QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE APPLYING
Do you need to get a graduate degree to do exactly what you want to do? Is there another route you can take to get the information/experience you need without a graduate degree? Look up jobs you’d like to have down the line. What types of degrees do they have if any? And how important is developing a level of expertise to get there? The question for me became could I develop the expertise I needed for the types of roles I wanted through work experience overtime? I saw that most people at a higher level had a Ph.D. so I knew that getting one would be in my future. After working a couple of different positions in research and education, I was finishing up another temporary position and decided I’d apply before I looked for another job, and I got in!
Do you have a specific topic in mind that you want to become an expert in? For me my topic has changed drastically from what I initially started with and that happens, but when I applied I had a specific topic in mind. My topic built off of my Master’s thesis work which centered on bilingual education and achievement. I broadened my topic to include further research that I wanted to pursue in a Ph.D. program stating, “…Though much of my research thus far has focused on bilingual education, I hope to broaden my achievement study as a Ph.D. candidate to include both Spanish – English ELL and bilingual students, and African-American students in public education. I would like to pursue a focus in education policy analysis and evaluation centered on effective schools and school systems, student achievement, language, and policy reform.” Did I know THE THING that I wanted to study, no, but I had a specific enough idea that I could give my university and idea about where I was headed. I also knew that I wanted to do work in economics and school finance, and have since shifted my focus there.
Will you go full time or part time? This depends on your program, what’s allowed, and what you are able to do. I am going to school full time and working as a research assistant (RA). That is a large shift from the full-time job and salary I had in Houston. But I also have a partner who works full time and can fill in the gaps. Not everyone is able to do that, and that’s ok! There are programs who can work with you on a part time schedule as well.
Do you have a clear sense of what you want to do with your degree? This is very important, because a lot of your education will be self led. You are finalizing your focus areas, your dissertation topics, and the courses you take. All which should be designed to lead to an end goal. That goal will determine the type of research you focus on, the skills you develop, and the connections you make to get there. If you don’t have a clear sense of what you want to do afterwards, I suggest you take more time to think about it or use your first year to figure that out. The days and hours may seem long, but the years fly by! At the end of the day you want to make sure your work is leading you somewhere, lest you get to the end and still have no idea.
Do you have the time? No seriously, do you have 2-5+ years to dedicate to graduate school? Remember as a kid when your parents would tell you that school is your job *insert eye roll*. Well it’s really true for graduate school. It takes a lot of time and effort, majority of which is spent reading, sense making, and formulating questions. Your brain will get tired, and it requires a consistent level of focus to really get anything done at a high level. Do you have the time and the mental stamina for that right now, is a good question to ask yourself. Maybe you do, because you think it’s that important to focus on whatever you decide your problem of practice is, and maybe you don’t because you’re really focused in on the work you’re already doing and want to come back to the questions you have later. There is no wrong answer here. Just something to think about as you’re deciding if this is right for you.
Do you have a support system? I’m sure I’m not the first person to tell you that grad school is HARD. Not impossible, and very much so manageable, but not easy. Having that shoulder to cry on, complain to, or just generally unpack life with is important. And support can come in a lot of different ways. I know for me my family is always one phone call or FaceTime away and that helps a lot. I also have an amazing partner who not only helps carry the financial load of living in Seattle, but he is just all around helpful and supportive. He proof reads for me (he was an English major, score! 💪🏾) and is generally my sounding board for all things grad school and life. He’s there for the late nights pouring over documents and writing my heart out, and gives me the space and time I need to get things done (Will you’re the real MVP! 🏆). You can absolutely do this without any of that! People do it everyday. I’m just saying, it helps! So let your loved ones know you’re thinking of doing this and will need their support along the way. You’ll also meet a ton of people throughout your program that can relate, and you’ll be that support for one other overtime.
Lastly, do you really enjoy your field and your topic of interest? Passion is great, but it will fade, or rather it will come in waves. The work gets tedious and no matter how much you enjoy it, it’s still work, and remembering the why (more on this to come!) is an important part to staying on top of things. One of my favorite quotes says, “You will never always be motivated, so you must learn to be disciplined.” And it is just so true! So be ready to spend a lot of time up close and personal with whatever it is you’re passionate about. Be prepared for that passion to fade a bit, and when it does, come back to your why and stay the course. You’ll be just fine! It’s still a lot of fun, and I really do enjoy what I’m studying. I’m learning something new every day and it drives me to keep pushing forward. But yes, doing this work gets hard, and being Black and hearing the deficit damaged way we present problems in our education system as if to fault disenfranchised students gets tiring… But we can do better, and I’m here to make sure we do!