I’ve been thinking about graduate school for awhile now. Just thinking, mind you, because I have a ludicrous amount of debt from graduating with a sociology degree from a sub-standard state university in a state which was not my residence (I moved to Oregon to go to school). Even though I had a full scholarship the last year, the full scholarship was to cover the cost if one was a resident and this one was not so I still had massive loans my senior year. I am still paying them off. I may be paying them off FOREVER. Noah and Madison may be paying them off after I’m gone (not really — I have insurance).
Despite this, I’ve been thinking about graduate school because theoretically I could get someone else to pay for graduate school the way I theoretically got my last year at Portland State covered. But I’m just thinking about it and googling a bit.
I know it’s stupid but I want an MFA (in creative nonfiction) so I can teach. I know this is stupid because MFAs are a dime a dozen and it’s a whole lot of money and time and angst (workshopping!) for no guarantees after but I’m still kinda interested. Because one of the things I learned about myself this last year is that I really like teaching and I’d really like to teach more and I’d rather teach adults than kids.
I don’t want in on academia, (which is good because I think I’m too old to even think about trying to hustle my way on the tenure track). I’d just like to teach now and then here and there. I looked briefly at getting an MEd in adult education and maybe I ought to consider that a little more except that, of course, I’m not considering anything because I need to make money and I don’t see how I could go to school AND try to get a TA position to pay for school AND make money. But you know, I’m thinking about it. I’m open to the possibilities.
And I’m going to think more about workshops because, man, do I like leading them.
Bless your heart (and my SO’s) all that book work makes me sick. LOL! I hope you figure out what you want. I know it’s not easy.
Have you thought about teaching continuing ed courses at community colleges? Dollars to donuts you wouldn’t need a grad degree to do it, as an established professional in the industry. Have you already papered local CCs with your resume and interests? If not, try that first. I often dream about an MFA also (poetry, probably), but we’ll be paying off Husband’s student loans till the end of time, so it’s probably going to stay a dream
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I’m with Jackie–I’d start looking for places where you’re already qualified to teach. I think we’re often tempted to postpone our true goal (teaching, writing, quitting our yucky job, etc.) by substituting an unnecessary intermediate step (getting training, doing research, saving up a wad of cash first).
Don’t student loans die with you? I think I read this somewhere, but now that I think about it seems like why would they? We’re paying off my husband’s loans and will be until we’re in our 60′s and I’ve hoped, if god forbid, something happened to him I wouldn’t inherit that particular debt as a single mom.
What kind of insurance do you have?
I agree with Jackie that you may be able to teach without a MFA, especially since you’re not looking to break into full-time academia and the positions would likely be adjunct and pay <$20K a year. I taught adult community ed writing classes without even having finished my BA because I had publishing experience, so chances are you could do that if you just want to teach.
I start working on my MLS next week (!) because I’m sure I want to be a librarian and am already working in that field, but the additional student loans are a sobering thought. I still am not 100% confident about taking on the loans, but because it’s not possible to have that job without the degree it seems like a necessary choice. If there’s any way possible to still do what you want without taking on the additional debt that seems preferable.
Check Cols State. Most people I know that teach there do have a graduate degree but it doesn’t hurt to look.
I DREAM about going back to school to get my PhD. I loved grad school, fat lot of good it did me!
Of course, creative writing isn’t as specialized as my MA and could be useful. I don’t know the merits of creative writing vs. adult education but I’m sure a few phone calls/informational interviews to folks at OSU could help you work through that.
And you’re great at leading workshops. Do more!
If you like teaching tech to non-techy people, you might also think about teaching intro computer courses. Intro anything, really, but I found that teaching adults new and immediately applicable skills made my life so rewarding that I didn’t want to stop.
School is fun! Nothing like some intellectual stimulation in a room full of like-minded individuals.
From the FSA website: “In the event of the borrower’s death, or on or after July 23, 1992 the death of the student for whom a parent received a PLUS loan, the obligation of the borrower and any endorser to make any further payments on the loan is discharged.”
