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Reddit: What decision did you make: Grad School, Job or Travel? why? and are you glad you made it or did you regret it? : AskReddit

I know this question is definitely on the minds of many redditers since many of us are college students and many of us are ready to graduate.

For me, I think whatever decision I make will follow me for the rest of my life (obviously). For me personally, I busted my ass in undergrad to get ready for what I'm going to do afterwards.

I really want to travel, see the world and experience different things for about a year however due to the economy my mom lost her job and I feel like I should help out in some way.

I'm interviewing for jobs to keep my options open and i'm pretty sure I can get some of the jobs I apply for (I'm an engineering major). So the decisions are 1) Get a good job, help my parents out a bit paying off some their loans 2) Go to Graduate School (M.S, Ph.d) 3) Travel and go on a grand adventure then decide I guess my question is to the older redditors mainly the science and engineering people, what decision did you make and why?

Are you glad you got the job/went to travel/went to grad school?

Or did you regret you didn't take that job/went to travel/went to grad school?

This is a huge step for my life and since I only get my 20s once I want to make sure I make the best decision possible. What did you guys do?

I want to travel, badly.

I didn't leave my parents home for college which is a double edged sword in itself.

I don't get the typical college experience but I get focus, free housing and food.

But I don't know if traveling will effect my future job prospects or grad school :/

Went to grad school.

(And I) Regret it.

(Because of) no jobs.

Could be very different outlook in a couple years though....

Feel you on that one.

I graduated a year and a half ago, still waiting tables :(

Ouch dude that sucks :(

Shit man that makes me nervous i can't keep serving that long or i'll go fuckin crazy

I didn't make that decision, exactly.

I intended grad school, and started it, but was also working a job, and from that job came the opportunity to start a startup, so I left grad school and did that.

Two and a half years later, with the startup doing well and having ~15 employees, I took a leave from work and went back to finish grad school...

And then too a summer to travel around the country.

So... all three? I'm glad I did them.

I got a job and worked for a year, then quit and traveled Europe the next summer, then moved to a new state (I'd gone to school in the state I grew up in, so it was my first time living in a different state), then traveled to Africa the next summer, and am now getting ready to go into the Peace Corps in Ukraine, with the plan to go to grad school after I get back.

It hasn't allowed me to save much money, but I have absolutely no regrets.

It's made me a much more well-rounded person and there's probably not going to be a better time in my life for doing these kinds of things than now.

Any advice for temporary expatriation to Europe?

My wife went straight to grad school and I got a full time job and also started my own company on the side.

It works out well because we are able to comfortably pay bills and her schooling and I couldn't have been more ready to graduate college.

I have considered going back and getting my MBA when she graduates, but we'll see.

Never bothered wasting my time with college.

I went into the Marine Corps as a tuba player instead.

I don't regret a second of it.

I learned a lot about the "real world" there, and I learned a lot about the way other people think.

I feel like I can handle a lot more of what life throws at me now. I've got another 8 years left before my GI bill benefits expire, and if I remember correctly, those benefits are almost enough to live off of.

I'm still not entirely sure about what I want to do, so I'm not going to waste it yet.

I'm in an IT job and my company's paying for me to do some management training.

If I like that I might go get a business degree or something to that effect. My recommendation: Travel somewhere you never expected to be and get a job you never expected to do.

You only live once, so you might as well make it unique.

You'll learn a hell of a lot more about yourself and about life in general that way than if you stay in your comfort bubble.

(Which isn't to say that finding and getting a job or graduate school is easy, just that it's familiar territory.)

I just graduated...

State school, marketing major, 3.0 GPA (in-major is better, hated wasting time on generals).

Tons of great recommendations, good list of experience and good networking. Been looking at jobs pretty thoroughly for ~1.5 months and not much happening.

I suppose I am at the other end of the spectrum, as I would really like to get in to a specific field.

I know exactly what I want to do, but can't find entry points. I'm just considering starting up my own things, at least to give me something to do while I search.

I plan on going back to Grad school, I just wanted some experience in the field for a little while first.

I took the job route.

I graduated during the dot com bubble and couldn't get a job in my field, so I took something else to pay bills.

