I thought I would update this post, since everyone was kind, thoughtful, and candid in giving me advice. And also because, whenever I read threads like this, I always wonder:
well, what ended up happening?So here's the update: I'm going to grad school. Yes, in the middle of a global pandemic. Yes, in the middle of an economic crisis.
Some details:
- Late last year I applied to exactly one program in my field (one year long). I told myself that, if I didn't get in, I would consider switching jobs to inject some novelty into my life. I was accepted just before COVID-19 hit.
- From early October (when I started this thread) to now, I've saved $68k. A decent bit of this ($25.5k) is in retirement savings and is inacccessible to me, but the remainder fully covers my tuition costs.
- My current net worth (this assumes tuition is already paid) is $261k. I am hoping to use these forums to motivate myself to keep my living costs as low as possible while I'm studying.
- I'm trying to work out a part-time arrangement with my job that will last perhaps 3-6 months. They are very sad to see me go, I've built up a lot of goodwill, and I'm very hard to replace in some specific areas. Not sure what the finances for this will look like.
In the past few months (given all the global events happening) I've been considering, reconsidering, and thinking about whether I should change my mind and stay at my job longer. I did a lot of reading and writing on my own (some academic reading, including going through bibliographies of papers/books I liked and then reading all the things they referenced/cited). I also looked at a lot of people doing the work I might want to do in industry or academia, if I switch paths a bit, and looked at what they had on their CVs and resumes.
It felt right, in the end, to go. Ultimately there's no way to explain or justify this risk, but I'm doing it, and I feel happy and at peace with it.
I can't describe how incredible it feels to have, essentially, purchased for myself a full year to follow my intellectual and creative passions. I've started doing a lot of reading and amateur-level writing in my chosen area of interest, but I felt quite strongly that I wouldn't be able to do the kind of work I wanted to without serious focus and a serious intellectual community. I also believe, strongly, that money isn't the only thing that compounds. Knowledge and creative skill do as well. I would like to do this now—knowing that life is short, knowing that the length of my life is uncertain—so I can do intellectual/creative work that's meaningful to me in the decades to come.
What
Noodle said here resonated:
I also want to push back a bit against the idea that you can self-educate to the level of a master's degree (at least in the humanities). A determined person could probably get a lot of the value of an undergraduate degree in many fields with a well-chosen bibliography and a critical eye, because a lot of undergraduate education in many programs is lecture-based, and there are a lot of commonalities between reading a book and listening to a lecture (although of course a good professor will be doing a lot of the work of vetting and synthesizing research for you). But grad school is all about the community of learners.
And this, from
mistymoney:
sometimes life becomes more complicated the longer you live it. Which is why I think OP should strike while the iron is hot. If in fact, OP does their due diligence, gets all the info, thinks hard about it, and determines this is what they want to do with the next few years of their life.
I'm sure a lot of people reading this will be very stressed by the decision I've made! Anyways, I will make an effort to update this thread at least once during my program and a few times after (so that forum-readers in the future can determine whether it was wise or not to do so, and how it impacted my finances after).