Every state has different probate laws, but I’ve yet to hear of a state where heirs can be held responsible for a person’s debts. In other words, let’s say you die with $100K in assets and $125K in debts. The executors of your estate would then pay off the debts according to the laws of your state, and the holders of the debt would have to write off the $25K your estate cannot pay.
Brett would be on the hook for joint debts, it’s just generally more complicated when you’re talking about spouses, but the worst that could happen to Noah and Madison is that they’d get nothing from your estate. And in most states, there’s a provision that heirs can keep some amount of property (in Minnesota, it was $10K between the heirs, as valued by the auction house handling the dispersal — and you’d be shocked, maybe, at how little your stuff is worth at auction) so no one will be selling the family china out from under the kids, either.
Sorry to wonder off the point, but this is a sore point for us, because MIL keeps taking out insurance policies to make sure that Calder won’t be on the hook for her mortgage, etc., and Calder would NEVER be on the hook for her mortgage. Except in the sense that it would come out of her estate. And between MIL paying more on insurance now, and Calder getting less after her death, it’s a no-brainer for us. (She shouldn’t be paying for all that insurance.) But MIL just refuses to believe that heirs aren’t responsible for discharging all a person’s debts. It drives us CRAZY.
I went to grad school and made it very clear from the beginning that I was not interested in academia and that I did not want an assistantship. (I’m sure the second part made me more attractive). I don’t know how many faculty and students alike, envied me because I had no professional career goal. I had a couple classes from the then chair of the History Dept. when I was taking my Ph.D. classwork. He said to me one day, “All these dumb clucks actually thing they’ll get a teaching job when they get out of here. You’re the smart one.”
Well, I didn’t feel that smart most of the time. I always felt like I was in some other class when discussion started. What in the world were they talking about? Another professor told he had no idea what these students were talking about either. Of course, my specialitly is organized crime while the smartypants class was going off on French Theory and obscure language. History was one of the last disciplines to fall to POMO and never really did get it anyway.
Anyway, I agree that you should look into Columbus State for a part-time teaching gig, or Ohio Dominican. I don’t know what goes on now, but I knew several people who taught at CS who had street creds, not useless degrees. It’s a shame it’s expected to have a degree on paper so you can teach what you already know. I found it exceedingly weird when I worked in theatre that actors wasted their time getting MFAs–which was really about forestalling the wolf at the door or working at a real job.
Hmmm…Re. what Marley said, I don’t know if it’s a shame that people need degrees to teach in higher ed. It’s very painful to have the degree and to know that one hardly has any chances of getting a job teaching. This is one of the hardest, sorest subjects for me to talk about. Just thinking about it can dissolve me in a pool of tears in a matter of minutes.
Of one thing I’m convinced of, however, that MFAs and degrees in English are not that bad because everyone needs to learn to write. I don’t know if you know Lauren (who blogs sporadically at the Dream Kitchen and who lives here in the Philly area too). She has a PhD and she just finished an MFA in creative non-fiction. She’s writing a book. I’m sure you’d love such an MFA and if you didn’t have to pay or not to pay much to do it, I think you should go for it!
On the other hand, there’s also C. Delia Scarpitti, I don’t think she has a degree — perhaps she does have an MFA, , but she has several publications and a completed novel, and she teaches in various places (she also lives in this area) — I just checked and she does have some creative writing classes with renowned people, but no degree — see, the degree is not essential, people are right about that!
OTOH, you know… I shouldn’t feel guilty or even bad about my own degree because I had an assistanship the whole time and never paid tuition… that, in my view, is the only way one should get a PhD (and even an MA, or MFA, if at all possible) — with assistanships. Otherwise IT IS NOT WORTH IT.
and I feel really sorry about all of you guys and the college debt. In Brazil you can go to the best universities in the country FOR FREE. Only those who are not good enough to get in pay for higher education. I sometimes think that I should “brainwash” my sons (and prepare them for the entrance examination) so they’d go to get their college degrees in Brazil. It’s like that in France and many other countries too…
OK sorry for the long comment. This subject is with me all the time.