I did it because I would be traveling for work (and thus at no expense to me) most of the time.

I got to see most of America, parts of Korea, Canada, and had some great experiences.

I wish I had opted to just travel for at least a year across Europe after college. I know a lot of you are about to graduate college.

If you can save some money, do.

If you don't have much in the way of college loans, I would strongly suggest you go travel.

Go out and see the world.

Go learn a new language.

Go and experience other cultures.

It will put you in a wonderful position.

I know I was too job conscious after graduation, and I wish I had been a little more worried about rounding off my cultural edges.

As someone that has changed career paths more than once, who has worked a few jobs, let me give you this piece of advice.

Your career will wait for you.

If you are competent, work hard, and can make a plan, moving up in the corporate or small business world won't be an issue for you (you really wouldn't believe how many "below average" people there are out there). Go see things while you are young and you may find something you love more than 30 years in an office and a fully stocked 401k. /beinganoldperson

What a great piece of advice!

I'll be graduating in less than a year and I'm already feeling overwhelmed with decisions about my career.

My family want me to get a job (as if it's just that easy right now) and my friends are questioning my decision to not go to grad school right away. I've been wondering why I'm rushing into things and this helped ease my mind a bit.

Agreed, upvoted for this.

When my mom told me that she lost her job that made me feel really overwhelmed and more pressured to consider my options for after college.

If I do get this job its going to be even harder because the pay is really good for someone right now of undergrad. Grad school is my ultimate dream because being a college professor sounds like a sweet gig but doesn't make that much in terms of $$ :/

I did the grad school route - more or less directly - I am just finishing up this year.

There were a couple points of burnout where I wish I spent some time traveling, but in the end it balanced out.

However, I would highly suggest traveling for 3 months between undergrad and grad school.

If you're in engineering\science, you actually have a bunch of options to travel, especially if you're prof.

Material (ie super-good at what you do).

As part of grad school, I've had the chance to travel all over the US (and a couple international places) for conferences and talks to sponsors.

Many of my labmates (me included) got paid to conduct research in SF or DC for a summer as part of our PhD.

Also through the National Science Foundation you can get something called DDEP, which sponsors research abroad.

This paid for my 5month trip to France, providing me the opportunity to travel all over Europe.

And now that I'm graduating, and faculty positions look realistic, my prof will be sending me around to top US universities to network and give talks.

In the end, all these trips were paid for (flights, housing, food, car rentals, etc) by other folks....not so bad.

Although there is a major caveat, you have to work you're ass-off, and find a good prof who supports you.

Lastly, check to see if potential grad schools have a study abroad program.

One of my friends went to Gatech just for their Gatech Lauraine program - which he loved. As for profs pay, it ranges all over the place, but if you're at a good university you should make at least 75K for 9 months (paid by uni), and 100K+ for the year (3 months paid by research funds).

A few prof folks I know are in the 150K range.

This doesn't even include consulting and potential startups.

So yeah, not such a bad lifestyle....once you get tenure**.

Jesus. can I ask what is your field of expertise and do you go to a top 10 school?

That definitely sounds like something I'm interested in.

I'm actually considering using that year off to get more research experience.

(i.e 1 more paper, I got 1 already as an undergrad) trying to get as competitive as possible to get into top 10 for biomedical engineering. The thing I like about academia is the intellectual challenge I get out of it.

Always been a person who likes challenges.

But what I do like about industry is the people you meet.

Ahh the decisions.

Controls engineering;

Yep top 10 school.

One published paper in undergrad is ahead of the curve, you're probably ready - you don't even need one from undergrad.

The best advice is given by faculty members.

Go to profs in your school and ask them who are the good professors and universities you should look at.

In my field, there are some great faculty at less prestigious schools (UPenn UC, Northwestern, etc) outside the big 3 (Caltech, Berkeley, MIT).

I'm sure the same is true for biomed.

Profs will be more than open with you;

Most enjoy talking to students about grad school. If you're graduating this year you need to start rushing.

Starting talking to all your potential recommendation profs.

Get GREs out of the way.

And prepare a packet for each prof with resume, statement of purpose, and highlights, etc (basically your grad school apps).

You can even offer to write an outline of your own rec letters!

