What I've Learned So Far in Grad School

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I am a month in to my second year of my M.A. in Government program at Johns Hopkins, and felt it was time to post some thoughts to the rest of you who are thinking of getting their graduate degrees. 

First of all, I found it was both easier and harder at the same time than my undergraduate program. In graduate school, I have not encountered a single multiple choice test. Now, I am great at multiple choice, but still dreaded them. In this sense, grad school is easy. The difficult part is getting used to being out of your depth. This is something my thesis advisor told me yesterday. When you are trying to decide on your thesis topic, organizing the research and testing the data, and then testing your theory, all of it is still new and some days you feel like a fraud for being there. 

Second, yes, you do feel like a bit of a fraud, as if you wonder how you ever got into this program. I study with military officers, state and federal government civil servants, and many other wonderful people who all have something to contribute. You can't help but feel that you are the odd man of the group. But, because my background is in history, I have found the class appreciates my putting things into historical perspective. 

Three, it will boost your confidence. Just like achieving a bachelor's degree gave me a huge boost in confidence, getting straight A's in grad school is a big boost, especially in topics where you feel unfamiliar. One of the courses I took this spring was in Global Political Economy, and was taught by the Chief Economist of the Irish Parliament. For most of the course I felt out of place and out of depth, but one of the proudest moments was when the professor awarded an A grade for my most difficult paper yet - a compare and contrast of welfare systems in the West. 

Four, grad school is totally different from undergrad. This has been said numerous times, and it is so true. In college, you seem to be expected to study for tests and occasionally write a research paper to get your degree. In grad school, it is training you to be a self starter and largely self supervisory - much like some elite white collar careers. While the professors are there to assign readings and steer discussions, they act more as mentors and counselors than in an undergrad classroom. When you write your thesis, you follow guidelines and formatting techniques laid out for you, but the thesis advisor is there to help you refine or redirect your research and act as a consultant. How my thesis advisor guided us to our thesis topics - which in turn led us to think of the subject in all three thesis papers - was brilliant. 

Five, don't short change yourself on grad school. If you are going to do grad school, go to the best that will accept you. I came within a day of registering for classes at WGU's MBA program, when I followed my gut feeling, which told me I could do better and get into my dream program in my dream career. A year later, I got into Johns Hopkins University, and it has been worth every minute. Why not study under Nobel Prize winning professors, a former CIA officer, or a top economist for Ireland? You glean so much from their perspectives, and it opens many more doors. 

Grad school is a challenge unlike anything else you've experienced. Whereas undergrad you studied broadly and became a generalist, you now study more narrowly and become an expert on a niche subject as demonstrated in a thesis. But, if you think you are up to it, you should do it. And, please, do one which requires a thesis. There is nothing quite like the feeling of working on something original, and being seen as a contributor to the work of giants in your field.