<p>Hello folks, I am looking for some opinions regarding my present situation. Heres a brief summary of my story:</p>
<p>A few years ago I graduated from a top-thirtyish undergraduate school. My major was mathematics and my gpa three point five. After graduation I still didn't know what to do with my life, and as a result spent a few months alternating between unemployment and temporary jobs. I eventually found a permanent job at a company where I do entry level programming. I live in a major US metropolitan area and earn less than forty thousand dollars per year - a far cry from the amount of money I thought I'd earn after graduation. Not knowing what to do with my life was not the only factor that affected my ability to find a job after graduation; as an undergraduate, and against the advice of peers and mentors, I never did extracurricular activities, internships or held any jobs. Some of the main reasons I never participated in any activity as an undergraduate include my inability to appreciate the intrinsic value of such activities, my firm belief that such activities would not be of much benefit to a person like I, and my tendency to feel uncomfortable in and avoid social situations. Whether this attitude is caused by some mental problem or condition, or is plain bad attitude, is open to debate, but I'll observe that more than one online friend has urged me to seek help. Right now I am in the middle of a dilemma. I don't know if I should pursue a programming career or focus on a field related to the subject I studied in college, such as the actuarial sciences. The real dilemma is that I am not passionate about programming and, given my social and spoken communicational skills, it is doubtful that I'll succeed as an actuary or in a similar position. My present situation has led me to consider the possibility of going to graduate school, but I still haven't decided whether I should study computer science, the subject I studied in undergrad, actuarial sciences or a different subject altogether.</p>
<p>I have some questions.
What do you think about my present situation? What do you think about my academic qualifications? What do you think about my salary?</p>
<p>Ignoring personal issues, and assuming that my grad school admission exams and other application materials are consistent with my academic performance, what are some of the better graduate colleges and universities I have a shot at?</p>
<p>Based on the message I wrote above, how do I come across as a person? Do I come across as the type of person you see yourself working with?</p>
<p>Say whatever is in your mind, and don't worry about my feelings. I am not expecting flattering responses.</p>
<p>If you don’t have any research experience, summer internships, or a long-term job going on, then I can’t see how you’d ever have letters of recommendation on par with the rest of your application. Usually letters of recommendation are one of the most important factors for admission into graduate school, since anyone can do well in classes, but they want to know about your lab personality and how well it’ll perform once you’re doing work for them.</p>
<p>If you’re not passionate about programming, then why would you ever want to go to graduate school for computer science? Also, you should see if your school has any sort of post-graduation career services. They might be able to lead you best since they would have seen other students in your position before.</p>
<p>I am not sure how research experience would be relevant in my case (what am I going to research?), or if summer internships matter at this point in my life, but I have had a full time job for a year and a half. I am not counting on my supervisor writing me a letter of recommendation, though, since my performance at my job has been, by my supervisor’s own admission, disappointing. (It’s hard to keep myself motivated given the situation I allowed myself to fall in.)</p>
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<p>I never got to know any of my college professors very well. I’m not even sure they would be willing to write me letters of recommendation, since they probably don’t remember me.</p>
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<p>I need to make a living. I want to increase my skills, etc.</p>
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<p>They do. And I already employed their services. They weren’t very happy to learn that I didn’t participate in any activity while I was an undergraduate. At first they thought I was being facetious. Then when they saw I wasn’t laughing became dismissive and abrasive.</p>
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<p>Their reaction suggests they have not seen a lot of students in my position before. Or maybe they have, but don’t have time for them.</p>
<p>I don’t really feel a passion in your post. You need to LOVE your subject while in graduate school because your life will revolve around it 24/7. I think you still have a ways to go to find what you really want to do. Graduate school should never be an escape route form real world.</p>
<p>I never did extracurriculars during my undergrad. I did have a job, and it was totally unrelated to my field of study. I am starting grad school this year so a lack of ECs in undergrad doesn’t mean much. Granted, I started working in my field postbac but I got the job without ECs. </p>
<p>The big issue is passion. You don’t seem the type to fake it, and the admission committees will see your lack of enthusiasm. Even if they don’t catch it on paper, your interviewers will likely pick up on it. As far as biological sciences go, those interviews show how well you will fit into their environment. They are looking for bright, motivated individuals. I have had more than one interviewer ask me questions in such a way that they are making sure I did not apply to grad school just because I had no direction in life. If you’re looking for a phd, you’ve got to be into it for the long haul, or else you’re just going to stay miserable. A masters program may be more forgiving since the time to graduation is much less. Either way, you should find something you like doing.. you haven’t found it yet but don’t stop trying.</p>
<p>I think you are right in that you will need good social and communication skills to be a successful actuary. My friend’s wife does that and she interacts a lot with clients and coworkers, locally and nationally. Have you made a whole hearted effort to be social? And not in the busybody kind of way either. I’m known to be introverted and quiet, but I am friendly and personable if someone wants to talk to me. What is it about social situations that makes you uncomfortable? Are you ever comfortable with other people (eg, friends)?</p>
<p>I have made a wholehearted effort to be personable and easygoing, but not social. I believe that to be social, a person needs to have good conversational skills, and my conversational skills aren’t that good. I’ve also noticed that when people talk in a friendly manner, they usually tell stories about events in their lives. When they tell stories there is a logical flow of ideas, there is suspense, there is a punchline, etc. If you asked me to tell you a story, in real time, without a delete key, I’d give you a list of facts and then a conclusion. That’s just the way I am.</p>
