opinions/insights desired

[cosmo105]

here’s the thing:

so, to really get somewhere in food science, you kind of need your MS. i can only get so far with a BS before i’m kind of stuck scientifically, and what really blows is that my school’s BS food science program kind of totally sucks. it’s not very well recognized - many people have no idea it exists when i mention where i went to school. so, if i were to try to get into a decent grad school, i’d need to take some additional courses beforehand (retake calculus since i forgot it all, take some physics, extra chemistry and engineering etc.) to even be considered, since those weren’t required of me then. (i learned that lesson hard this year. did not get into my dream school, even with a pretty impressive resume and great grades.)

however…

i’m really happy right now. the happiest i’ve ever been, really. i have awesome friends, a really incredible boyfriend, and am doing very well overall. i LOVE where i am right now. love it. my job is rad, and i am so very lucky to have it. it’s absolutely perfect for me, and i’m pretty good at it. i’m finally making enough money to start paying off my debts, and that feels amazing. i’m in a lot of it what with student loans and living off my credit card for a lot of school, and it’s so relieving to know that i could have that paid off within a year or so.

i’m involved with a lot of really cool shit, too - i’m writing a fun blog, co-producing one of the best comedy shows in town, and becoming really active in my professional development and networking shizz. i recently got written up in the major food trade magazine and it was AWESOME. so really, where i am right now is pretty much perfect.

but…where i am right now is where i am right now, at 27. and my company, dearly as i love it, is small and what i’ve learned is very specialized. i know that i could make a career out of this place, but i would stagnate. i have always had a serious craving for more knowledge and scientific badassery, and i just don’t feel like i could get that here. so much of my job is day-to-day running of a factory, and i want to do more awesome innovation. but who’s to say i can’t here? the field i’m in is small and specialized, and i know a lot of good people in high places. in a few years i could be presented with an incredible opportunity for something even better.

going back to school would be a commitment of 3 years, including the year i’d have to wait (and take more classes just to get in). in 3 years i will be 30, which i know is still young, but sort of when i planned to be married and starting on the whole kids thing. and going back to get my MS after that would be much harder (until they were in school and all that). not to mention, going back to school part-time would mean losing my full-time salary and going even deeper into debt. i know that i can go back anytime, and it’s never too late for that, but obviously now would be much better since i still have all my professors and contacts and have only been out of school a couple of years.

i’m half-heartedly looking at classes right now - i might be too late for fall and have to wait until spring - but i realize that the smart thing to do is try to do what i can and see if i get in. if i get in, i’ll go. it’s just really difficult for me to reconcile that with what i’ll be giving up here. my bf and i both have good jobs (though his is not really a career, and he wants to do something different eventually), and are really, really happy. my mom suggests that i just ride that wave for a while and let things happen. my bf thinks i should go now. i don’t know what i really want to do. anyone? :\

[Bob]

how big of a risk is going back to school? when you say it would mean giving up what you have now, would it be more or less guaranteed to be only temporary, and everything would be all set again once you have your degree? or do you not know what would happen afterwards?

all i know is that i kind of cringed when i read "but i realize that the smart thing to do is try to do what i can and see if i get in. if i get in, i’ll go" because that was my attitude with law school and it turned out so so terribly, but it sounds like you've thought this through a lot more than i did, so my experience probably isn't applicable

i dunno, if it were me, and i were in as happy of a place as you seem to be describing, i wouldn't want to leave for a while, but i'm coming from a place where i was worrying about money and happiness and the future every day for 2 years or so, so i'm relatively new to this whole stability thing and can't imagine why anyone would want to give it up on a gamble (especially since my last gamble turned out so badly). plus i've never been a terrifically ambitious person so i'm probably not 100% empathizing with your desires for the future vs. what you already have.

in other words, i say settle down for a while, but i may not be the best advice-giver, i've always enjoyed settling

[cosmo105]

I think I feel like I have a pretty good chance of getting into somewhere great if I take those classes and really kick ass on my letters. And my field is pretty much set - I was getting several job offers before I even graduated, even in this economy - and I'm confident I could find something really great immediately. There's a huge demand for food scientists, especially one with such a specialized field of experience as mine. I honestly could probably come back to this same company and contribute more (and get paid more, ha) if I really wanted to do so. They're all about family and have people that have left for decades and came back. School would be pretty much putting this all on hold for two solid years of grad studies.

[Bob]

oh. well that doesn't sound so bad. i say go for it, 2 years isn't much.

would you have to move? would you still be living with your boyfriend?

[cosmo105]

I would have to move. MS programs in food science aren't that common, and my top two schools are nowhere near driving distance (northern California and Portland area). But my boyfriend is all for it and is ready to go pretty much anywhere with me as long as it's somewhere he can find decent employment too. We agreed a long time ago that we were never doing long distance, since we'd both done it before in previous relationships and it completely fucking sucks. We've lived together for a year and a half now and I can't imagine living without him in the future.

I think I'm going to go for it and just do it, I think what's holding me back is the fear of giving up some of the best years of my youth. It took me 7 years to get my BS because I switched majors about 2 years in, so another 3 years of school is kind of daunting to me, especially when I'm having so much fun.

[Turchinator]

Link to your blog and comedy show yo

[Echewta]

I don't know why you aren't interested in opening a Shakey's franchise. I think you would be so good running that place.

[Bob]

I think what's holding me back is the fear of giving up some of the best years of my youth. It took me 7 years to get my BS because I switched majors about 2 years in, so another 3 years of school is kind of daunting to me, especially when I'm having so much fun.

that's true, i kind of wish i hadn't done that

how much harm would it do to wait a few years to go back?

