undergrad grad school what's the diff hey everyone thanks for tuning in i'll start by saying that i'm
a marine biologist and i did both my undergraduate and graduate work in the united states so my
answer to this question has sort of a biology and u.s centric twist on it but i think graduate
school around the world is consistent enough especially in the sciences that my answers to this
should be fairly fairly ubiquitous across across the world i'm sure a lot of graduate students at
some point i know i did had conversations with their friends and family they went something
like this hey joe how's it going oh not too much just in grad school studying biology weren't you
doing that the last time i saw you like five years ago oh yeah that was my master's but now i'm doing
my phd geez really how long does that take oh a few more years man you must love school i think
most graduate students have probably had that conversation with friends and family somewhere
along the line the reality is that most people have a pretty good grasp on what undergrad is like
you go to orientation and your major advisor tells you what classes to take over the next four years
you take those classes you get a syllabus that at the beginning of the semester that tells you
when the exams are when projects are due when classes are and then you get
you take exams and you get a grade that's supposed to summarize whether you learned what they told
you to learn well graduate school is really not like that at all the whole grades classes and gpa
thing is really not that important in grad school you're trying to learn how to become a scientist
you're trying to learn how to do research and the way you do that is kind of like that netflix show
westworld yeah sort of like a combination of wild wild west and to choose your own adventure game
basically the decisions you make along the way will dictate your successes and failures
and it even starts before you even start graduate school you get to decide you have
the freedom to decide where you go and who you work with you sort of sit back and think
who would i like to work with what kind of research questions am i interested in
do i want to study fish behavior on a coral reef or do i want to study crab genetics in a lab the
decisions are up to you you have the freedom to decide which path to take and then once you start
graduate school your day-to-day activities your day-to-day objectives are totally up to you so the
decisions you make each day will decide whether you learn what you need to learn whether you uh
pursue a certain path of research they they decide whether you have a good day or a bad day and some
of your decisions will be good but not the best some of them will sort of be minor diversions
some of them you'll think oh my god this is perfect i made the right decision i'm going to
study this this is my destiny yes and then it ends in a total failure so in grad school you
really learn how to own both your successes and your failures because you made those decisions you
were the one who decided what to do with your time you were the one who decided what path to take
you have to learn how to think because there ain't nobody around telling you what to learn so grad
school is very different in undergrad because nobody's holding your hand along the way right
right right joe but when are you going to stop delaying adulthood and get a real job this is
another pretty common sentiment that graduate students feel when they're in graduate school
yes we're called students and yes we're in school and no we don't have a boss or a time
sheet or paid sick leave or something like that but graduate school should be considered a bona
fide job or at least should be treated that way one of the situations that i remember most about
starting grad school made me think this is a real job was when they gave me office space and a desk
and a mailbox in the mailroom that was a pretty jobby surprise when i started grad school
but really the jobbiest thing about going to grad school is the time commitment in undergrad you're
kind of used to you have weekends off maybe you have nights off maybe you have vacations off
um if there are events that cause classes to be cancelled like hurricanes or pandemics
you get that time off if you think that graduate schools like undergrad in that way in grad school
you work all year round weekends holidays summers those are actually some of the best times to get
your work done during the semester you're often a little too busy with classes and teaching and lab
meetings that you don't have a whole lot of time to do that much needed work especially writing
so as far as real jobs go grad school is not on monday to friday nine to five spring break beach
party kind of thing it's an all the time kind of thing yes graduate school should be treated like
a job but not just because of the time commitment in your own personal life but because the work you
do in graduate school is actually contributing to society as an undergrad you're mostly consuming
knowledge and experiences and in grad school you're definitely doing that too but you're
also a living breathing part of the scientific community you know those people that are pushing
the boundaries of science and innovation so that we all can live happier healthier more harmonious
lives yeah those guys and gals in grad school you're publishing original research articles
you're giving scientific presentations at conferences you're competing for scientific grants
you're doing all the things that a professional scientist does including teaching the next
generation of doctors and pharmacists and dentists and veterinarians through the classes that you
teach the last difference i'll point out between undergraduate school and graduate school has to do
with money in the united states uh you frequently pay tuition to go to undergraduate school and you
also pay tuition to go to med school law school business school but here's one of the best kept
secrets about graduate school and science you frequently get paid say what yes it's true
graduate students in biology and other sciences frequently get paid to go to graduate school
this usually covers your stipend living expenses your tuition as well as sometimes health care so
whether it's a teaching assistantship provided by the department or a fellowship awarded to you or a
perhaps a grant that your advisor received then pays your salary these colleges and universities
don't expect graduate students to take out big fat student loans to cover their living expenses
and tuition while they're in grad school so you get paid don't worry it's not that much
but it's enough to survive and it's enough to keep you from having to take out student loans
or get a second job while you're in grad school so unlike the undergrad experience that so many
people are familiar with grad school is a full-time wild wild west adventure game
in which you get paid just above the minimum wage to contribute to society
and the future of our existence on this planet yeah i guess that sounds pretty different
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