell of a lot earlier.

Currently: looking for jobs. Not too much going on jobwise here at the moment, but its not completely dry. Just need to keep on applying and applying and applying and hopefully something will come along.

CB

 

[satricion]

^^
What are you doing for a job in the meantime? Teaching? RA work? The time between submitting, passing, and getting a job seems to be a kind of academic limbo period. I'm tempted to get an extension on my phd even if I can finish it on time just so I scholarship money coming during the inevitable long period of unemployment while I'm looking for work.

 

[Chaos Butterfly]

^^

one day a week research for my supervisor. Trying to pick up anything else that comes by, but in general, this situation sucks.