[cosmo105]

Waiting a few years would mean possibly losing touch with old professors and other references, although I've been really good up to now with staying in touch with them and keeping them abreast of where I am. I would probably also get more involved in work and the prospect of going back to school might be even more daunting. That plus the fact that waiting a few years would be right around when I want to start looking at having a family, and having kids while going to grad school is pretty tough. I know I can wait for that, but I don't really want to have kids past 35ish. I would have to wait until they were in school or something.

[cosmo105]

see why this is so hard? :(

[Gareth]

if you want to advance in your field then do it

[gbsuey]

I think there's a chance that there will always be a good reason to not do it and you can't ever regret having given something your best shot. I wish i had your drive, in fact i envy so many here that are in school doing what they really know they want to do.

[Dorothy Wood]

I hate school, so if I had your gig, I'd probably just stick with it if it's paying the bills and your career can still move forward. I know food science is complex, but would it be possible to just sort of...apprentice? or even do enough research and experimentation on your own (along with the supplemental math and science classes), so you'd be in the position to get a scholarship?
do they even do scholarships for grad school?

could you pull a good will hunting and teach yourself? are there online courses you could audit? can't you just build a lab and dissect soybean molecules in your apartment? ;)


I dunno, if you've got the energy now, and you wanna have babies...you could still take the supplemental courses and wait 2 years before going to grad school, right? then you'd still be under 35 before you finished school. 32 if it works out right. Then you can get a fabulously scientific new job, and then make a baby after you've worked there about a year and a half. then, voila! life solved.


don't listen to me though, I'm lazy as balls. I'm just now realizing my potential and figuring out what I want. I might just be able to get it too, we shall see.

[Nuzzolese]

IDK why the BF can't help with the babies while you're in school for your MS. He might get TO'd but he is your SO, afterall so WTF not?

[DIGI]

^IYHO?

You're happy right now, but when thinking of your career, you have to look 5, 10, even 20 years down the road. You like your job now, but that could change very easily. It could get stagnant, so if your career path is telling you that advancement in your field is contingent upon you getting your Master's, you should do it now while you're young. Shit's only going to get more complicated as you get older.

[cosmo105]

I think right now I'm going to start taking some of the undergrad classes I need either at my old school or a community college, at least trying to take some at night so I can still work full-time. I'll apply again for 2012 and if I don't get in then keep doing the same. There's also a school that's technically within driving distance (though really far, in another county) but is pretty much the best in So Cal that I hadn't really considered before, so that might be an option. Seriously though, thanks everyone for the input - it's helped a lot. I know that whatever happens will turn out right. :)

[Turchinator]

linky linky

[Myu-to]

It's slinky. It's slinky. A fun and wonderful toy!

[Kid Presentable]

I would think eventually if you want to remain competitive in your chosen field, you're always going to have to study further. If for no other reason than to maintain currency.

I can't help but think of all of the graduates and such who are leaving tertiary studies after me, and who will be likely pursuing further studies down the line. We're all going to be applying for the same jobs. Imagine if it were a really specialised field I'd gotten into :eek:

If an employer is looking for a reason to exclude your application, on principle it shouldn't be on the basis of your quals, however that appears to be a somewhat deciding factor in some cases.

[like2_drink]

I think I feel like I have a pretty good chance of getting into somewhere great if I take those classes and really kick ass on my letters. And my field is pretty much set - I was getting several job offers before I even graduated, even in this economy - and I'm confident I could find something really great immediately. There's a huge demand for food scientists, especially one with such a specialized field of experience as mine. I honestly could probably come back to this same company and contribute more (and get paid more, ha) if I really wanted to do so. They're all about family and have people that have left for decades and came back. School would be pretty much putting this all on hold for two solid years of grad studies.

If you have a B and need an M, and work at a family style company, that you think would accept you upon returning w the M, and you seem to genuinely enjoy the company you work for; have you considered asking them to put you through the additional 2 years so that you can come back w a greater ability to contribute to the company? Do they do that in the States? You should totes go for it Cosmo.

With that out there, what is your opinion/insight on my use of the word totes; a neoclassical psycho bitch ex got me onto it early on in the relationship, and although I don't see her or necessarily feel memories of her when using it, because it came from her, and trusting nothing to do w her: perhaps it should be dropped from my vocabulary, thoughts?

[cosmo105]

^totes is fine when used in a cute way.

So! UPDATE TIMES! I got into the school that's local, and it's a good school, but it's private and verrrrry esspensive. I don't know what my financial aid situation would be like at the moment, need to look at the numbers. And now I'm having to mull over the question if going to school for a degree that, in the long run, will give me more earning power but in the short term will probably double my student loan debt and take me away from a job and place in my life in which I'm very happy and fulfilled is worth the feeling of satisfaction and sating the neverending hunger (PUN) for knowledge that I've always had. Experience is extremely important in this industry but as a professor once told me might happen long ago, I feel "stuck" sometimes as my current knowledge level hits a ceiling of sorts when I'm working on tough projects. I want to be a super smarty pants. However, I also don't want to be in debt forever, and being vegan really severely limits my opportunities as far as companies for whom I'm willing to work. Tough decision! Still, getting the phone call today saying, "congratulations, you've been accepted into our graduate program" made me tear up, so beers tonight and thinking tomorrow :o

[ToucanSpam]

I'm late to the party, but nobody should ever be afraid of going deeper in debt if it means bettering their potential income earnings in the long run. Especially here and how it is structured in Canada. I highly recommend anyone and everyone taking multiple cracks at education.

Also, grad school is an amazing experience.