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Grad School or Debt free?
Hello, I am currently a 5 year BArch student at New York Institute of Technology. I was never the all around great student(the one who gets A's no matter what), I've been the guy that started at the bottom of the pool and learns to get better and adapt over time. In Studio I received a B-,B,B+,A,B(group urban planning), and A- in design 1-6 in that order. In recent years I've been praised for my drawing technique and overall design ability. I don't have the greatest Gpa, but given the fact I have a 2.5 hr commute each way and work 3 days a week, I am happy with my 3.31 Next year I enter into my 5th and final year with 30 credits to go, I will most likely graduate around the 3.3 or 3.4 mark. I am thinking about my next move and contemplating going to grad school. Although I've worked a part time job(24hrs a week, at a grocery store) I will graduate owing close to 50,000 in debt.
Roughly 2 years ago, I was walking home from work like I always due to save money(4.5 mile hike) and was hit by a car. I broke one of my arms. It has since healed very good(although I have a titanium rod and a little discomfort stretching).I stand to make a decent chunk of change, hopefully enough to account for 75% or match my debt.
My question is, should I pursue architecture further to receive my masters while hanging on to 50k of debt, or should I look for a decent job in the field and live debt free(or nearly debt free) until I am financially stable enough to pay my way through a masters program?
Is this Rusty?
Work for 2 years, then see about grad school.
If you can land a job, definitely work for awhile first. You can always go to grad school later, and in fact, you might have a better chance of getting into grad school with some interesting professional work in your portfolio. Personally I think you can get more out of grad school after gaining some professional experience.
Also, I've seen too many archi undergrads who go straight into graduate school, only to graduate again and still have a really difficult time landing a job. For most employers, professional experience is more important than another year or two of school experience.
You don't need a masters degree after a 5 year BArch. Contact the alumni and via Linkedin start making connections. Be more visible. Good thing about NYIT is they get you to make more technical drawings and CDs which help in job interviews so concentrate on that.
You should have taken basic courses like math and history at a community college though, NYIT is such a rip off and is definitely not worth 100,000$ for a 5 year education. I mean it was around $21,000 a year 3-4 years ago and now I see it jumped to $28,000!? This is just insane.
why do you want to get your masters?
Since you're in undergrad, I'll assume you are in the 17-23 year old demographic and probably came to undergrad straight out of high school. So you should definitely try to spend some time working full time. You can can a lot of perspective by getting out of the academic environment for a few years and then when/if you return you'll know yourself better and be able to focus much more precisely on what you want to study in grad school. It will make grad school more successful for you. In fact, it will likely even help you to get into grad school.
Now, having just recommended the working world instead of more school, be careful about being too hung up on the idea of a "decent job in the field." One, good jobs are hard to get in this economic environment and even if you do find one, it won't necessarily help you when it comes to grad school (they get lots of banal applications from people with decent jobs). Secondly, because decent jobs are difficult to find you will probably struggle quite a bit during your next few working years. It can suck to feel like you are always a step behind. But if you understand this struggle, then you can use it to your advantage. If you're going to be working for peanuts anyhow then maybe spend some time pursuing a side interest such as photography or journalism. Volunteer. Maybe to Africa. Or whatever. The key is to do something interesting that will challenge you to think deeply about what is important to you. This can hurt a bit, but you will be better off in the long run.
Life sucks. But you can either use it or let it use you. Your choice, yo!
@Parad0xx86- I wasn't foolish enough to fall into the 5year 100,000 pitfall. I first studied at a 2 year school and transferred around 70 credits. Even got advanced placement into design 1. I am pretty good at construction documents from my 2year degree program.
@HandsumCa$hMoneyYo- I will be 26 in september, I went to school on and off since 2005 due to financial barriers and a low paying job.
@marmkid- I want to be a architecture teacher, probably for the 2yr school I graduated from in the next 10-15 years. There is also a part of every designer who wants to push his design understanding to its limit despite cost or low pay.
Thank you everyone for the advice. There was a 10% part of me that wanted to go back immediately, that part has since died and has been buried,lol...I know that its tough out there, but giving up is not an option, If not for architecture, I wouldn't have went to college in the first place.I will think about going for my masters in the next 3-5 years(unless I find the perfect women to marry,lol..)
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