A Master’s degree is a specialized degree that is earned after your bachelor’s degree. As implied by the name, it is the art of becoming a master in a certain subject. Master's degrees are very in depth and require advanced skills, patience, and determination to complete.
The process of putting yourself through a master’s program is very arduous, yet very fulfilling, and rewarding. A Master’s degree is a very honorable and distinguishable thing to have because it shows dedication, both to you, and to your area of expertise.
The learning that you receive while working towards your master’s degree is very important, but the way you prepare for a master’s degree is even more important. Before the program begins, all your affairs need to be properly aligned so that you will have the best experience possible.
David Rondon, a PHD student studying Rotor Dynamics, knows all about this process and is here to give some advice.
Question: Why did you apply for a master’s program?
I wanted to gain more knowledge and evolve my skills, therefore it seemed that studying a master’s degree was the way to go.
David said that before he began his master’s program, he was lucky enough to have the opportunity to take some master’s courses during his bachelor’s degree. Taking these upper-level classes helped him to get a clear sense of the expected curriculum and whether he liked the program(s). Fun fact: although he now knows that these courses, he took were Master level classes, at the time when he signed up for them, he did not realize they were master’s courses!
Once David applied and was approved to the master’s program, his next step was to get his parents approval to send him support money. He said that he was extremely lucky that his parents were willing to support him, which made it feasible for him to support himself.
To prepare for living in a new place; David had to do some research and scout out the surrounding area so that he could familiarize himself with the local surroundings. He really needed to figure out what was available to him, such as means of food, recreation, nature, how and where to interact with the locals, etc.
As for the housing, David was really wanting to live alone; there were luckily some local student housing options that would allow him to do so. Preparing to live alone was something else he had to work on, he emphasized how he was going to be living in a new situation and would have to be better about going out of his way to make friends and be sociable, as living alone would provide fewer opportunities to be social.
He also said that was so much research that he had to conduct regarding studies; even though he had taken a few Masters courses (before the actual master’s program) and had an idea of what he wanted to do; he still had a lot to consider! He had to really think about his bachelor’s degree, what did he like, not like, and what portion of it would he be interested in continuing, and how would it all fit into the degree program(s) he was looking at.
He faced quite a few struggles when came to preparing for his master’s program.
He said that the amount of work and time that had to go into the preparation process took so much effort, it was very taxing. However, it was all worth it tenfold in the end.
During his master’s degree he also worked as a student assistant. The job required a big learning curve as it was something he have never done, and it required a lot of work. However, working during his masters was not that bad, especially since he was making money and paying for his program as he went.
He said that during his studies, there were also a few notable things that he really had to focus on.
Compared to his bachelor’s degree program, there was a definite step up in the amount of work required for David's master’s program. His curriculum got very difficult at times, although, all the presented work could be accomplished with hard work and determination.
Finally, the break in the semesters was jarring for him. He had been used to semesters each being a standard 5 months. At the university where David completed his master’s program, each semester was further split into three parts (instead of 4), with each semester being roughly 3 and a half months long each. These trimesters were difficult for him to get used to.
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