Is Pursuing a Masters Worth It for My Future and Family?

[Booney]

I'm debating pretty heavily with myself whether to continue with my education. I really would like to but the main problem is my age and that fact that I'm a woman with a body clock to consider. It will have taken me 8 years to get my B.S. in Physics minoring in Mathematics in Spring 2013. I have worked two jobs to put myself through college and I only had time to take 6 hours a semester. I've got two years left on my undergrad and things are going AWESOME. I've got a paid research position (x-ray spectroscopy of SNRs at the University of Texas at Arlington) and I'm technically still a sophomore/junior. My GPA is above a 3.0 and I'm fairly confident my team and I can crank out a paper before I graduate. The problem is that I'm 24 now, and I'll be 26 when I graduate. My future fiancé (a Mechanical Engineering student at UTA, can't afford a ring yet lol) and I want a family and I am ready for a little stability without all these all-nighters. Would it be worth it to go ahead and jump into the work field sooner? I feel severely behind considering my circumstances, not to mention I'm terrified of debt from pursuing a masters or Ph.D. I'm squeaking out of my BS with about $20k in loans and even that frightens me.

 

[QuarkCharmer]

Maybe you should look a bit more into what graduate school entails. The debt thing should not be a significant factor if you can get a tuition waiver and a stipend. It's my understanding that being accepted somewhere and expected to pay for it is sort of like a polite "no".

 

[physics girl phd]

As QuarkCharmer says, you should go to an institution that funds you (tuition + stipend) for an MS or PhD.

Then consider: Whatever route you take (job or grad school) you'll be playing the two-body problem with your fiancee. Look into both possibilities (at various places), and some location will hopefully match the immediate NOW coming up as your graduation approaches. Happiness on that front is most important.

But as for the FUTURE, if you want fears addressed... Don't let your gender and your desire to start a family stop you. It's possible to have both family and graduate school (I know of many who have done it). Sometimes it takes a while to conceive, even if you're "trying" rather than leaving things to "chance" (although I'll confess my spouse and I were leaving things to chance with our now 21 mo. old -- who I delivered at age 34). Also, even if things happen quickly there, recall pregnancy takes 9 months (and I found pregnancy easy -- and actually quite fun until the last two weeks, when the baby "dropped" into position). Also, during the first year, yes, there are diapers, feedings, and lots of cuddles and some babies are colicky and fussy... but you might have an EASY baby. You can learn to work with a sleeping baby in your lap and type with one hand. I found my baby EASY until she walk (about a month after her first year). This whole thing would pretty much fit GREAT with the time scale of a thesis MS. Second year is tough (when the baby gets crawling, etc... but many institutions have better than average child-care in "Learning Development Centers." And hopefully your (future) spouse is supportive (mine isn't great, but then we aren't in grad school, he has a high salary while I'm not fully employed, and we have two older sons by his previous marriage that he does attend to more than the baby -- which is likely a gender-based thing on both our parts).

 

[Geezer]

But as for the FUTURE, if you want fears addressed... Don't let your gender and your desire to start a family stop you. It's possible to have both family and graduate school (I know of many who have done it).

Ditto.

We managed grad school/post docs while starting a family. And we did it in a high cost of living area, too.

 

[Booney]

You guys made me feel much better about it :-) I can guarantee my fiance is more than supportive and would probably put my dreams even ahead of his own (although I won't let him!) and I'm positive he'd help with a baby when the time comes. Thanks for boosting my confidence

 

[HeLiXe]

The all nighters are really difficult when you have to do so many. This is my second one this week and the other days were like 2-4 hours of sleep -_- I really feel like quitting myself!

This is really a personal decision and I know I'm not in your shoes, but if it were me I would try to press on and go for the masters--only because I love to torture myself -_-. A lot of pressure is put on women to have children before 30, and it's really something you have to measure out yourself.

 

[KillaKem]

It is very very hard to get a tuition waiver and a stipend for a masters in the UK.Even if you decide to do a PhD you will need at least 4.5/5 to stand a chance of getting it.It must really be easier there in the USA!