Best possible advice, and don;t be shy to say why you're the shit. As for academia vs.

Industry. I love a intellectual challenge also, hate the pure profit motive most companies have, that and I can barely get out of bed before 9am, so industry was not an option. Good luck!

I have some extra money saved up and would really like to travel for a while, but my parents are going to do everything in their power to force me to get a full time job within a few weeks after graduation.

That's the route they both took.

I wish I could convince them that traveling would be a good idea.

I don't know your situation, but let me try to give you some options.

The first option is to go travel anyway.

This is going to create some tension between you and your parents, especially if they have helped pay for your college (from their point of view, they have invested in your future and want to see you "make the most" of your life).

I don't know you or your parents, but I would try to have an open and honest talk with them.

Tell them why you want to travel and why it is important to you.

While it will probably never be their first choice, they may at least come to understand that you are an adult and haven't made this choice "just 'cause." Another option is to teach English in a foreign country.

I've know a few people that have done this in China, Japan, and Malta.

You will still be working, but will have the chance to see a new land and learn another language as you are teaching English there. Another option (and one that you may take just to satisfy your parents but I don't know if I would do myself) would be to join the Peace Corp.

You can put it on a resume and will still be able to get out of your country for a while. In the end you will have to make the decision for yourself.

I wish I had realized that while my parents had helped me out very much, my life was my own and I should live it not based on what others thought I should do but on what I would be happy with many years down the road.

I think there is something to be said for getting a job after graduating college, but you need to look within and decide for yourself.

I hope this helps at least a little.

Thanks for the advice.

I actually know a few people who have taught English in other countries.

I can get more information about it from them. You pretty much guessed my situation correctly.

My parents paid for a large chunk of my tuition and they want me to get a job and make money so they don't feel like they wasted their money.

No offense, but you are (I'm guessing) 22.

Unless you have some large predisposition for being lazy or a secret heroin habit, you probably won't have too much trouble finding a job in a year.

At some point you have to live your life instead of the life your parents chose for you.

I graduated in 4.5 years.

Signed a job offer w/ signing bonus in sept;

Graduated dec. had 6 months to travel with bonus.

Possibly the smartest thing i ever did.

That wasn't smart.

That was lucky.

I have always wondered if having a job or taking time to travel have any effect on your application to grad school, if you decide to pursue a Ph.D later?

Would the admissions board prefer a recent graduate?

I would like to know this as well especially a prestigious graduate school :|

I've been told by faculty at my school that if your job applies to the field you intend to study in graduate school, they actually prefer you to a recent graduate.

They feel that time has allowed you to mature and be able to work better with the faculty.

The point that was emphasized was that if you do take time away from school, make it count for something.

It really depends on what field you apply to.

Speaking from experience in engineering school, going for a M.S.

To Ph.D. really helps versus just a M.S.

Are M.S funded generally?

One decision I'm actually entertaining is going post-bacc then M.D/PhD (I'm doing my undergrad in biomedical engineering).

Would an MS help there?

I don't know how med school works, but if you just plan on just getting a M.S.

For a engineering, plan on paying for it or having a company that will help you out.

Not necessarily. I think it depends on a) your field and b) the school.

I knew I wanted to get a PhD before finishing my university degree, but was unsure of exactly want I was interested in and was really burnt out after graduating.

I took two years off, worked in a restaurant, skied a lot, traveled a lot and had a great time.

But, because I didn't do enough research during my undergrad to get into the caliber of school I wanted, I went back to university and did another degree over two years in order to complete an honor's project.

I am now in my fourth year of graduate school at a top five school in my field (biophysics and immunology).

Because I had break and went back to school on my own terms and on my own timeline, I am (mostly) happy to work the very long hours required to be successful, love my project and feel good about my decisions.

I have never once truly regretted taking those years to have fun. The school I ended up choosing looks for two of three things to be strong: grades, scores, or research.

I think this is generally true for most science programs.

I personally feel that success in grad school is more related to how prepared you are to be there and work hard without becoming bitter and burnt out rather than how smart you are and how soon you are finished.

I grew up in the same state I went to college in.

I studied abroad for my senior year and the summer semester following it.

