All depends on what you want, I went back at 35. Best decision I ever made. You can only go so far in the scientific world with a BS. Fact of life. It's a card that opens doors. But the most important thing is to enjoy what you are doing. If you can do that with a BS, do it. If not, go back. And I agree with previous posts. Find someone who is studying what you want and convince them you have a skill set to offer. Worked for me.
M. On Jan 30, 2013, at 4:18 PM, "Aaron T. Dossey" <[email protected]> wrote: > My advice is: forget about graduate school. Find a way to get going with > your dreams, passions interests and desired work rather than seeking > "training" for it. I am 35 and the only thing that would take me back to any > kind of school would be if I wanted to go to law or medical school, or some > sort of professional training with a very specific and targeted purpose in > mind. I CERTAINLY wouldn't do something like a postdoc or other similar type > of temporary technician position. Life's just too short. > > Consider positions with the government or even some sort of entrepreneurial > track (the latter is what I am doing now - or maybe work for or start some > sort of non-profit organization). Don't be afraid to apply for grants to do > the work you want to do, particularly private organizations/foundations who > care less about the unfortunate academic pyramid shaped ivory tower hierarchy > or titles. > > You might find some useful information in the articles posted on this > facebook page - email me if you would like me to send you a large list of > them all in a single email. > https://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Postdoc-Union/275402225908673 > > Good luck and feel free to email me directly if you would like any more > specific information, etc.! > ATD of ATB > > -- > Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. > Biochemistry and Molecular Biology > Founder/Owner: All Things Bugs > Capitalizing on Low-Crawling Fruit from Insect-Based Innovation > http://allthingsbugs.com/about/people/ > http://www.facebook.com/Allthingsbugs > 1-352-281-3643 > > > > On 1/30/2013 4:31 PM, Sean wrote: >> Having graduated with an abysmal GPA from Colorado State University back in >> 2000 ( wildlife >> biology 2.7), I have found it very difficult getting into graduate school. >> Two winters ago I >> completed two graduate level classes at Oregon State: Forest Wildlife >> Management and a >> graduate Statistics course. Unfortunately just a B+ on the statistics but >> A on the wildlife. Of >> course I have a ton of field experience going back 14 years in lots of >> different taxonomic >> groups. Having just turned 36 I'm at my wits end trying to move forward. >> So I am soliciting >> advice. Would a non-thesis program like the field naturalist program at U. >> of Vermont be >> worthwhile? Frankly at this point I want to get into something permanent. >> I'll always engage >> my naturalists interest regardless of the employment I have. If I do >> something unfunded (such >> as non-thesis) I would really need to have good employment prospects coming >> out of it. >> Sage words of wisdom are welcome! I'm completely open to any and all >> advice. My ideal >> situation would be a thesis based M.S. on any of the many taxa I have >> experience with (birds, >> butterflies, amphibians, bats, plants etc). >> >> -Sean > > > -- > Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. > Biochemistry and Molecular Biology > Founder/Owner: All Things Bugs > Capitalizing on Low-Crawling Fruit from Insect-Based Innovation > http://allthingsbugs.com/about/people/ > http://www.facebook.com/Allthingsbugs > 1-352-281-3643 Michael Garvin, PhD Post-doctoral Fellow University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences 17101 Point Lena Loop Road Juneau, AK 99801 907-796-5455 [email protected]
