# Ask the guy who just finished grad school

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-finished-grad-school/404482>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [May 17, 2007, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-finished-grad-school/404482 "2007-05-17T17:45:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-finished-grad-school/404482/1 "2007-05-17T17:45:06Z")

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Last Saturday I walked , and across stage, in my funny “Masters” hood and received an empty diploma holder (diplomas are on hold pending final semester grades).

But I am DONE. I can take the “(Candidate - May 2007)” out of my email signature after the name of my master’s program.

Did I mention I got a Master’s Degree?

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**Author:** ![Jimson\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@Jimson\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimson_Jim)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-finished-grad-school/404482/2 "2007-05-17T17:47:41Z")

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Congradualtions…

So what’s your master’s in and how are you going to put it to use?

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**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-finished-grad-school/404482/3 "2007-05-17T17:52:10Z")

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Basically international relations, but with a different name. I also have a certificate in a related field.

As far as what I’m going to do, I will deliver pizzas until a couple of law enforcement jobs finish the background checks.

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**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-finished-grad-school/404482/4 "2007-05-17T17:54:48Z")

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Congratulations!

How did you decide what you wanted to get a degree in?  
(Also, I read the title to this thread as “Ask the guy who just finished **grade** school”. Which would also make an interesting “Ask the…” thread.)

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**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-finished-grad-school/404482/5 "2007-05-17T18:06:55Z")

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You list your master’s degree in your e-mail signature??

(But, congratulations! 🆒 )

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**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-finished-grad-school/404482/6 "2007-05-17T18:29:13Z")

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Congratulations! _throws handful of sparkly confetti at you_

What was the best (and worst) part of the whole experience?

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**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\
**Post date:** [May 18, 2007, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-finished-grad-school/404482/7 "2007-05-18T07:55:42Z")

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[QUOTE=Misnomer]  
You list your master’s degree in your e-mail signature??

(But, congratulations! 🆒 )  
[/QUOTE]

Yeah. It was a peer pressure thing. I noticed my first semester that everyone seemed to be putting their degree in the signature along with contact information for job-search potential, so I went along with it.  
And I decided on the subject of study because it was the most interesting to me at the time that we were forced to choose a specialization.  
There were many good times, but the worst part was seeing my friends trickle out of town after graduation, many of whom I will likely never see again.