3 semesters in Europe were enough for me to realize how shitty it is living in Kansas.

I traveled for several months after school and I feel like a completely different person as a result.

I was considering the same choices as you after school ended.

Luckily, one of my professors told me that she wouldn't write me a letter of recommendation unless I took a year off.

I think it's important to take time off, no matter what you do with that time.

For me, abandoning my old life in the midwest was the best decision that I've ever made.

Now, I'm starting grad school back in the States and missing Europe a bit.

Fortunately, NYC makes a nice transition between the two continents.

:-) Best of luck to you. Edit: Realized I used the word 'luckily' 3 times.

Changed.

I got a job teaching EFL in Korea a few months after I graduated in 2008.

That was about a year ago, and I like living here, so I'm going to visit my family for a few months and then come back.

I'm happy with what I did because it has given me the opportunity to learn a new language and travel.

I don't mind teaching, but it's really not something I can see myself doing for more than a few years;

It's just a job.

How did you get this sweet gig?

The internet

I'm strongly considering this very thing (even korea) once i graduate in a little over a year. recommended?

If you go to Korea, you'll make enough in your first paycheck to afford a plane ticket home, so there's not much you'd have to lose by trying it other than a month of your life.

That's how I looked at it, at least.

I'd recommend it as long as you research where you live and who you work for.

Join the military and do all three. As an engineering major, you're not likely to get anywhere near real combat.

Depending on what type, you could actually do some pretty cool things.

Civil engineers in the Navy, for instance, have the opportunity to winter over in Antarctica. Grad school?

Yours for the asking either while on active duty (e.g., Navy Postgrad School in Monterey, CA), on on the GI Bill. Travel?

I can't even begin to tell you the cool places the military has sent me, or that I've been able to go to free on military flights out of Dover, DE or west coast equivalents. Yeah, I know, there are wars.

But again, as an engineer, you're not likely to hear the sound of too many bullets. Me?

I joined the Navy right out of college (Math and Philosophy) and continually thank my lucky stars I did.

Good job with good pay...grad school paid for...lots of travel and other interesting things. Good luck!

Nice try GoArmy.com

I'm kinda on an adventure right now by chance while actively looking for work.

I'm currently over a thousand miles from home, adjusting very badly to the time zone, and still I spam resumes. I have no clue how this has happened, but I've seen more of the country in the past 4 months than I did in the previous 25 years.

How many time zones could you possibly be off by if you're only 1000 miles away?

Only one. But trust me, it's enough to fuck with my head.

I hated school and could not bear to study for another entrance exam.

I also didn't want to blow through the savings I'd worked on since being in high school.

I considered myself lucky to live at home for a year to save even more money while I job hopped trying to find a niche where I could get some good experience, credentials, and a high enough salary that if I DO decide to be flaky for a while, I can jump back into the job force without too much 'splainin. It's kind of cool to be as or more successful than all my peers at this point, but then again, I've already done a fair amount of travel and slacking so I don't really have that itch you've got. If I were you, I'd try to figure out how to get to know people in other countries who'd let me crash on their couch for a while.

Just being nice to have around will be fresh air for them and free digs for you.

The only mistake you can make right now that you'd be stuck with the rest of your life is get into debt over silly purchases.

I traveled, got a job, quit, traveled some more.

Go travel. One thing you should ever consider in these situations is "will I ever come to regret making choice A over choice B" if that is yes, then do B followed by A.

You can always get a job, and most employers love the kind of attitude someone who traveled brings.

They're usually happier, and less likely to blow a gasket.

You can always apply for grad school later.

You may never have the freedom that you have after graduating ever again in your life.

I got lucky and had the freedom a second time. All my friends are married or dead.

They don't have the freedom anymore and constantly regret not fully living it up while they could.

I spent my entire savings after college driving around the states for months, seeing everything I could possibly see in such a short time.

I was completely broke afterward and I decided to get a real job and try to do the normal thing.

I got frustrated with the company, not the working lifestyle, not much unlike on Office Space, and just left one day.

I had a bank full of money, no debt, no family, and a lot of free time.

I went to Asia, watched the Olympics in Beijing, saw China, saw Korea, saw Japan, and finished with Hawaii.

