The anthropology club at my alma mater did a panel for undergraduate students, which involved consulting anthropology alumni from the university. The first panel was about graduate school, and the second is about jobs (I'll post one about that later). They requested my participation in the panel. Since I couldn't be there in person, I was requested to prepare a short essay-like document that outlined my personal experience as a graduate student, as well as any tips or advice. While I'm not great at giving advice, I thought that highlighting my experiences and what I felt were important would be okay. After I sent it off to the anthropology club, one of my old professors contacted me. She felt that what I wrote would in fact be helpful for undergraduates. If students found it useful at the panel, then others might find it useful online; so I edited it and posted it on here.
First, I’ll start with a brief bio
of myself to provide context. I graduated with my BA in anthropology from Eastern
Michigan University (EMU); I started graduate school at Central Michigan
University (CMU) this fall. During the last couple of semesters of my
undergraduate degree, I worked full-time as an archaeologist in cultural
resource management at the [unnamed CRM firm], Inc. After I graduated, I was
offered a permanent position at the company as a crew lead and laboratory
director; I had to step down from that position when I started graduate school,
but I am on their list and they still hire me for short projects.
I feel as though I got a valuable
undergraduate education, and the classes I took equally prepared me for work
and graduate school. Still, there are quite a few things that I wish I’d known
or taken more seriously when I started graduate school. As I write this, I feel
as though I need to add a disclaimer: not everyone who went/is still going
through graduate school have experienced the same things as I have.
Additionally, please bear in mind that none of the things that I’m writing are
meant to be discouraging to new graduate students. I feel that there are
problems within academia and since graduate students work closely with
universities, those problems become issues for students as well. Here’s a list
of things that I wish I had known or taken more seriously (in no particular
order):
1)
Self care: You are worth more than your
productivity. Within academia, there’s this “grind until you die”
mentality and it simply does not work. First, if
you’re ill and you go to class anyway, not only are you preventing yourself
from getting better faster but you put your classmates and professors at risk
of getting sick. Most professors are very understanding on that issue, although
I have heard of instances in which they are not. Secondly: I’m still new to
graduate school, but I know that my mental health affects my work. Graduate
classes are way more rigorous than undergraduate classes are; expectations and
workloads are way higher. Therefore, the higher the stakes, the higher the
stress. Although I’m good at managing stress, there’s other things that I need
to work on. For example, my depression gets worse during the winter; in order
to stay on top of my studies, I need to keep my mental health in check. Furthermore,
I’m only two and a half hours away from my family, friends, and partner, but
the increased responsibilities that I now have as a grad student make it
difficult for me to visit them. I miss them a lot; I often feel homesick. For
me, being away from loved ones makes adjusting to grad school – and managing my
depression – much harder. Everyone’s mental health is different, and thus
everyone handles it differently; still, the point remains that if you’re having
mental health issues, you can’t simply sweep them under the rug. Trust me –
take care of your mental health first and foremost, before it gets worse.
2)
There is
no strict timeline for graduation (this applies to undergraduate degrees too).
The main goal of master’s programs is to have students out in two - two and a
half years at the most. While that’s an excellent
goal to have, the reality is that life happens. One of my supervisors at work
took five years to finish her MA; it took me six years to finish my BA; it took
one of my professors eight years to finish his PhD. Those who take longer to
graduate absolutely should not feel ashamed for doing so.
3)
Funding
is important. Graduate school is incredibly expensive, especially if you
have to pay out-of-state tuition. Most graduate programs have funding available
for new students; these come in the form of teaching assistantships and
research assistantships. I applied for and was awarded for an assistantship
that blends both teaching and research assisting; I help teach undergrads how
to identify and catalog artifacts in a laboratory setting, and I do research
work for my adviser/the university. A “full-time” assistantship usually
requires 20 hours/week (which, on top of your classwork and personal research,
is actually a lot to juggle). Full-time assistantships usually offer a tuition
waiver – essentially, if you sign up for the waiver, your tuition is paid for. Also,
most assistantships offer benefits like health insurance. Honestly, the only
reason I can be in graduate school right now is because I won that
assistantship. I will be paying off my undergrad loans for the rest of my life;
I don’t even want to think about the debt that I will accumulate from my MA. A
mentor of mine suggested that if you’re trying to get into a PhD program and
the university does not fund you, then they probably don’t want you that badly.
