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Thinking of Dropping Out of My Postgrad

tokumeitokumei Registered User regular
edited September 2016 in Help / Advice Forum
I'm thinking of dropping out of my current post grad I'm thinking moving to a MBA since I did in my other postgrad studies in business and I received good marks in that course. I haven't been enjoying my current course and part of me has been thinking why bother at this stage since the chances of getting employment are nonexistent at this point and my age. How do I break it to my parents? Honestly I just want to do a degree that will at least help with my employment prospects.

tokumei on

Posts

  • BurnageBurnage Registered User regular
    tokumei wrote: »
    I'm thinking of dropping out of my current post grad I'm thinking moving to a MBA since I did in my other postgrad studies in business and I received good marks in that course.

    Look into seeing if you can transfer onto the other course - then you won't be "dropping out" so much as "moving to a different department".
    tokumei wrote: »
    I haven't been enjoying my current course and part of me has been thinking why bother at this stage since the chances of getting employment are nonexistent at this point and my age.

    This kind of sounds like the slump that a lot of postgraduate students go through. How sure are you that you want to leave? How close are you to finishing your postgrad degree? Your chances of employment are likely to be better with the degree than without it, which would make sticking it out the best option.
    tokumei wrote: »
    How do I break it to my parents?

    Not intending to be too blunt here, but you tell them that you're an adult and that you decided to leave your postgraduate course.

  • FryFry Registered User regular
    I actually failed out of my doctoral program. The department was nice enough to offer to let me write a master's thesis and exit gracefully with an MS, but after six months of failing to get even a single word down for a thesis, I bailed on that as well. I was in a bad place emotionally for a while, but eventually I figured out something else to do with my life, and I've been chugging along since.

    My suggestion would be to figure out whether it's just one particular class you don't like, or if it's the field as a whole that you're starting to find repulsive. If it's just one class, suck it up and keep going, but if you find that the field as a whole is looking awful (as I did) then it's never too late to evacuate and find something you'd like better.

    Your family should be supportive of your choice if you put serious thought into your decision (i.e. not a snap decision) and you're doing something that will make you happier in the long run.

  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    i would suggest trying to take a leave of absence. and then look at other things

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  • DuffelDuffel jacobkosh Registered User regular
    mts wrote: »
    i would suggest trying to take a leave of absence. and then look at other things

    I just wanted to second this. I've known several people who went this route and it ended up being the best thing in the long run. It also gives you a little bit of wiggle room to come back if you decide, as Fry mentioned, that you just disliked your current situation and not so much the field itself. If you have good faculty they'll be understanding about it. If they're not understanding about it, you're probably better off getting out of there anyway.

    The one thing I would advise you to do is be cautious and monitor your own well-being. Not to be overdramatic or anything, but I've been in or around postgrads for a long time, and every year I see good people wear themselves down - physically, mentally, psychologically - doing something that doesn't make them or anybody else happy. Sometimes it takes people a while to rebuild themselves from that sort of thing. So if you can, be careful and try to avoid letting yourself get to that point.

    I'm not real familiar with MBAs, but I would advise you to talk to people in the program about its expectations before I jumped into anything new. From what I hear, MBA programs can be a real rat race with lots of networking, mandatory fun and cultivating personal salesmanship, which may not be what you're looking for/need at this point. I'm sure that there's some MBAs on the forum that could talk more knowledgeably about that, though.

    The last thing I'll say is that there's no shame in taking a couple of years and just getting whatever no-brainer 9 to 5 is available to recharge your batteries and decide what you really want long-term.

  • The Crowing OneThe Crowing One Registered User regular
    I'd disagree with other commentors.

    Get your degree, then worry. That degree gets you jobs. Saying you didn't finish loses jobs.

    You'll have decades of time to rethink.

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  • DarkewolfeDarkewolfe Registered User regular
    edited October 2016
    I'll just say it's really hard to go back to school.

    Darkewolfe on
    What is this I don't even.
  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    Honestly an MBA without substantial work experience isn't very useful.

    An MBA acts as an experience multiplier. If you have some management experience (2+years), an MBA is a great choice. If not continue with your post grad.

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