I came back completely broke, but insanely happy. Do that which you think you might one day regret not doing.

You can always make more money, but you can only get that specific thrill of a lifetime when you take a step in the abnormal direction.

This is more or less what I'm aiming to do. while(Money <

X) { Work(); Money++;

} Spend(); I'll just repeat this until I get bored or decide I want a family to do this with.

Which isn't likely.

Why do you spend only once after working so many times?

:(

I'll just repeat this until I get bored or decide I want a family to do this with.

Which isn't likely. You sir are a compiler.

You ignore the comments and read the code. EDIT: and X is variable..could be one paycheck..could be 100

Let's see if I still remember how to do this... int main(){ while(!business.selfSufficient()){ work();

} if(self.netWorth() >

0){ while(self.netWorth() >

0){ if(self.life() === null){die();} self.party().type('hard');

Self.travel('everywhere');

Self.set('std','many');

} die('happy'); }else{ die('alone');

} return(0); } void work(){ self.arrive('late').location('side door');

Reddit.absorb('all').comment('tl;dr;

Up voted!!!11!!');

Self.stareAt('desk').duration('2hrs');

Porn.view('all');

Self.masturbateTo('all');

Business.buildFrom('Indian slave labor');

Self.sexWith(office.girl().rand().filter('"weight":"<90kg", "looks": "no horse"')).when('lunch break').location('boss\'s office');

Self.profit(self.netWorth()+1);

} ...am I doing that right?

Business.buildFrom('Indian slave labor'); Could be modified to simply Outsource(); Then simply alter for application.

Indians do the paperwork, chinese do the labor. No need rewrite an entire function if you don't have to.

It has been a while, so I'm sure someone could revise and commit a patch if they so wished.

I was just importing the business class object since it gives you endless areas to exploit.

"I want to travel, badly." You answered your own question. "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure." - Helen Keller

LOL you're right.

I have that exact Quote: in my facebook thanks for the reminder.

Dropped out of college and travelled a bit, then lived in a city on west coast...

Then went back to school a couple years later...

Job. It paid money, which I enjoy having.

No regrets.

I think all the comment encourage traveling because all the redditors with jobs aren't on reddit after hours.

I am sure tomorrow there will be more comments for jobs. I took the job route.

Have traveled a bit.

Am well rounded; live in huge city with all sorts of cultures.

Have money and see all the people who choose to travel not getting work right now and going into massive debt for post graduate degrees that may or may not be worth it.

Going to grad school (PhD).

I enjoy school though and it is nice to get paid to go to school, as you should if you enter an engineering PhD program. You can put off grad school for a little while to travel.

A lot of graduate students have taken time off to work or travel.

However, putting off grad school seriously lowers the chance you'll actually do it.

You'll get used to making real money or having afternoons off and won't be willing to do it. Good luck.

I'm in a similar situation, though I'm already out of college.

I asked myself a similar question last fall, and decided not to apply to grad school at that moment.

I was pretty sure I would want to go back eventually, but in the stress of senior year (in physics, senior year was not an easy year), I thought I wanted to take a long break from school. I traveled a lot the summer after I graduated, and I planned to launch a grand international adventure this fall.

However, after the summer of travel, and being out of the academic environment, I felt less need to 'get out there' and more need to figure out what I wanted to do.

I spent all fall finding temporary work, and trying to decide whether to look for a serious job or to apply to grad school.

Now having procrastinated, I'm scrambling to get my grad school application together.

Hopefully, I will get it together to launch myself in to an adventure after my applications are in. Ok, the point of this rambling post, other than to help me remember what my goals are, is to say that deciding to have a grand adventure isn't as easy as it might seem while you are still in school.

I think that all the advice that people give in threads like this, advice like "have the time of your life after college before you find a real job", can be hard to deal with because it establishes weird expectations.

How do you know what will be the 'time of your life'?

It seems like there is unlimited freedom in a time like this, but you can only do one thing, and what if it turns out to be a letdown?

Adventure can't be premeditated. I know that the answer to my conundrum is to 'just do something'.

One regrets the things one didn't do, not that things on did, and all that.

I'm just saying, people need that advice for a reason.

