Attending grad school is a big commitment to make that reaps many benefits but also comes with quite a hefty price (no metaphor intended). As someone who has been attending grad school for a year now, I will say it is an experience that takes time to get used to with the advanced workload and injury to my wallet (I promise I won’t keep complaining about money). Being mindful of the support and resources available to you provided by the university you attend does help immensely, though. Professors and counselors are your biggest supporters—but that’s something that is always true whether you are a graduate or undergraduate student. Before I delve too deeply into what my experience has been like in grad school, I would like to explain why I decided to attend in the first place.
Grad school is something I had in mind the moment I decided to switch majors during my undergraduate years to study psychology. I started off as a business major but did not have my heart for studying until I took a class in psychology. When I went to speak with my counselor about making the switch between majors, she took time to sit and chat with me to make sure I was making the right decision. “If you want to study psychology, I want you to be aware of what other steps you will need to take to find a career in psychology,” I knew I wanted to study psychology and eventually become a therapist, but I felt dumbfounded when my counselor said this to me and made me realize I had not thought about all the schooling I had to do to get there. We talked about the things I liked about studying psychology, such as if I felt like I was a good listener and if I felt like I could commit to studying past an associate's degree. After our chat, I felt the weight of my decision more, but also felt ready to just take things one step at a time.
After graduating from Reedley College in 2021, I went to work on my bachelor’s degree at Fresno Pacific University. During my time there, I was able to learn more about the options I had regarding careers besides therapy. One option I became aware of was becoming a behavior specialist. Like many other people who decided to study psychology, I did not know that there were any opportunities at all to find work with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. After looking into it more, I learned that behavior specialists were people who worked with helping individuals with assessments for mental and emotional disorders. It was nice learning that there were more options available for me after I graduated, and it helped me explore more careers besides becoming a therapist.
I was in my last semester at Fresno Pacific and had entered the point where I had to start applying for grad school. The application process overwhelmed me a lot. I decided to turn to another tutor, Maddie, who also studied psychology during undergrad, for advice since she had already begun taking courses in grad school. She talked about why she ultimately chose to study school psychology to become a K-12 counselor. I considered this route for a while since I was interested in working in the school setting because of my experience tutoring on campus. “But I just don’t know how well I could work with kids or high school students. I know I’m comfortable working with college students since I’ve been tutoring for so long,” I remember saying this out loud to Maddie and realizing I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Maddie, already an amazing aspiring counselor, also knew exactly how to help me. She helped introduce me to the Student Affairs and College Counseling (SACC) program at Fresno State, where I currently study at today.
Although you may be a ways away from needing to apply for grad school, it’s good to think ahead because time catches up quickly! So, reach out to your counselors, friends, and instructors for advice on what you could do with your degree. You might find that there is a career out there that you like that requires a Master’s degree.
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