<p>SL…Your son may get funding, but what I can say for certain (what I can place “Period” after) is that the funding is never “free”…I’m not by the way saying this is what you specifically want…I’m just sharing my general opinion.</p>
<p>-Teaching Assistant’s are a pain in the A$$. They are a real job for 15-20 hours a week. They are not flexible. You must hold office hours, grade papers, prepare recitation sections, and sub for the prof’s class when they need you. You get few rewards other than the stipend and tuition. When I TA’d for my terminal masters, I felt I earned every penny of my stipend and tuition. The TA I had likely extended my Masters degree by a semester. For reference…
<a href=“53. Teaching assistantships. - 100 Reasons NOT to Go to Graduate School”>http://100rsns.blogspot.com/2011/04/53-teaching-assistantships.html</a></p>
<p>-If you you are an RA, the prof expects years of loyalty…whether it is a 3 year masters or a 5 year PhD. Students who walk away, will never have that professor’s recommendation. Worse yet, Profs will actually blacklist…they will literally call there friends at different universities and say “don’t take this student”.</p>
<p>-Companies or national labs that pay for the degree, expect years of service back.</p>
<p>It is weird to me. Students (and parents) will pay ~$100,000 -$200,000 for and undergrad degree, but think they think they shouldn’t have to pay for grad school. When you pay for grad school on your own dime, you are buying a helluva lot of freedom. You can walk away and find a great job. After a semester or year, you can shop around for a professor to work with for a PhD. Many profs will jump at a student who made the grades for a year and who is already on campus…Maybe this point of view is just for engineers…It is something to think about…I think many here on CC would disagree, but it is good to hear all sides.</p>