Is Grad School Possible/Worthwhile?

Graduate School
1

Hey CC, this is a long and strange post, but I would so appreciate any feedback I can get.

Over the last two years, I have considered going to graduate school to get a PhD (maybe a masters then a PhD) in sociology. I love the subject, from the theory and analysis to the research. Ideally, I would love to teach at the university level (despite the sad, sad market in academia) or possibly do research for someplace like PEW Research Center. When a couple of professors of mine noted my shrewd analysis of complex topics, enthusiasm for social science, and resilience (even despite some truly tragic personal circumstances), they recommended I pursue graduate school. It was awesome to have that confirmation that I could potentially do what I have been so carefully considering!

However, and maybe this is just mid-semester burn out after taking 23 credits and working 9 hours a week, but I am doubting myself. I think I really want this still, but is graduate school a realistic option for me? Will there be a job for me when/if I come out the other side? Am I even capable? I know this is a decision I should not take lightly. (Yea…I might be having an existential crisis right about now).

My background: I’m a senior undergraduate student with Sociology and Anthropology majors, English minor. Overall GPA is a 3.8-3.9. I have taken lots of challenging courses (a total of 4 methods/stats classes, a few complex theory courses). My GRE score was 5 Writing/155 Quantitative/160 Verbal. (Not sure if I should re-take). I am on 2 different faculty committees (one that involves university policy and meeting statement of purpose objectives, and another that involves academic status/progress/curriculum).

My biggest/most important research job began in May and will last until the end of this May. I work 8-10 hours a week. I analyze quantitative data using statistical measures and qualitative data (interviews, etc.) in various ways. For this position, I sometimes collect data, too. I have also done a few (3-4) mini-research projects, each lasting about 3 months. Most of them dealt with a similar line of research. For each of them, I either did secondary analysis of existing research or interviews and put that in the context of different social theories. There are two specific lines of research in sociology that I would like to further pursue in the future, so I have direction on that front.

So, to sum it all up: Would I stand a chance in grad school? Would it be worth it even if I could?

Thanks for the input.

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The best, and probably only, reason for you to go to graduate school right away is if you have a desire to pursue research. There is no guarantee of an academic position after you finish although it is certainly a possibility.

If you aren’t completely convinced, then taking a job for a year or two may be your best option. Once you see what your career might turn out to be, you will have a better perspective on whether graduate school is the right thing for you. You might also find that your preferred field is different than what you are thinking now. However, if you are sure that you want to pursue an advanced degree, you should go ahead with open eyes to the eventual possibilities.

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These are all excellent questions. You sound like you are a competitive candidate for admissions into a PhD program in sociology. (I would retake the GRE if I were you, though. Your scores are fine, but they could be better.)

You also sound like you’ve done your research, and you know about the terrible market in academia and about alternative options for jobs outside of it. You sound capable of doing it. Honestly, the actual WORK for a PhD in the social sciences is not that difficult if you were a high achiever in college. The difficulty comes in the balance and sustaining the level of excellence for many years on end.

One thing I didn’t realize in undergrad is that you can do research with a master’s degree. Now, you can’t teach at the university level, and you won’t be heading up a lab or doing the highest level of research possible. But there are plenty of organizations - think tanks, NGOs, nonprofits, consulting firms, social service organizations, etc. - that hire master’s level social scientists to be research associates and use their skills to do research for the company. If you want more social justice/pure sociology-oriented stuff, the think tanks and public orgs are the better bet - but even private companies and consulting organizations use social science research methods. Examples are marketing research and user experience research, both fields that recruit MAs in sociology and other social sciences. A place like Pew (or Gallup, or RTI) hires master’s level researchers. Go onto their website and do a career search and see what you find!

@xraymancs is absolutely right (and he’s a professor). The only way to go into a PhD program these days is with the expectation that you will get to do cool research for low pay for 6 years and then…who knows. You will probably get a job, as the unemployment rate for PhDs is very low (something like 2%). But will the job be a faculty job? Probably not. Will it be a job that required a PhD in sociology? Maybe, but also probably not. So you have to decide whether that’s enough for you - whether the chance to spend 6 years deeply immersed in sociological theory and research is an intrinsic reward in and of itself. ENOUGH of a reward to make the process worth it. It’s a difficult question to answer even in hindsight - people always ask me if I would do it again (I have a PhD in public health/psychology) and I don’t have an answer to that question.

There were many reasons why an academic career was simply the wrong fit for me, but chief among them is that I wanted to be able to choose where I lived and that’s not really possible in academia. Most of the positions I saw were in small towns or rural areas and I really wanted to be in the suburbs of a large city. (I left academia for a non-academic research position at a technology company. The position does require a PhD in psychology. I love it and have zero regrets. Like negative regrets. I’m STILL not sure the PhD was worth it, though.)

I highly, highly recommend taking a few years off after college before you earn a PhD. You may feel comfortable with earning an MA right away if it’s inexpensive, but I think everyone should take a little bit of time to work out in the field and see if there’s something else they really like to do before getting a PhD.

As you can probably see I have lots of thoughts about it. The tl;dr is that @xraymancs is right; take some time off after college and if you still have the burning desire to go to get a PhD in 3ish years then go do it then.