<p>In a few weeks I will be graduating with a BA in political science and a BA in social science. At this time I am setup to be a supervisor for a security company but I am not very enthusiastic about it. Originally I thought I wanted to be in security or law enforcement. But now, after dealing with a lot of crap as a security guard and knowing cops have it much worse, I have no real interest in the area. Therefore I am considering going to grad school. The three main areas I am considering are law school (part time), mechanical engineering, or urban & regional planning. All three areas interest me and a MA in poly sci is out of the question. I am sick and tired of such a strong focus on theory. I want some actual application and career skills. Now with all this said, can anyone suggest some good resources to help me decided what grad programs would be best suited for me? I m already talking with the university but I would like some additional resources as well. any books or articles would be welcomed.</p>
<p>Work.</p>
<p>Honestly, I think that taking some time and working is the best way to really narrow your interests down. By working, you do a variety of tasks and you find out what you like and what you don’t like. You also find out what you need in a job, what you can tolerate, and what you absolutely hate. So many undergrads (including myself, at that age) want to rush off to start graduate school immediately over some fear of getting “too old,” but once you’re in your mid-20s you realize how young you really are and how much life you have in front of you. (Even if you didn’t get your master’s degree until you were 40…that’s still at least 20 years of work in front of you!)</p>
<p>Remember that a grad program is a means to an end.. You are not selecting a graduate program; you are essentially selecting a career (or set of careers) and pursuing the degree that makes you eligible for the career. Don’t do it backwards by choosing what you want to study and then trying to figure out what you want to do while you are there. Decide what you want to do first, and then select the program. (And it doesn’t have to be highly specific; for example, I knew that I loved health research and wanted a career doing it, so I pursued a PhD in public health. I’m not sure where I’m going to end up doing that research - NGO, federal agency, military, university, think tank, etc. - but I do know I want to be in that particular industry.)</p>
<p>However, I will chime on a couple options.</p>
<p>1) The only law schools I know of that offer part-time options are not in the top 15 or so law schools - and not even in the top tier or two of law schools. And with the law market being as horrible as it is right now, I don’t think it’s a good idea to disadvantage yourself from the start by going to a low-ranked law school. Besides, you shouldn’t go to law school unless you have a burning passion to be a lawyer, because again, the market is really bad for lawyers. So that definitely should not be something that you should decide on a whim.</p>
<p>2) Unless you had incredible foresight, you will probably have to take a lot of prerequisites for an MS in mechanical engineering. That shouldn’t discourage you if you want to do it, though, I’m just warning you.</p>
<p>Now my suggestions are:</p>
<p>1) Work, and figure out what excites you. Then find people doing that and see what degrees they normally have.</p>
<p>2) Set up informational interviews with people in the three fields in which you are interested. Reach out through your networks. Since you are still in school, the career services office may be able to help you find people who interview (and some universities continue to offer career services to alumni). An informational interview is an interview in which you ask people who are already in a field questions about their journey, their current work, where they plan to go into the future, how they got into their field and what they think success means in that field. Most people enjoy talking about themselves and would be willing to give an informational interview to a curious young professional.</p>
<p>3) Take some classes part-time as a non-degree student. A law school probably won’t let you do that, but you can take some prerequisite math classes for the engineering degree and/or some urban planning classes that way. Do you enjoy them?</p>
<p>You could probably do a dual degree in two of those fields. A dual degree in engineering and urban planning would be extremely useful, IMO. You’ll probably find more of those options in civil engineering, but a quick Google search yielded plenty of those types of programs. A JD/MUP is also probably possible.</p>
<p>thank you for the advice. i take the LSAT in a on the 11th. too late to cancel and the score, assuming its good, will be valid for several years. thank you very much.</p>