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<p>People usually pick up on my social awkwardness and their reactions make me feel self-conscious. I normally don’t feel uncomfortable when I am around friends and family members.</p>
<p>If you want to get a PhD, then you’re going to have to do research. That’s the entire point of one. If you’re just looking to get a MS degree, then you might be able to get into a course-based MS program, in which case I imagine they’d care more about your GPA and such, but you probably won’t get any sort of funding, so you’d have to cover tuition and cost of living for a year or two while you do your studies.</p>
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<p>Most schools require at least two letters of recommendation, often three, so hopefully you have people you can talk to to get them. Professors are usually held in the highest regard since you’re going to be working for other professors while a grad student. </p>
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<p>That’s not really a great reason to go to grad school. To get a PhD you’ll have to devote 4-6 years of your life working at slightly above minimum wage. Even then, many people that start don’t finish, because they realize they don’t enjoy the pure research that’s usually involved in graduate studies. It’s a time to delve deep into some topic that interests yourself, hopefully one that’ll make you not mind the long hours and low pay.</p>
<p>And your talk about social awkwardness sounds a lot like my girlfriend when I met her two years ago. I’ll give you the same advice I gave her: Grow a pair. Get involved in every activity you can, meet a ton of people. Eventually you’ll get used to talking with people and possibly even enjoy it. When I first knew her, she could barely put a sentence together without feeling really self-conscious. Now she can actually tell jokes and interact with people without a problem.</p>
<p>Edit: You might be better just sticking out your current job, getting some experience, and then trading up for a better job in a few years.</p>
<p>Trust me, you arent alone in the way you feel. I know many many people that are in the exact same position you are in.</p>
<p>Before you consider pursuing grad school, you really have to stop and ask yourself “what is my dream job?”. Forget about money, forget about prestige or anything like that. Simply what would you absolutely love to do?</p>
<p>A job that you will love getting up for everyday. A job where you will strive to put all your effort in.</p>
<p>What is your dream job? (Forget anything anyones said about “oh you wont be able to do that”, or “you’ll never get that”, simply what is YOUR dream job)</p>
<p>Once you figure this out, then you will know the correct path to make it happen.</p>
<p>It sounds like this is a good path. I think you said that your undergrad degree was in math - what subject would your master’s be in? My understanding is that you can’t get a master’s in math, and even if you could, it probably wouldn’t boost your earning potential. If you are looking to get an economics or business-administration master’s, then I recommend taking some courses in those fields (evening/weekend/online?) to meet admissions criteria and demonstrate aptitude. You can meet some professors to recommend you this way. Trust me that you will need recommendations from professors in addition to employers.</p>
<p>I also recommend switching jobs if at all possible, so you can demonstrate some enthusiasm, even if you have to fake it, and get a good recommendation. (Alternatively, you could really step it up at this job, but it sounds like it’s so bad that you couldn’t bring yourself to get into the work.) Most MS programs expect one recommendation (max) to be from an employer in industry, so it will not look suspicious that you have no rec from your previous job.</p>
<p>Also don’t forget that there are many activities you can engage in now, post-undergrad, that will help you improve yourself. Toastmasters International exists to help people learn to communicate well: it may be full of yuppies, but at least you will get practice speaking, make contacts, and hear some funny stories. If you planned to get a master’s in CS (sounds like your job involves programming), then there are plenty of programming and OS groups in each major metropolitan area that you could join - check the interweb. If you’re going into finance or economics, try an investment club.</p>
<p>I think the issue of money and prestige is already out of the question. I wish I could answer your question about my dream job, but I don’t think I have a dream job I’m actually qualified for. I’d like to be the president of some country, but even if that were to happen, I’d feel uncomfortable in a role where I am required to interact and communicate with so many people, and would quit the job sooner rather than later. No, but seriously, I just don’t feel the zeal I felt back in high school when I decided to study math. I had dreams back then. I felt like if I kept doing what I was doing, one day I’d add up to something, like one day I’d be a math geek at some company where I’d be solving problems noone else could solve. Then I grew up, and realized that I wasn’t exceptional at math, and that it was ok to not be exceptional at math, because by that time I no longer cared about math.</p>
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<p>I already read “What color is your parachute?” I still don’t know what to do.</p>
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<p>Lots of people live their lives doing jobs they hate.</p>
<p>Yeah because…1) People don’t want to go back to school and miss economic opportunities of earning money 2) It’s for money.. my mother would like a MA in Art History and work in a museum but with her current job why would she leave and not make as much money? 3) People don’t have the motivation and drive to acheive their dreams…thus are wimps.</p>
<p>Sorry, that’s an attitude of a 22 year old college student who really believes in her dreams… :)</p>
<p>And thats one of the big problems in todays society, because many feel they are stuck in their jobs and that its “too late” to do anything about it. They’ve also become hopeless in fulfilling the dreams and hopes they had when they were younger.</p>
<p>Definitely dont become like one of these people.</p>
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<p>What changed this initial zeal or motivation? A 3.5 GPA isnt bad at all, and I dont see why you still cant be that “math geek” solving problems noone else could.</p>
<p>That statement right there: “I’d be solving problems noone else could” means that you are definitely interested in experimental and theoretical math, and the place to do this is grad school. And a good place to carry out work of this nature (that isnt dull or boring) would probably be in a defense or intelligence research type setting.</p>
<p>Perhaps find a post-bachelors internship in a defense (or defense contractor company) or intelligence agency like the NSA or CIA, that way you get a test run to see if it interests you. If it does, then you can use them as a reference to grad studies and it definitely will help your application to grad school. Perhaps this will boost your motivation up again that you’ll want to go do a Masters or Ph.D. and then when your done you can go back and then you’ll be doing things most people will never hear or know about (I dunno, but that doesnt sound like a boring math job anyone can hate).</p>