Comments on: Why I’m afraid to go to grad school http://blog.melchua.com/2009/12/23/why-im-afraid-to-go-to-grad-school/ Braindumps on things Mel Chua has found shiny lately. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:06:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: David Ing http://blog.melchua.com/2009/12/23/why-im-afraid-to-go-to-grad-school/comment-page-1/#comment-4067 David Ing Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:54:20 +0000 http://blog.melchua.com/2009/12/23/why-im-afraid-to-go-to-grad-school/#comment-4067 I started the Ph.D. program again in my mid-40s, and already had a full-time job (which has now thankfully transitioned into an 80% job). Graduate school has provided me with opportunities to meet people that I otherwise wouldn't have encountered, as well as ideas with I otherwise might not have been challenged. I'm not the average graduate student, because some of my classmates are old enough to be my students. I impress on my sons (now undergraduates) to spend more time with their professors while in school, because university years aren't really that many when you consider the longer span of life (i.e. we should all live to be at least 80). I also maintain that we shouldn't confuse education with certification. It's nice when the two coincide. (P.S. I found your blog post, following through a tweet from @sachac ). I started the Ph.D. program again in my mid-40s, and already had a full-time job (which has now thankfully transitioned into an 80% job). Graduate school has provided me with opportunities to meet people that I otherwise wouldn’t have encountered, as well as ideas with I otherwise might not have been challenged.

I’m not the average graduate student, because some of my classmates are old enough to be my students. I impress on my sons (now undergraduates) to spend more time with their professors while in school, because university years aren’t really that many when you consider the longer span of life (i.e. we should all live to be at least 80).

I also maintain that we shouldn’t confuse education with certification. It’s nice when the two coincide.

(P.S. I found your blog post, following through a tweet from @sachac ).

]]> By: Kevin Mark http://blog.melchua.com/2009/12/23/why-im-afraid-to-go-to-grad-school/comment-page-1/#comment-4016 Kevin Mark Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:15:42 +0000 http://blog.melchua.com/2009/12/23/why-im-afraid-to-go-to-grad-school/#comment-4016 "We can’t yet hack the entire world, because not everyone in the world is a hacker." I would love to introduce little bits of 'open source learning' and/or hackerdom to kids at various ages in schools. Why not create more hackers! Lessons on life hacking, led throwies, improvising solutions, bug submitting (code or government issues), learning to edit a wiki, learning to document a process (making cookies?), learning to apply reasoning and analytics to their everyday life ala Mel,etc. “We can’t yet hack the entire world, because not everyone in the world is a hacker.” I would love to introduce little bits of ‘open source learning’ and/or hackerdom to kids at various ages in schools. Why not create more hackers! Lessons on life hacking, led throwies, improvising solutions, bug submitting (code or government issues), learning to edit a wiki, learning to document a process (making cookies?), learning to apply reasoning and analytics to their everyday life ala Mel,etc.

]]> By: Joe http://blog.melchua.com/2009/12/23/why-im-afraid-to-go-to-grad-school/comment-page-1/#comment-4014 Joe Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:11:44 +0000 http://blog.melchua.com/2009/12/23/why-im-afraid-to-go-to-grad-school/#comment-4014 First. You have a choice to make but it is the good sort of choice - different things all of which will be good but in different ways. There is no wrong answer to those questions - only a variety of different right answers. Which you pick will change your life but it will be good either way. You will even have the choice to go change direction again later and bring a whole other bunch of experiences with you from your detour. Second. You are thinking about going to grad school because you want to learn something. You are never too old to learn something and you are never too old for grad school. Any grad school worth going to values the experience older students bring. Go now if it feels right but don't imagine this is your one and only chance. Third. Lonely? You might not be surrounded by hackers but you will be surrounded by students who are passionate enough about learning and how it works to want to go to grad school to learn more. Teachers with real teaching experience will be your classmates. Choose the right grad school and some of your classmates and teachers will be your friends for life. There is more than one grad school. find the one that suits you. Let the school know what you are looking for and pick the school that is as excited about your objectives as you are. Changing the world happens a little bit at a time. You have already changed the world a little bit. You will change it more - mostly by working with others to provide tools which a different group of people will use so they can change the world. Exponential growth start off very slow, almost imperceptible then shoots up. when you had almost given up hope. Joe First.
You have a choice to make but it is the good sort of choice – different things all of which will be good but in different ways. There is no wrong answer to those questions – only a variety of different right answers. Which you pick will change your life but it will be good either way. You will even have the choice to go change direction again later and bring a whole other bunch of experiences with you from your detour.

Second.
You are thinking about going to grad school because you want to learn something. You are never too old to learn something and you are never too old for grad school. Any grad school worth going to values the experience older students bring. Go now if it feels right but don’t imagine this is your one and only chance.

Third.
Lonely? You might not be surrounded by hackers but you will be surrounded by students who are passionate enough about learning and how it works to want to go to grad school to learn more. Teachers with real teaching experience will be your classmates. Choose the right grad school and some of your classmates and teachers will be your friends for life.

There is more than one grad school. find the one that suits you. Let the school know what you are looking for and pick the school that is as excited about your objectives as you are.

Changing the world happens a little bit at a time. You have already changed the world a little bit. You will change it more – mostly by working with others to provide tools which a different group of people will use so they can change the world. Exponential growth start off very slow, almost imperceptible then shoots up. when you had almost given up hope.

Joe

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