I wanted to graduate college as soon as possible to save money. However, during a meeting with a writing professor in my penultimate semester, my plans changed. He suggested applying for one master program.
His one piece of advice? Make sure I don’t get into more debt. Since many Master’s programs are not fully funded, my search was narrowed down. Taking his advice, I researched just a few programs that fit that criteria. After graduationI applied to a program but was not accepted. So I got to work and the years passed.
After half a decade of working in a profession that advanced other people’s dreams, I realized that I needed to start putting myself first. For me, that meant moving forward my education one more time.
I ended up going to a fully funded Masters program five years after graduating from college and it was the best decision I made.
The real world experience helped me operate at a higher level
I enrolled in an MFA program where I wrote a lot and often drew on my education.
Although I had many defining and rich memories as a child and young adult, waiting until I was in my 20s to go to graduate school allowed me to take in more. adult life experiences.
Continuing to work and build my career helped shape my background and gave me new perspectives that I didn’t have right after graduation.
The wait helped improve my time management
Since my graduate school program met at night, I moved on work full time. If I had gone straight to grad school from college, where I worked a lot of part-time jobs, I probably would have continued to supplement my income through odd jobs, freelance gigs, and side hustles.
But having a full-time job with benefits allowed me to have a stable schedule to work. This reliability allowed me to plan my work and academic calendar in a way that helped me establish a routine. It became a basis for my success.
My finances were more stable than in my early 20s
Since I had been working full-time for about half a decade by the time I enrolled in graduate school, I was able to have a small safety net. that extra money I went to buy books and the extra bus rides I had to take to get to my school several times a week for lessons and other events.
Working full time also allowed me to make more than the minimum payments required of me student loan repayments from my undergraduate degree. A nice bonus about graduate school was that my student loans could be deferred, which meant I could continue to save to pay them off without the pressure of making a payment.
More time meant more opportunities to improve academic skills
To prepare for graduate school, I studied for GRE. Although the program I chose did not ultimately require them, the research I did helped me review some educational foundations.
Also, since I had a break from the academic rigor of university, I was able to recharge a bit before diving into another academic environment immediately. This time off helped me get excited about learning and prepare to tackle education again in a more complete and meaningful way.
The ‘real world’ gave me a deep appreciation for learning spaces
Working full time in my field was very intensive and time consuming. Since I was salaried, I often worked unpaid overtime. Graduate school actually gave me a valuable way to set more boundaries for one work-life balance.
After all, attending graduate school was a true honor and felt like a break from the hectic demands of my day job. Graduate school was about work I was proud of, which was a nice change in my life. In a way, it helped me become my own boss.