I have thought about attending graduate school, but I am not sure whether or not I will actually attend. At the end of the day, I will probably end up applying, but I am unsure as to whether or not I will attend. Like most things in life, graduate school has its pros and cons. As mentioned in the reading, graduate school is a means to a job. It can definitely help you get the job you want working for some of the top leading companies in industry. Since all we know really is how to be a student, grad school doesn't really take us too far out of our comfort zone. That being said, we all already have the skills necessary, especially seeing that we've been students and in school since the around the age of 3. Also if you are pursuing a PhD, the world is pretty much your oyster. I say that because you get to choose what you want to do your research in. Instead of sitting in class learning about stacks, queues, electrons, and why Sally and Jack bought 40 honeydews at the store, you can use what you've learned to do research in an area of your choosing and solve a problem that you have noticed or that relates to you or society in any way shape or form. Also you get paid to do said research as well.
Some of the cons though are that although you get paid for your work, it isn't as high a wage as it would be had you just started in industry. Also, it is harder to return to academia if you take a year off before grad school. This is because professors may not necessarily forget who you are and what you did, but in comparison to the current students, what you did in the past may not be comparable to what current students have done. Another con is that if you are pursuing a PhD, the time it may take to finish may be over 4 years, and maybe 10 years or more. With a masters however, you will know when you will be done, but it is a processes of taking many classes, many difficult classes.
As I have previous stated, I am not sure whether or not I will attend graduate school. As I look over everything, my grades, gpa, coursework, etc. I am not sure whether or not I am graduate school material. This could just be my general anxiety and fear of the unknown speaking, but these are just that thoughts that run through my head. The more I look at things that get done in industry and the things that are done in grad school, I can't help but feel unprepared. I feel that there is just too much that I don't know. In the end, I will probably end up applying to graduate school, but I may be one of the few who take a year or two off before doing so. This is just because I feel like I need a break, I need to step out and do something different, or actually DO something besides go to class and sit in school all day and all night. If I end up in grad school, it wouldn't be for a specific job, it would be strictly a bucket list thing to do. I have dreamed of getting a PhD, but later on in life.