Author Topic: Escaping my university/grad school rut?  (Read 5071 times)

yuka

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Escaping my university/grad school rut?
« on: September 12, 2015, 01:49:51 PM »
Like the title says, school has really been tedious for me, and I'm just looking for any advice or similar experiences. I just graduated from undergrad in May, and now I'm just coming up on finals for my first quarter of grad school. The problem is, I drag my feet and avoid work like the plague. And I've been doing it for a while... I was a pretty diligent student for a long time, but ever since I took a semester abroad I've just been so hesitant to do school work.

Part of the problem may be that I don't feel I'm studying to improve my situation, but rather for check-in-the-box degrees (although the material is interesting, and I'd like to learn it for its own sake). I already knew what my job would be from the start of undergrad, and that remains now. For the first two years of undergrad I was fighting to get into the best grad school I could, but then that battle was pretty much settled before the second semester of my junior year. Now I'm in the same boat once again, trying to find internal motivation in the apparent absence of external motivators. The only differences between a good year of studies and a bad one would be taking my research to a conference, establishing good relationships with my professors, gaining a strong understanding of the material, enjoying my year in one of the nicest places in the US, and improving my health before I get into my much tougher job in a year.

So, to anyone who's been in a similar frustrated, stubborn rut with school, how did you get out of it? Ask me if you want to know more specifics about the situation; I'm having trouble sorting out what's really important to share (versus what just makes a tedious wall of text) but I'm happy to share!

I hope this is the right place to ask this advice. I'm looking for some thoughts from some like-minded people.

squeakywheel

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Re: Escaping my university/grad school rut?
« Reply #1 on: September 12, 2015, 01:54:41 PM »
Self motivation can be tough. I am in a rut of my own right now and don't have much advice to offer, but am commenting to follow.

Good luck!

midweststache

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Re: Escaping my university/grad school rut?
« Reply #2 on: September 12, 2015, 02:01:06 PM »
Currently in my 6th year of a PhD program (with one year as an MA).

The truth is, the rut never goes away. You clearly enjoy what you're studying, as you say you would do it for the sake of learning the material, but there's something about the academic rat race that leaves you feeling unmotivated.

Yup.

The question becomes, can you process through that for the remainder of your program?

I've started setting smaller goals for myself, like finish X part of my project and Y applications for conferences and Z publication submissions, as a means of keeping myself motivated. YMMV.

One of the things I noticed about graduate school is the less I wanted to stay in academic (i.e. be a tenure-track R1 professor), the less I kept caring about my current work (like what you seem to being experiencing). I had to be really mindful of pulling back and focusing on the here and now, rather than looking two years down the line and thinking "Why do I need this degree if I'm just going to do X/Y/Z for the rest of my working life?"

Not really helpful, but know that we all go through it.

Argyle

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Re: Escaping my university/grad school rut?
« Reply #3 on: September 12, 2015, 02:07:21 PM »
I have to confess that I adored every bit of grad school, and I wonder whether your check-the-box reasons for getting this grad degree are really a reason to be there.  Are you in graduate (academic) school or in professional school?  (e.g. law, medical, etc.).  Is the career that comes at the end a career you whole-heartedly want to pursue, or does it just seem like a good way to earn a living?  It may be that this course really isn't the wisest course of action for you.

pbkmaine

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Re: Escaping my university/grad school rut?
« Reply #4 on: September 12, 2015, 02:09:51 PM »
What does the degree get you?

sol

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Re: Escaping my university/grad school rut?
« Reply #5 on: September 12, 2015, 04:16:29 PM »
Graduate school has always been an exercise in perseverance, not talent or intellect.  Getting the degree demonstrates you can tough it out.

With that said, grad school is some of the best time of your life.  After you graduate you're going to get a job doing mostly the same stuff, except with less interesting people.  You should be enjoying this time, even when you find it tedious.

Sounds to me like your problem is the same one we hear from about three people per week here, and basically boils down to "I feel unfulfilled with my life, what should I do" and the answer from this crowd is usually "you're depressed, find a hobby or a partner or get on some meds."  The real problem is rarely the problem being asked about in the OP, it's a general sense of listlessness and discomfort with life.  Not the school or the job or the marriage, but you.


yuka

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Re: Escaping my university/grad school rut?
« Reply #6 on: September 12, 2015, 11:03:25 PM »
Thanks to everyone for responding, and sorry for being so slow to get back to you.

I have to confess that I adored every bit of grad school, and I wonder whether your check-the-box reasons for getting this grad degree are really a reason to be there.  Are you in graduate (academic) school or in professional school?  (e.g. law, medical, etc.).  Is the career that comes at the end a career you whole-heartedly want to pursue, or does it just seem like a good way to earn a living?  It may be that this course really isn't the wisest course of action for you.

I'm in graduate school, getting a master's degree in electrical engineering for a year. The career I'm in for >= 5 years after the degree has nothing to do with the degree, and is the same whether or not I get the degree. I guess I would've thought more seriously about whether I was ready for more school, but I'm getting paid the same regardless of whether I go or not, and school is free, so I just went for what seemed the most prestigious.

What does the degree get you?