4)
The GRE
is classist and it’s a huge waste of money. I know that that’s a staunch
opinion, but there’s reasons behind it. It’s an average of $250 to take, and
you can only take it at certain locations. Luckily for new undergrads, a lot of
universities are dropping the GRE requirement due to the fact that it’s
inaccessible for most students to take, and the test doesn’t actually do much
to prove a student’s worth. Unfortunately, though, many graduate programs do require
you to take it in order to get into their university. 99% of the graduate
schools on my list in Michigan required the GRE. While I’m glad that I chose
CMU for many other reasons, one of the main motivating factors for applying
there was because they do not require the test. If the program you want does
require the GRE, there are a multitude of resources online that will help you
study; there are also a few books out there that can help you prepare. If you fail the GRE, it does not mean
that you aren’t smart enough, or that you shouldn’t pursue grad school. Don’t
let a standardized test demotivate you from pursuing the advanced degree that
you want.
5)
Taking
time off before jumping into graduate school is not a bad idea. The only
reason I started at CMU this fall was because I was accepted early; my original
plan was to begin in 2020. I absolutely loved working as an archaeologist
full-time; I find myself missing the work and my colleagues, and the paychecks
were very nice. Taking a full year off school would have helped me financially
prepare. However, I know myself better than that – if I chose not to go now, then
I probably would end up waiting longer than I wanted to (life happens, and I am
a poor procrastinator). I know many archaeologists who worked in cultural
resource management (CRM) for a while before pursuing an advanced degree. This
is an excellent route to take, especially if you plan on staying in CRM. If
going to grad school right after you graduate from EMU is your goal, you should
absolutely pursue it. My point is that it’s not a huge deal if you choose to wait.
6)
Pursuing
a specialization right away is good, but it’s not absolutely necessary.
When I graduated with my BA, I had a very niche specialization in mind: I
wanted to study pottery. Fortunately, I was able to begin pursuing that during
my undergrad (bless Ensor’s heart for unleashing me in the lab), and it really
helped me later on. When I was hired by [unnamed CRM firm], I was originally
hired to do pottery analysis; I’m still their on-call ceramic analyst. However,
if you don’t have a specialization yet, don’t worry about it. In most cases it
helps a lot to have one, but the reality is that most archaeology students
don’t form a niche research interest until late into their undergrad or after
they start graduate school. You have a little time to figure out what really
interests you.
As I stated before, none of this is
meant to deter anyone from considering an advanced degree. Rather, these are some
things that students should think about. Most careers in anthropology require
an advanced degree, such as an MA, MS or PhD. For archaeologists, getting an
MA/MS will help you obtain a permanent staff position (with benefits!), as well
as better pay. Considering all of that, I think getting an advanced degree is
certainly worth it. Students need to prepare themselves, though, for the
challenges. Like I said before: juggling work, classwork and studying, health and
family life is a difficult task in graduate school. When looking for graduate
programs, think about the location; will you live on-campus, or off-campus (and
how expensive will each one be)? Does the program offer funding (and does that
funding offer benefits)? What kind of specialization are you looking for (if
one at all)? I chose CMU because their CRM MA program is inter-disciplinary;
archaeology students are required to take the archaeology courses, but they are
also required to take museums and public history courses. I really wanted to
combine my interests in historic preservation, archaeology, and museums in a
grad program, and I’m certainly able to do it at there. Furthermore, I am able
to continue my specialization as a ceramicist by applying my skills as well as
developing new ones. CMU is also an excellent place to learn more about Great
Lakes history; as a Great Lakes archaeologist, I find that rather useful. Ultimately,
it all comes down to what exactly you’re interested in, even if your interests
are still vague. Sometimes it takes a little time to figure shit out, and that's okay.
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