Source |
I went to graduate school part time, while working full time
(at least for the first two years of school) at a law firm. This meant I took
an extra year to complete my degree (three years instead of the normal two) but
it had its benefits. I was able to avoid graduating in the worst of the
economic downturn; to get some very practical experience in the law firm’s
library when our librarian went on maternity leave; and to study at a pace
which was comfortable for me.
There were also, unsurprisingly, downsides. Because I worked
full time, I was limited to classes on evenings and weekends. Several of the
great classes and great instructors held their courses in the afternoon, and I
missed out on courses in areas of personal interest, like information
architecture, research methods, and user experience. One of the worst things was that going to
school this way made my days very long. On class days, I was leaving my house
at 7 AM and not getting home until 11 PM. (Did I mention I was living and
working in New Jersey and my library school was in New York City? It took me
roughly an hour to get to and from school. On a bus.) Most of my then-friends
were well-established in full time jobs, and never really understood why I went
back to school, why I could not go out on the weekends because I had to write a
paper.
In 2009, shortly after the New Year, my law firm announced
they were moving out of their urban home in Newark, NJ to western New Jersey
that fall. Later that afternoon, administration called me in to their office
and told me that they really didn’t see this move working out for me - in
short, a 9 month layoff notice. For the first time since college, I would be
working part time or not working at all.
By the time the move took place midway through my final year
of school, I was able to secure a part time job that was 10 minutes from home,
and I took my first ever afternoon (3:30 PM) graduate class. For the first time
in three years, I was getting home at a reasonable hour two days a week. With
money I saved from working full time, I wasn’t held to a 40 hour work week. If
I needed to take a day off to write a paper, I could with little financial
impact. For other reasons unrelated to school, those friends that gave me grief
about going back to school weren’t around either (and still aren’t). No more cramming in work on weekends, lunch
hours, and during the work day when I needed to look busy. No more worrying
about money. No more feeling like a bad friend for missing a party for
homework. I could devote myself even
more than before to an education that would be my future, and simultaneously
regain my life.
So, the one thing wish I had known in graduate school? That
it was okay - financially, mentally, emotionally - to go back to school full
time. I wish I had done it sooner.
Kate Kosturski is JSTOR’s Institutional
Participation Coordinator for the UK and Northern Europe, where, in her words,
“I tell people in Europe how awesome JSTOR is and then hopefully they buy
some.” A 2011 ALA Emerging Leader, Kate
received her MLS from Pratt Institute in 2010 and is the co-founder of ALA
CraftCon, a relaxing crafting hour at the Midwinter and Annual Meetings. In her
spare time, she enjoys crafts, reading (duh), cooking, baseball, running,
photography, politics, and technology. View her blog at blog.katekosturski.info and
follow her on Twitter @librarian_kate.
No comments:
Post a Comment