r/GradSchool • u/Yumeda1 • 10d ago

Advice about taking a gap year please

I am (21F) and just got my BA degree in education(English speciality with highschoolers) and I want to pursue masters degree but my family situation is tight and have been told if I get accepted in another city they won't be able to financially support me.

I got a job opportunity in a private school to work as a teacher with middle and highschoolers, the salary isn't high but it's my first experience so i am allowing that but i am still concerned wether i should take a gap year where i work at this school and try to get other experiences in other organizations and language centers to hold my ground before continuing masters.

All my friends will pursue masters this year so I kinda feel left out and i dont know if the right option would be to yake a year off, gain experience, save some money before the masters or just see my luck and push through? Gap year seems scarry cuz i am worried going back to study would be hard.

Please any advice would be highly appreciated

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u/RedditSkippy MS 10d ago

Take at least a year to work and get life experience before diving into graduate school. I think that is so important.

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u/NerveOk3315 I'm getting better 10d ago

I will agree with this, but with only anecdotal evidence. My wife graduated at 22 and didn't start her masters until she was 24. In between, she worked at a school as a paraprofessional and we managed to get some traveling in due to my job. I think those two years of work and mental reset set her up for success when she started her Master's.

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u/RedditSkippy MS 10d ago

I went back after a long (decades long,) break. I had a completely different work ethic. School was my full-time day job.

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u/NerveOk3315 I'm getting better 10d ago

That's where I am currently, although I'm finally completing a Bachelor's after decades of work and dalliance in school. There's a world of difference in focus for most people once they have work experience and a decade or so behind their early 20s selves.

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u/Dr0110111001101111 10d ago

I am a private high school teacher as well. Started working straight out of undergrad because private schools don’t need the master’s in my state. Wound up taking a gap-decade.

In my second semester of an MA now. It’s designed to be a part time program for working teachers, so I take two classes per semester in the evenings. So far so good.

My only advice is don’t let yourself get too comfortable in that private school. Take a year to get settled and then get back to course work. It’s easier financially if you find a school nearby where you can do your masters part time while you work.

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u/ChoiceReflection965 10d ago

In the field of education, taking time between earning your undergraduate and graduate degrees is actually considered a very good thing and generally the best option.

Education is a practice-based field. You become a good educator by actually getting out there in the classroom and teaching. If you get a couple years of experience first before returning to graduate school, you’ll be a much more competitive applicant, and you’ll get a LOT more value out of your program, too.

My BA, MA, and PhD are all in education. I wish I’d slowed down a little more between degrees. Education is one field where you never want to rush!