Self Check-in: What Is My Life

With the second semester of my junior year well underway, the time has come to start my search for post-graduation plans in earnest. This is something I've alluded to often in my recent posts, probably because it's on my mind often, and while I certainly think about this all the time, I still have only a vague idea of what I want to do. With midterm season upon us, I rarely have time nowadays to think about something this long-term, so I'm forcing myself, in writing this post, to lay out all my options, think through my plans, and maybe (but let's be real, probably not) come that much closer to a real decision. While this certainly benefits me, I hope that this "thought map"-esque post will help my fellow juniors who are also undecided on their plans for summer 2017 and beyond - or at least reassure them that there are people who are even less prepared than they are.

When I think of life after Tufts, I see two major paths that I could follow. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, and they appeal to different parts of my personality, which doesn't exactly make the decision easy. But what are these paths?

Get it? Ha. haha.

The first one, most obvious and also most intimidating, is graduate school. No matter how my career leanings have fluctuated over the years (see any post of mine from last year to verify this), they all seem to involve a graduate program or some higher-level training. Whether it's med school, vet school, an MPH program, some combination of these, or something completely different, odds are my years as a student are far from over. This is the likely situation that many of my peers find themselves in - today, it seems like almost any career field has some form of post-bachelor's education to increase expertise. After researching many different programs, the biggest lesson I've learned about grad school is that you should define a career goal first, and then apply to a graduate program that will best facilitate your achievement of that goal. This is something that I struggled with for a long time, and I'm willing to bet I'm not alone on this one. We so often focus on the next part of our education or career development that we lose sight of the long-term goal, and we might not even realize that these two visions no longer align. Regardless of your career field, graduate school should be a consideration for any junior (although it is by no means required for everyone).

File this under "things I think everyday."

The other path is to get a short-term job or fellowship immediately after graduation, and follow that path wherever it leads, be it to a long-term career or eventual graduate school. This path definitely appeals to me personally. I want to at least partially pay off my student loan debt before taking on even more, and putting off graduate school will not only allow me to experience life as a non-student, but could improve my chances of getting into a good program (prior working experience is a big draw for some admissions committees). This is an increasingly common route taken by Tufts students; recent data collected by the Career Center indicates that 16-20% of Jumbos go directly into grad school, and of those that do not, 77% intend to enroll within three years of graduation.

At the same time, however, I fear that if I enter the workforce right away, I'll be too tempted by a steady income and a more stable schedule to want to return to the life of a full-time student. (Although, I'm sure if you ask any professional, they'll tell you that working life makes school life look like heaven.) A job or fellowship might also offer an opportunity for travel or long-term stay in another country, which is a big draw for me. As someone who won't be going abroad in college, I want to explore more of the world before chaining myself to another school for several years. But, supporters of the immediate-graduate-school-entry plan often say that they don't want to put off their career - they want to get into the field as early as possible, and that means getting through grad school as early as possible. I totally understand this, and sometimes feel like it's due to the term "gap year" that's been used to describe the time between undergraduate and graduate school. It has a negative connotation, implying that nothing really gets done in this time - it's just a gap. I've come to use the term growth year, which I think is not only more pleasant-sounding, but more accurate. There are some things that you learn in the working world or through travel that just cannot be taught in the classroom.

I hate to use the same gif in two consecutive posts, but this is just too relevant not to include.

As you can see by my vacillation, the decision between these two major camps is a tough one for me, one that cannot be solved with a single blog post. We haven't even begun to parse out the various smaller paths within each of these categories (master's vs. doctoral programs, jobs vs. fellowships vs. rotational programs, etc.). But, laying out the pros and cons of each plan has given me a lot to think about, and has hopefully done the same for you. By starting to churn these thoughts, we can all get a jump-start on the post-graduation plan. But first, I'm off to study for midterms.

Until next time,
Sean Boyden
Class of 2017