Given complete freedom, there are obstacles to overcome if you want to take advantage of it in the way you are talking about.

Why choose? I'm doing all three.

I graduated in May from a university in the United States, and I'm currently working in India.

My employer will be paying for me to pursue my Ph.D.

Here in India. I got a scholarship, so my situation wasn't complicated by the debt issue, so that may affect your decision.

Whatever you do, make sure you're using your time wisely.

Don't just travel to dick around and pass time;

Make sure your travel has a purpose, and that way you can get valuable knowledge and experience out of it rather than simply globe trotting for shits and giggles (trust me, parents look down on that).

Keep in mind that these are not your only three choices;

You may decide to take a fourth road that you haven't even considered yet or a combination of two of the three you've mentioned. If I were you, I'd apply for a job abroad and go from there.

Went to grad school, and I'm glad I did (engineering major, both times). I had enough scholarship money left after four years of undergrad to keep on going to school.

I wasn't tired of school, and realized that if I ever went to school later in life, it wouldn't quite be the same w.r.t.

Responsibilities, study habits, free time, etc. The caveat here is that if you do go to grad school, you should make sure you're really good and/or passionate about what you are studying.

That way, you can carry positive momentum forward when you're out in the real world, and establish a reputation for delivering quality results. Some other factors: The job market wasn't all that great when I got my undergrad degree.

I was courting my wife, so the added flexibility came in handy.

I got to see how academic research is carried out (for better or worse) I've seen colleagues try to get graduate degrees while at work, and it seems painful to try and cram so much into life at one time.

I wasn't too interested in travel, but if you want to, you should do it before you enter grad school;

It's a lot easier to land a job when leaving grad school than when coming back from extended travel.

Keep in mind though, that some jobs include business travel, so you may travel regardless. I'm still in my late 20's and don't regret a thing.

I only opted for the MS, not the PhD because I prefer to know something about a lot of things than know one thing really really well.

Also, the required pain threshold for a PhD is higher. Also, I should point out that you can certainly work while in grad school, either teaching, grading, or as a research assistant.

This can go a long way toward helping your family as well as improving your technical communication skills. Edit: If you're entrepreneurial, grad school will give you a relatively risk-free opportunity to try out your own business (be it consulting, selling product, etc.).

Or you could just play video games.

:)

Grad School at UW-Milwaukee School of Info Studies for MLIS in IT Ethics.

Got a full free ride working as an intern.

Not yet

(Disclaimer: I'm about as far from science/engineering as you can get (I just work in IT but my degrees have nothing to do with it.) I went to work, and traveled a lot - I'd moved to Switzerland, so 4 weeks vacation, plus I often had some time between jobs.

Just finished grad school at 35.

Neither work nor school had any impact on my travel;

Rather, I spent more time on trips during school than before. I'd recommend, if you at all can: Travel right after school if you have the dough.

The economy sucks right now and you are not so likely to find your dream job right away.

Plus, when you're young your expectations aren't that high and you tend to be much more able to experience new, exciting things without preconceptions Then go work.

Earn some dough. Keep traveling.

Go places on weekends, take a week here and there.

Again, youth -- when you're starting a career, you won't be looked at askance if you work somewhere for 1-2 years before moving on.

Later on this gets tougher.

Use the time between jobs to travel, or if you get a job, tell them you'd like to start in a month's time. Once you have a few years' work experience, you'll have an easier time getting into a good grad school.

They generally value real-life experience. Keep traveling.

Ohhh how is switzerland?

Was it difficult to get a work visa?

How many loop holes did you have to jump through to get there?

Thats somewhere I'm considering moving for a while for engineering.

Swiss citizen :-\ As an American you can get a visa, but you gotta either have a job or enough money to invest.

Note that the former can be doable, but after CH signed the Schengen treaty, non-EU folks tend to be at the back of the queue. As a skilled worker (I see you're an engineer, what kind?) with a university degree, or a scientist, it is easier.

It's a wonderful country that I can highly recommend (although for foreigners I'd say, stick to living in Zurich or thereabouts, and travel from there). Right now it's kind of bad, since the economy tends to tank with a 6-12 month delay from the US job markets, but on the whole I don't think it's nearly as bad.

