There's a common statement I tend to hear from certain people when they find out that yes, I am going back to school for yet another graduate degree: "You must like school." This statement is always delivered with a bit of snark and a slight roll of the eye, and it is usually said by people who say they were "never good at the whole school thing." That phrase is almost always followed up with the person explaining how great their (insert job title with major company) is and that they get paid (insert regular hourly wage/typical management salary) and they never needed a degree to do it. The rather clear subtext to this exchange is thus: "You poor, nerdy sap. You must be in school because you're avoiding the real world. You should suck it up and just get a job like everyone else."
What I find the most interesting about these exchanges are the implicit assumptions that are made about people who seek additional degrees at all. The main assumption tends to be that anyone who gets a degree higher than a bachelor's or a second bachelor's is a "career student;" you know, someone who's just avoiding adult responsibility by staying in school as long as possible. I find this assumption interesting in light of two facts: The fact that I have been out of school for several years now and have been an independent adult through all of those years, and the fact that there are a lot of health/medical professions that require a graduate degree for licensure. I know I can't expect the general populace to know what requirements there are for certain professions, but why do some of these folks not drop the snark when I tell them that? Why not just trust that those degrees are required because there is a vast body of knowledge and many hours of training required to do the job effectively? People trust MDs are valid professional graduate degrees, so why not trust that physical therapists, occupational therapists, physicians assistants, audiologists, speech-language pathologists, etc., need advanced knowledge to effectively do their job?
But it's the implicit insult that really gets me: "Nerd." Now, I know that in today's society, the term "nerd" has been usurped to mean anyone who's really, really into pretty much anything and is not really seen as an insult anymore, but in this setting, it's intended as one. Perhaps there are just too many grad students out there who are intellectual snobs. Maybe these folks have encountered so many of those snobs that they get all defensive and mistakenly think someone with multiple degrees is automatically a snob. I can definitely sense a bit of insecurity from the other person in this exchange. Maybe they always wanted more out of life, but gave up on their dreams. Maybe they always struggled in school and felt inferior to a sibling or friend who always found school easy. Maybe they did well in school, but only because of a near-abusive "tiger mom," and so they hated school as much as they were good at it. As much as I believe insecurity is nothing to be ashamed of, I also believe personal insecurity is never a valid excuse for making another person feel like crap. I believe this as much as I believe that salaries and job titles do not define the intrinsic worth of another human being.
My reactions to these situations have never been the best. I usually end up explaining the good employment prospects and the typical starting salaries in the field, but this is in stark contrast to the belief I just stated above, isn't it? So I end up feeling put down, but also a little dirty for defending my life decisions based on their criteria of self-worth. The thing is, that is not my criteria.
So, after having one too many of these situations in the past, I have decided to arm myself with a response I can feel good about (which will be truncated in real life):
Why yes, I do like school. I like to learn. I enjoy broadening my mind and discovering new and exciting things that I never knew about before. I like the idea of helping forward the advancement of society and human knowledge through research. I like the pragmatic side of this new field, where I get to help an individual who is struggling with a disorder that keeps them from effectively communicating. I like school. I like that it is not only an avenue through which I can pursue my dreams and sharpen my mind, but it is also a safe place to learn, try, discover, fail, try again, and, ultimately, succeed. I like learning, and I like that I will continue to learn, grow, and develop throughout my life thanks to the mental training higher education has given me. With all the people in the world who use knowledge and education to keep others down, I like that I am becoming someone who will counter those greedy individuals, and who will use her knowledge and education to help others in need of it. I think education provides me with a value beyond just a salary and job title. It provides me with a sense of purpose and direction and the ability to accomplish my goals. Isn't that ultimately what we are all searching for?
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