Can You Use ChatGPT Instead of Going to Grad School? I’m About to Find Out.
I love to learn. As you can imagine, I did well in school.
Most people thought I’d probably go on to get my master’s. One professor even encouraged me to get my PhD.
The truth is I wanted to but I never did.
In 2017 I took the GRE and submitted my grad school applications. I ended up getting into a top program for political science at an Ivy League school.
With less than a week to fork over a $700 deposit, I decided not to go. I couldn’t stomach the idea of more than doubling my student loan balance only to reenter the job market a couple of years later with a negligible return on my investment.
A degree doesn’t guarantee a salary after all.
To be fair, there are a number of career paths that do require you to get an advanced degree. Dentists, doctors, lawyers, teachers, and engineers are a few that come to mind.
Political science? Not so much.
In my old career in Washington, DC, I observed that an advanced degree was nothing more than a credential. It wasn’t used to increase your earnings potential but it was used to gatekeep candidates.