If you give me an idea of what it is you do, and what kind of experience you have, I can maybe suggest a few places to go knocking....

Wow, thanks a lot. I going to be graduating with bachelors in biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering.

Most of my experience comes from senior design projects (building a robot to help people stand and improving a catheter design) and doing a lot of undergraduate research.

I have a paper published if that means anything.

Ooh -- nice. There is a lot of precision engineering and pharmaceutical / medical technology in the country, so that would stand you in very good stead.

Drop me a PM and I'll send you my email -- I will give you some company names, for what it's worth.

Also, it's a very long shot, but I did a lot of IT projects at one of the bigger outfits, and maybe have some contacts.

Whee, reddit...

The economy was poor when i graduated.

I took a year off to go skiing in Colorado, before applying to Grad School (and being accepted at UCLA).

But as luck would have it, that year there was no snow, so I hung out at Penn State (jobs were scarce) and then I worked at home during the summer.

If I had to do it over again, I would definitely have done the grand adventure thing.

I think it's a good idea to take a year off in between college and grad school - why burn yourself out when you are young?

(Disclosure: I'm in the arts and not in the scientific or engineering fields.

But my brother is and he went straight from college to grad school)

I traveled through Europe for 4 months about 3 months after I left high school, best decision ever.

Grad school. I'm not done yet, but I think I made the right decision;

I realized midway through undergrad that my chosen concentration in my major wasn't what I truly wanted to do, and a random other class I had taken was what I wanted to focus on.

Grad school gave me the opportunity to explore that.

My job is time travel.

I've been working a real job for 10 months.

Every day runs together, i feel like i've been there for years.

Also, when people talk about how long they've worked there, they always cannot believe how long it has been.

10 years, man it seems like yesterday.... Also, i found myself still on a semester cycle, months 1&2 i'm highly interested and motivated, 3-4 I'm getting by but mostly lazy.

Month 5: completely tired of work and ready for a change.

Then it starts all over again?

I think 16, in my case 18 years of this cycle it must burn something into your head.

Anyone else?

Travel. Im doing it now, and you will learn so much.

Job right out of school...8 years...laid off...regret

By the way, thank you all for the replies.

You guys all helped out tremendously

I combined job and travel.

I took a one year position in Paris as a research engineer (CS major for my undergrad).

I am about 4 months into it, and I am currently applying to grad school.

I am loving it so far, and it even looks good on my grad apps since I am doing research.

I would definitely recommend it.

I got the job entirely through my research professor at my university.

After undergrad engineering school I went straight to work for a few years.

Then for some crazy reason I decided I wanted to do a PhD in Computer Science.

I worked for an R&D organisation that supported staff doing part time post-graduate study that was relevant to the work being done.

This basically meant that I had 1-2 days a week to work on my PhD research plus whatever I spent in my own time (evenings, weekends etc).

This meant that a PhD that would normally take 3 years, took me 6 because I was doing it part-time. To cut a long story short, I submitted my thesis about a year ago and ended up graduating earlier this year.

By this stage I was mentally exhausted.

Took a lot of time off work and decided to travel a lot - the travelling was awesome. Overall I regret doing the PhD.

Too much time spent on one thing where I could have spent the time travelling heaps and meeting cool and interesting people - especially chix ;-) I did the PhD because I was interested in doing research and I thought it would help me career wise.

I found out half way through that I wasn't that interested in research and I didn't want to be an academic.

Also, it is too early to see whether having a PhD in CS will help me career wise.

Also, I think enjoy doing engineering more than science. Seriously dude - travel - do as much as you can.

I did a big trip this year.

But it would have been so much better if I travelled a little bit every year.

I've decided from now on that every year I'm going to see 1-2 countries that I haven't been to before.

You learn so much, meet amazing people and have amazing experiences.

There is nothing like it. In hindsight if I was to have my time again I would probably do something smaller study wise - maybe something in business, say an MBA to complement my engineering degree. Also having a PhD and being called Dr doesn't really help bring in the ladies - not that I really use it because I couldn't give a damn about titles. TL;DR - travel, get a decent job, travel some more - meet cool people, do cool stuff.

