Big news

[uberniftacular]

This is something that's honestly been building for a while, I just haven't talked about it on here because, honestly, I didn't want to subject you guys to my misery. But I've been pretty much hating grad school for quite some time now, and the past few weeks have been worse than ever, which gave me the kick in the ass I apparently needed.

I'm officially quitting grad school.

I'll be sticking around until the end of summer, to finish up my project and to give me time to look for a job. But by the end of summer, I'll leave with a Masters degree.

I feel like I should regret this decision, but I don't. At all. The things I want to do with my life are things I don't need a PhD for, and the jobs I could get as a PhD are, for the most part, things I don't actually want to do. So, I'll leave with a Masters and hopefully find a job I actually like, with significantly more reasonable hours than grad school expected of me, and better paying on top of it.

Comments

[uberniftacular]

Well, I will certainly find happiness in working a job that's actually 40 hours/week, instead of the 50-60 I've been working lately...

I'm already happy with my decision, frankly. Have a feeling of relief just from having broken the news to my boss and gotten things started a bit. The end is in sight, even if it's still a few months off.

Plus, I'm sure whatever new job I manage to find will pay better than a grad school stipend, and so then I'll have less financial stress too. So, I feel like it's been a good decision all around. :)

[teshara.livejournal.com]

:) That sounds like a good plan.

One day you may be in a different place and decide you want to, but if you don't want to be there it's going to effect your learning potential and you're going to end up hating what you're studying.

Everyone needs a big dose of practical application once in awhile. :D It's good for you.

[uberniftacular]

Exactly! As of right now, the things I want to do with my life are things that, from what I can tell, tend to require a bachelor's and a couple years experience, which my Masters should be the equivalent of (considering it's a coursework PLUS lab experience, rather than a purely coursework-based Masters). And a lot of the jobs you can get with a PhD in my field are things I don't honestly want to do, because I have no desire to run a lab (I loathe grantwriting with a passion, which appears to be at least 70% of what running a lab entails), and I certainly have no desire to teach. So I feel like my decision to leave with a Masters is really the best option for me at this stage in my life.

[naushika.livejournal.com]

Having a masters is pretty awesome. If quitting school will make you happy, then yay! It's no fun to do something when you're miserable.

[uberniftacular]

And I really have been miserable lately, so it's time to quit.

In all honesty, I should've quit a year ago.

[icequeen3101.livejournal.com]

GO YOU!
It's a brave decision, and if it makes you feel better, it's the best decision you could make *cuddles*

[uberniftacular]

I don't feel like it's such a brave decision...it's a long overdue decision, is what it is. I should've done this a year ago, but I just never got off my lazy ass and officially made the decision. But I've been feeling so much happier already, just having officially decided. (Well, part of this is also due to the fact that the boss was hardly in this week, so that's helped to reduce my stress too.)