A Vermont Girl Surviving Grad School in Boston

By Allison Jameson

After growing up in Vermont, moving to Boston to attend grad school full time was a huge change for me. I knew the courses would be tough, but I also knew that I needed to find time to make some money so I could pay rent and actually have fun in Boston.

Starting out, I had a one-year grad assistantship and work study through Emerson. It meant putting in 10 hours a week for the assistantship and I tried to put in as many hours at athletic events for my work study. This left me with plenty of extra time to study, so I wasn’t too stressed during my first semester. I knew I definitely didn’t have enough time to get a full time job, though, and even a part-time job would have been tricky.

Came October, with spending money getting low, I did a lot of thinking about how I could earn some extra cash and still have time to study. When I heard about a website called sittercity.com where you can create an online profile and search for babysitting jobs in and around the city, I set up a profile and picked up a few babysitting jobs each week (it pays well, so look into it if you love kids)!

This worked out for me, and today I still baby sit for two families pretty regularly. During my first year as a grad student, I was able to put in between 20-30 hours of work each week and still had time to study. Some weeks were more hectic than others, but I made it through.

This summer is a whole different story. I have an internship (about 25 hours a week), have classes (two nights a week), and will be babysitting one (full) day a week. I just started both my internship and my class, and I already know I will be a very busy girl.

As of right now, if I make it through the summer, I plan on trying to work full time in the fall, so I can start my career. Working will be tough along with taking classes, but I know it is doable if I can manage my time right. I would say about one-third of the students in my classes work full time and if they can do it so can I! An article from Learn-Source.com titled Managing Work and School can be a helpful tool while continuing with school and work. Check it out, and also look for future updates throughout the summer on how well I practice my time management skills!

Allison is at Emerson College working towards her Master's degree in Integrated Marketing Communication. This summer she is a marketing intern at Experience and will continue to take classes. Allison is a former field hockey player and gymnastics instructor, and was the friendliest Friendly's waitress in Vermont!

Confessions of a grad student 3: Worth the price

(Part 3 in a series)

By Catlin Green

My acceptance to graduate school meant another year and a half of freedom. And it has been…sort of. I knew grad school would be different from college, but I didn’t know just how much of an adult I would be required to become.

One of the first things that came in the mail after my acceptance letter was my financial aid package. That was the moment I realized how much my year and a half of freedom was going to cost me. And that was just for tuition and student fees!

I knew Emerson didn’t provide graduate housing, as most schools don’t provide housing for graduate students, but I didn’t realize the headache that would follow trying to find a place to live. Boston is not cheap, and with six out of every 10 people being students, you can imagine how competitive the housing market is.

If you’re looking to find an apartment, roommates, or both, go onto your school’s websites. Especially if it’s located in a city, there will be a portion of the website devoted to roommate and vacant apartment listings.

My apartment was listed on the Emerson website and finding roommates wasn’t bad. Two of my best friends from college were moving to Boston, and we pulled in a fourth to help with the rent. But rent wasn’t the only monthly bill. Along with the apartment came utilities, groceries, cable, not to mention actually having to clean the apartment once a week.

As I sat trying to figure out just how much this endeavor was going to cost, I didn’t even realize what “living” in Boston would mean. With all the great restaurants, bars, and museums, Boston is a playground for young adults. But everything’s more expensive or costs something in the city, and I mean EVERYTHING! Without a car, I had to pay for an unlimited monthly subway pass. And how was I supposed to support this glamorous lifestyle I wanted? Loans? A full-time job? I didn’t want to be paying the government back until the day I died, but I also didn’t want to compromise my education by working 40+ hours a week. So I got an internship, and I got an internship that paid. Not only would it look good on my resume, but I had the flexibility to set my hours and get experience in a field I was interested in.

Going to graduate school in Boston isn’t so easy at times. School is school, simple as that. It’s just as demanding as undergrad was, but you’re surrounded by a diverse group of people which makes it challenging and worthwhile. The unexpected expenses, not having a car, and noise are just some of the frustrations that you learn to live with.

Sure, I could be going to school in-state for about half the price and living at home to save some cash, but I wouldn’t be getting the life experience that living in Boston is providing me. While it’s the kind of freedom I never expected to have a year ago, it’s the kind of freedom that has forced me to grow and learn in ways I never thought possible.

Confessions of a grad student 2: The grad school gamble

(Part 2 of a series)


By Caitlin Green

A master’s degree was always a goal for me, but I was unsure of when and where I would do it. Some people advocated for going right after college while others told me to work for a bit, get a better idea of what I wanted out of a career. But I wasn’t sure I was ready for the real world so I began the graduate school search in the fall.

I spent the fall semester attending graduate information sessions at various schools and diligently preparing my applications. All the schools required recommendation letters, GRE scores, and at least one essay.

I signed up and took the GREs, tracked down professors to get letters, and spent hours editing and re-writing my essays. If you’re even THINKING you might want to attend grad school, get the ball rolling early. You don’t want to be scrambling at the last minute to complete everything.

On top of all of this, many schools don’t send out acceptance/rejection letters until late April. This is getting very close to graduation, and many students feel they need a back-up plan in case they don’t get in. I chose to superficially engage in the job search, but basically put all my eggs into one basket. I don’t usually endorse having no back-up plan, but I already had a summer internship lined up at home which, if rejected from all schools, would give me some time to find a real job.

Fortunately, I was accepted to Emerson College in Boston. Graduate school isn’t for everyone, and if you feel you need to take a break from school then do so. This is was the best decision for me, but it’s the type of investment you shouldn’t make unless your heart’s really in it.

Next: Freedom isn’t cheap

Photo by Next Step

Career Question: How Can I Write A Resume If I Don't Have Any Experience?

Question: I am a recent graduate (master's degree) without much experience, because I attended grad school a year after undergrad without working in between. What should I put on a resume? --Sherra, DeKalb, IL

Answer: This is a common dilemma, and some might say it’s a good argument for delaying grad school in favor of gaining some real-world work experience. But you’ve chosen to go pretty much straight from undergrad to grad school, and I have to applaud your stamina. Now, what can you put on your resume?

Presumably, you’ve gained a lot of professional skills over the past several years in school—start thinking about what they include. For instance, writing would be a skill, as would computer programming, as would research, as would “soft” skills like good communication, teamwork, etc. Maybe you know some computer applications? Put those on there too.

Then, you need to think about the things you’ve done that could qualify as professional experience. For instance, did you work as a TA or an assistant to a professor? What did you do with your summers? Ever have an internship or work with an academic mentor? All of this can go on your resume.

Did you attend any conferences, publish any papers, learn to speak any languages? These can all go on there too.

The best thing to do, once you’ve had a chance to brainstorm all the experience you do have, is to make an appointment or set up a phone call with the career services office at the university where you got your master’s degree. They can help you format a resume, decide what to include, and give you some tips on cover letters too. Good luck!

Any additional advice for Sherra? Please leave a comment.