Well, I'm 25 and went through this same question during the summer of 2006 with my computer science degree, so the economic climate is a tad different now.

I basically started half-ass looking for jobs, because I really had no idea what I actually wanted to do, and I certainly didn't have the money to travel.

After fall semester started, and ending up on the shat end of 20 job interviews.

I said screw it, I'll go to grad school in spring. In retrospect, I'm glad I got grad school out of the way.

I was always going to go, and it was good to do it while I was still in college mode of studying/papers/drinking.

With no other responsibilities (like working a job), it was perfect.

Plus, I ended up being taken more seriously in my job interviews, and banked a job with a fortune 50 company.

My friends who went straight into the working world, are all either going back to school or trying to save money to travel.

Everyone hates working (different than hating your job), and I'm currently debating the same 3 questions, After I work for a few years, should I keep on working, look for a new job, go to more schooling, or travel? Like others have said, the working world will wait, and you start to realize, as cliche as it is, you only live once.

Have fun while you're young.

Depending on your parents situation, I say your choice is between grad school/travel.

If you got the money, you can do both of those, in either order, with no negative effects that I know of.

Or, you can even do like me: grad, make money at job, quit to travel in more style than I would of right out of school.

Come back and ????

Good Luck

I spent my last year of college abroad, and loved it.

If I had the money and wouldn't have to pay for health insurance, I would definitely go travel.

That said, I'm hoping to move cross country to do an undergrad diploma in TESL.

Grad school. Plan on doing some traveling when I finish in May (either Greece or New York City), and then get a job when I get back.

I have a few people who told me to give them a phone call when I finish.

I took the job route right after college.

Hated it, a lot. Decided that to get a job I would like, I needed grad school. So, I worked at the sucky job for a year and a half, saving as much as I could.

Applied to grad schools in the fall for the following fall, and while I was waiting to hear, spent 6 months living in the US Virgin Islands and traveling around there. Then, the next fall, grad school, followed by a job I totally loved. So the moral of the story is, it's not an either/or/or situation.

Working and traveling for a few years didn't stop me from getting in to grad school when I thought it was time.

I don't regret anything, and learned a lot from all 3 experiences.

Grad school - MA in philosophy.

Glad because I'll have my MA in May and I'll only be 23 years old.

Going to travel afterwards with the girlfriend most likely.

Will be awesome.

Being in IT made the choice easier (early 90s) when I went to work straight out of highschool.

Worked my way up as techie, support/jr.sysadmin, sysadmin, consulting firms, self employed, now making decent money (around $150K/yr at the current euro/dollar exchange rate), no college expenses ever, and making money and living nicely since I was 18.

Good choice for me, after HS I was totally sick and bored of formal education and don't actually expect I'd have done particularly well studying for another 4 years, too entrepreneurial spirit for that.

Since then I also taught myself auto/motorcycle repair, so that's my fallback between consulting gigs, and actually starting to enjoy that more, plenty of customers already (I've got a 2 month waiting list for major repairs, already have an eveing/weekend shop) so there's a chance I'll move to fulltime mechanic/shop owner in the next 5 years and go back to doing computers for fun again.

To each his own I'd say, do whatever your heart and sense tells you to do and enjoy it.

Of course your chosen field might actually require paper qualifications, in which case consider getting those the price of admission to play with something you like.

I'm starting work on Nov 2nd, graduating in mid December.

Planning on doing my masters at the same time as working.

I would have liked to travel, but I was offered a job which doesn't come around so often. Look at all your options.

If you can get a decent job, it might be a good idea to take it in this economic climate.

If you don't need the money, go travel for a bit.

The job market is tough atm.

Get one if you can.

I didn't have money to travel - wish I did.

I think an exchange student program is a must.

You should travel, definitely.

You'll have more than enough time to work and/or go to school.

You're only young once, use it while you can. Because if you don't, you're going to wake up one day and realize that you're 40 and you have a job/career, a wife, kids, a mortgage and a shitload of other debt, and you'll never be out from underneath all of that until you are dead, so go now while you can.

Job. regret. all i want to do is travel.

I want to visit the countries of Oceania and also the middle east and also eastern Europe.

Ok i want to go everywhere.




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