A master's degree in electrical engineering, probably putting me on the track to a EE PE license I'll never use, and maybe some attention in my professional community depending on how my research goes.

Conjou

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Re: Escaping my university/grad school rut?
« Reply #7 on: January 07, 2016, 09:58:14 AM »
Graduate school has always been an exercise in perseverance, not talent or intellect.  Getting the degree demonstrates you can tough it out.

With that said, grad school is some of the best time of your life.  After you graduate you're going to get a job doing mostly the same stuff, except with less interesting people.  You should be enjoying this time, even when you find it tedious.

Sounds to me like your problem is the same one we hear from about three people per week here, and basically boils down to "I feel unfulfilled with my life, what should I do" and the answer from this crowd is usually "you're depressed, find a hobby or a partner or get on some meds."  The real problem is rarely the problem being asked about in the OP, it's a general sense of listlessness and discomfort with life.  Not the school or the job or the marriage, but you.

+1. Also, some of my friends during the doctoral process became isolated hermits. This was at a school in the SF Bay Area and two of them never made it outside of the Berkeley area in seven years. Academic life can really be unbalanced. Set aside some time each week at least to do something totally unrelated to your studies. Volunteer, go for a hike, experience some new cultural opp, something. You will come back to the books with fresh eyes and it will help with the funk.

pagoconcheques

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Re: Escaping my university/grad school rut?
« Reply #8 on: January 14, 2016, 03:19:09 PM »
With any grad degree, but especially with a professional degree like law, it's important to excel in the program as opposed to merely trudging through and finishing.  It seems there are too many lawyers nowadays and if you can't motivate yourself to graduate at or near the top of your class you may never meet the ROI required to justify spending three years of your life and lots of money. 

Go all in or don't bother.

little_brown_dog

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Re: Escaping my university/grad school rut?
« Reply #9 on: January 14, 2016, 03:31:58 PM »
Ah academic burnout. I remember the feeling well. It sounds like you have been pushing yourself for a while and now you are tired and losing motivation. This is 100% normal. I lucked out because my grad program was short (1.5 years) so I was still pretty motivated, although I definitely remember my energy falling in that last semester. I burnt out completely about 5 years after I graduated. Years of chasing degrees and success, then employment, and then promotions/more responsibility wore me out.
My husband has been in school for his entire life and he's about to turn 29. He got his masters while working full time, and he is now in his 3rd year of his PhD while continuing to work full time. It's brutal and his motivation is waning. He wants to quit because he wants more free time, but he's so close to finishing he just has to tough it out. It will be so rewarding (for both of us) when he graduates, but right now it certainly isn't easy. Keep your chin up.

mm1970

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Re: Escaping my university/grad school rut?
« Reply #10 on: January 14, 2016, 04:05:13 PM »
Thanks to everyone for responding, and sorry for being so slow to get back to you.

I have to confess that I adored every bit of grad school, and I wonder whether your check-the-box reasons for getting this grad degree are really a reason to be there.  Are you in graduate (academic) school or in professional school?  (e.g. law, medical, etc.).  Is the career that comes at the end a career you whole-heartedly want to pursue, or does it just seem like a good way to earn a living?  It may be that this course really isn't the wisest course of action for you.

I'm in graduate school, getting a master's degree in electrical engineering for a year. The career I'm in for >= 5 years after the degree has nothing to do with the degree, and is the same whether or not I get the degree. I guess I would've thought more seriously about whether I was ready for more school, but I'm getting paid the same regardless of whether I go or not, and school is free, so I just went for what seemed the most prestigious.

What does the degree get you?

A master's degree in electrical engineering, probably putting me on the track to a EE PE license I'll never use, and maybe some attention in my professional community depending on how my research goes.

mmm...yeah, a master's degree can be helpful in EE.  Not necessary, but certainly helpful.

Showing you can finish, like sol says, is a good thing.  My husband's last job, there were 3 guys (him included) who were working at his company before they finished their degrees - 2 PhD candidates, one MS.  My husband is the only one who finished.  He got a bonus.  (He was on the 7 year PhD plan).  Also an EE>

mm1970

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Re: Escaping my university/grad school rut?
« Reply #11 on: January 14, 2016, 04:07:30 PM »
Ah academic burnout. I remember the feeling well. It sounds like you have been pushing yourself for a while and now you are tired and losing motivation. This is 100% normal. I lucked out because my grad program was short (1.5 years) so I was still pretty motivated, although I definitely remember my energy falling in that last semester. I burnt out completely about 5 years after I graduated. Years of chasing degrees and success, then employment, and then promotions/more responsibility wore me out.
My husband has been in school for his entire life and he's about to turn 29. He got his masters while working full time, and he is now in his 3rd year of his PhD while continuing to work full time. It's brutal and his motivation is waning. He wants to quit because he wants more free time, but he's so close to finishing he just has to tough it out. It will be so rewarding (for both of us) when he graduates, but right now it certainly isn't easy. Keep your chin up.
You are reminding me - my grad program was one I did nights, 2 classes a semester, 5 semesters.  Boy that last semester and a half, I was kind of over it.

I had a 4 year engineering degree, then 9 months "off" while working, then 6 months of nuke school with the navy, then 6 months "off", then I started my master's at night.