if you have a masters degree or a higher.....

nyer1

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 11:52 am

I currently have a master's from a prestigious secular university and work full time.
hoping to go again for another masters so I can get an extra salary jump, or a doctorate. researching it now.

honestly, I didn't even grow up knowing that NOT going to college or graduate school were even an option. granted I went to public school, but EVERYONE went to college, even a community college. it was just part of what was done and what was expected.

however, sometimes I wish I had gone to a more low key college, and taken the 4 years worth of very high tuition and put it toward real estate investment. wow. I wouldn't even have to work Wink

amother

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 12:39 pm

My high school discouraged us greatly from attending college, and were even reluctatant about all the Jewish college programs that are out there today. Seminary I went to were even more discouraging. Took a while for me to get out of that mindset. Exploding anger

As one of their star students, I'd be going against everything they stand for by pursuing an education and wanting to take it further. Took the MCAT recently and will be applying to medical schools in June.

amother

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 3:01 pm

Going to option has never been an option. It was understood that of course I will go to college. I was the best in my high school and one of the best in college.
What motivates me to go further? I want to earn enough to support my family without working crazy hours. I love learning. I love to know that I am making a progress.

mille

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 3:28 pm

I'm getting a graduate degree because I'm in a science-based field, and very few are successful in this field without a graduate degree.

Most people I know either have graduate degrees or are working on one. Or they are in jobs (generally advertising or finance) where a bachelors is all that is required as long as you have great grades and a good internship (and they are currently wildly successful). It's really part of the culture and community we all grew up in. Education is highly valued, as is having a high earning potential. In my community, full time learning, like kollel, is extremely rare. College education is basically a given for men and women both.

amother

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 4:29 pm

What led me to my doctorate? I don't really know. My parents both have master level degrees and I was expected to go to college toward something practical (ie be prepared to be self sufficient), so I looked into different fields and picked one that seemed to be a good return for the investment- an ultimate salary sufficient to live on and cover student loans comfortably. I went to TAG (BY yeshiva but I guess more of an out of town kind of mentality), our secular studies principal was always very encouraging and pro advanced education. We had a career night every year with 4 panelists each year that talked about their careers, but they were always very diverse and not necessarily careers that required advanced education (one year we might have had a lawyer, PA, pastry chef and sheital macher, for example). BH it has worked out well so far BH.

Mrs Bissli

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 5:18 pm

I have a professional master's degree (MBA) from an Ivy League school. This was after I was working for 3yrs in the first real job I took after college. I had good undergrad education from a highly ranked school and a good job but realised that I'll need to get a graduate degree to really progress in my career.

Actually, aside from one or two aunts, I'm one of few women in my extended family to get college education. My parents had to work instead of going to uni, my Dad only got his BSci in a correspondence school. He was very much against me getting a college education, preferring I go to community college for an associate degree, as he thought a girl with a degree will find it harder to find a husband. Fortunately my mother was more supportive and I was lucky to have very dedicated teachers even though my high school was a bog-standard state comprehensive. (I was probably among 20-30 out of 400 who went to proper uni rather than polytech or community college or on vocational course.). I'm grateful my perseverence paid off.

amother

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 7:48 pm

I have a master's in special education. I went to college because that's what all my siblings and friends did and it sounded good for shidduchim. I hated school and don't love my job but I'm glad that I have my degree and can work part time and make nice money. I'm even happier that I'm not the primary bread winner and don't have to work full time at some thing that I don't love.

amother

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 8:25 pm

Everyone in my mother's family has a PhD (father, mother, three siblings) and all except her mother are professors. Now my sister and I are starting the third generation, and I hope my kids will be the fourth! All my mother's family talks about when they get together is how great academia is, so I guess it was a given that we would end up this way. (My father has a masters, but he hates academia, and whenever one of us graduates he tries to snag us for his company - no luck so far Smile

)

amother

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 8:37 pm

op here
thanks for the great responses!
ive been curious about this subject lately.
as mentioned be4, going to college to get an undergraduate degree, was and still is (to my kids one day) a complete given!. The area though that I and many of my friends struggled with, was what to do with that degree.
many of us got married during college ( I was 21) and at the time didn't seem young at all, I moved away for 4 year for my dh's schooling, and kind of lost my ambition to get a higher degree...then very quickly 2 kids came bh.
I know had I not gotten married at 20, or moved away, I would for sure have gotten a masters bc, like so many of you said, what else are you going to do?

