Trying to determine a Master's program

[fushigi_na_chou]

Hello everyone -- long time lurker and first time poster here. I read through the community information and checked out the links posted there to be sure my question would be appropriate. I'm not entirely sure that it is, but I don't think it's inappropriate either. In any case, if this question is not appropriate for this community, please let me

Comments

Mod comment

[owl_of_minerva]

You may be interested in checking out gradstudents or applyingtograd, since they may be a little more appropriate to your question, though since it's been quiet around here lately I'm happy to let the post stand here for now to see what sort of advice you get.

Re: Mod comment

[poldyb]

no! I demand more pointless posts by unstable pant-challenged graduate students. At very least, i demand a post that can stir-up some self-righteous indignation at the failing of my colleagues.

Re: Mod comment

[knut_hamson]

If you make such a post, I promise to muster up an appropriate amount of indignation.

Re: Mod comment

[owl_of_minerva]

I'm glad I can count on you.

[etinterrapax]

Have you considered a master's in public health or public policy, or some combination of those? They sound like what you're looking for. There may be other more appropriate programs, but it seems that what you want is a professional practice master's that will get you in more on the policy or administrative end of things, where the work (and the pay) is more stable and predictable. Programs like these would probably also be better prep for work in large institutions like university hospitals, or with state or federal government program administration. You might want to consider some graduate-level business courses as well, and if they offer anything in nonprofit management or administration, take it.

Good luck! I understand your frustration--I'm in a different field that works primarily within nonprofits as well.

[fushigi_na_chou]

Thanks so much for the suggestions. I will definitely look into those. :)

[cheez_ball]

"Because I'm out of college, I can't ask an advisor or pop down to my career office."

I went to a Big State University. 5 years after graduating I was still able to use the school's career office, as an alumnus. I don't know if every school has such a deal, but it's worth looking into. I paid for the service but it wasn't very expensive.

And while you don't have an advisor of your own you can contact people in a field that interests you and ask them questions. Before deciding on going back to school I probably called up 10-20 people who wrote articles that interested me to ask them about the awesome work they were doing and what steps it would take for me to get to where they were. These days email would probably suffice, depending on the person. Give them plenty of time to answer.

Whatever specific program you decide upon will determine which relevant classes you need, if any. Decide what you want to do first and then take classes only if you need them. That stuff can get expensive in a hurry.

[fushigi_na_chou]

Oh wow, I didn't know people actually did that. That's actually a very good suggestion. I think I'll start looking into some of the organizations that I'm a fan of and see if I can begin to contact some of their top organizers. Thanks for the tip. :)

[javabean]

An MSW might be useful. In my sister's MSW program, the majority of the students did not have undergrad social work degrees. That it is a part-time program geared towards working adults, though, so it may not be true for most social work programs.

[fushigi_na_chou]

I know most MSW programs are geared towards working adults, because the degrees are more expensive than what most jobs in the field pay, so it's almost impossible to get a Master's as a full-time student in that field. That being said, I had considered getting an MSW for a while. Depending on what I decide to turn my life into, I may end up going that route. :)

[twoshadows]

You might also want to consider looking at Activist Anthropology programs, like that at UT Austin: http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/anthropology/programs-and-subdisciplines/Activist-Anthropology.php

[fushigi_na_chou]

Activist anthropology? That sounds fascinating. I've never heard of it. Definitely checking it out.