I just wonder where some ppl I know are so motivated, and don't care how many student loans they need, or how crazy it is to get a masters with little children, or how much babysitting will cost, they have a passion and they go for it. I feel like im missing that. maybe it was my schooling, my parents, or just me who knows?

amother

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 8:55 pm

I got married when I was 19, started grad school six months later, had two babies over the course of my 5-year PhD. I'm sure some people are super motivated, but I didn't have to think about any of the things you mentioned.

* My degree was fully funded - plus I got a stipend that was about what I could make at a part-time job
* My schedule was very flexible. During my masters, I usually took 1 course each semester. (no, this was not a fake degree, it was an Ivy League, but very research-oriented)
* I had a TON of family support when it came to babysitting

That's something else that comes along with having a family that expects you to get a PhD - they're willing to do a lot to help you do it.

Everyone in school was awed and shocked when I told them I was pregnant with my first kid. I told them it's no big deal, I was a PhD baby, and so was my mother!

rzab

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 9:11 pm

I think it probably has to do with the culture you grow up in.
In the high school I went to the question was never "are you going to college?" but "where are you going to college?" I can't think of anyone on my grade who did not at least start a BA program (or equivalent).
Even though I wasn't the strongest student it was always something that was encouraged. My mother used to say, even if you want to be a SAHM you still need a degree because at least you will be an educated SAHM.
I have a Masters in education. The first school I worked in was more of a BY type school and although they did not discourage university they didn't exactly encourage or help with the process. I found that shocking. Until that point I assumed everyone goes to college. It was very eyeopening for me.
I miss being in the classroom so much (as a student) theoretically I would love to continue on for a PHd, but thats not so realistic right now. Maybe one day...

esther09

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 9:20 pm

What I find so interesting is how some posters are attaching this to community differences. Yes, generally, you can say the kollel lifestyle is more characteristic of and typical in a yeshivish community. But that's not really what the OP is asking. She asked why you chose to go for an advanced degree when you could work without one.

My parents are very modern and yet discouraged me from going into the field I'm in and therefore pursuing the advanced degree that I did. My parents believe women should work part-time or in low stress full time jobs, at most, but ideally marry someone who will be able to support you as a SAHM.

Now listen, more power to women who want/can do that. I personally really felt passionately about going into my (professional) field, paid my way through a private, highly ranked graduate program, and am hoping it pays off eventually. I don't know if it's relevant, but DH also has a graduate degree in a field he's passionate about as well. We both work pretty hard and get paid....not as much as we should. But that's what happens when you follow passion rather than money LOL

amother

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 10:11 pm

amother wrote:

amother above
YOU ARE AMAZING!

seriously, anyone who can juggle kids and get a PhD is my definition of super woman.

No seriously, that's what I was trying to say in my previous post! I have it MUCH easier than any of my friends with more typical therapy or nursing jobs!

amother

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 10:51 pm

Phd Amother-

op here- happens to be my fil is always telling me to go for a PhD and teach at the college level, he says its the best job. he hardly works. which seems great, but the years that it takes to get there seem way too crazy for me.

good for you thgh

amother

Tue, Apr 08 2014, 11:29 pm

I have a bachelor's degree and 2 master's degrees and am the first one in my family or dh's family to go to college. It wasn't planned that way, just natural progression. It took several years of starting and stopping to get my undergraduate degree because we were having our children during that time. Once I had my BA I did some research and decided what job I want to get. Then I did my master's degree to in that field of study. Once I had the job I wanted, I waited a year to see if I liked it, then I did my second master's degree so I can move up to a better-paid position eventually.

Ruchel

Wed, Apr 09 2014, 5:19 am

It was a norm in my family to "go to university" if at all possible. And if possible, to have BA or more, ideally MA +. So I choose my best course (English) since I also enjoyed it, and voila.

5mom

Wed, Apr 09 2014, 6:47 am

To the amother who thinks that a Ph.D. means getting an academic job, think again. Those jobs are EXTREMELY rare, especially in large cities. Most college courses, even in the ivies, are taught by adjuncts who get no security, no benefits, and salaries that don't cover the cost of child care. If you want to be immersed in the world of ideas (learning l'shma, so to speak) go for it. But the odds are seriously against you if you are expecting to land a tenure-track position.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it's best to know the realities.

amother

Wed, Apr 09 2014, 1:20 pm

amother wrote:

What was your BA in? (Someone who is starting and stopping as the kids are coming kah Smile

)