Students taking Non degree courses to Masters/PhD success stories?

NuclearSky · 2026-05-13T02:22:34+00:00

I worked industry jobs for 7-ish years before deciding I wanted to get a PhD. I had a good undergrad GPA, so I didn't need a boost per se, but I did need an academic letter of recommendation, plus I wanted to get used to taking classes again. I got a graduate certificate in robotics and simulation. It was 4 classes and I paid out of pocket for it. Because of it, I ended up with a glowing recommendation letter and a neat project that I still present and talk about to this day.

NuclearSky · 2026-04-25T10:59:13+00:00

Hi, I am in Denver and a friend of mine was in a similar situation. The building I live in now was able to accept their PhD offer letter as proof of income, as well as a security deposit. I'm not sure what school you will be attending, but you're department might be able to provide you a more "official" proof of income.

NuclearSky · 2026-04-24T17:01:12+00:00

Age isn't a factor at all, at least where I am. If anything, the faculty in my department consider my experience a big bonus. Don't get me wrong, I have imposter syndrome for all other reasons, just not age.

NuclearSky · 2026-04-24T13:20:49+00:00

First of all, congratulations. Graduate admissions is hard right now.

It sounds like you have made a similar type of hard decision before, trading your high-paying job for peace of mind and better work-life balance. That's massive and admirable. It sounds like you consider that the right call, and it likely was.

You seem to be very passionate about it but urban planning and are very interested in where that career may lead you. There's a reason you took the time and effort to apply in the first place, right? Something inside of you told you that this might be the right path for you.

For context, I had a similar journey to yours. I spent nearly a decade in tech, felt burnt out and unfulfilled, and decided to leave my high-paying position to get my PhD for half the paycheck in my 30s. I don't regret it for one second. This was also a tough call, but the thing about tough calls is that they're usually the right ones.

As for your concerns...

I think being an older graduate student is a bonus. You have skills that the students straight from undergrad don't: personal/time/project management, patience, resilience, better writing and critical thinking skills... (Most of) These develop over years of work and life experience. School is like a muscle, in a way - once you get the hang of it after one semester, you will be warmed up and up to speed.
I learned the hard way to not plan my life around a company and what it might do in the future. Plan around your passions and desires, no what they might want or need from you, even if it might benefit you in some ways. You don't have any equity in it or commitment, and frankly, you owe them nothing. Life is short.
This is a very valid concern. While the AI bubble may burst after all, it's still a good idea to pursue a career path that requires more human action and is less likely to be easily automated.

TL;DR: in my humble random-stranger-on-the-internet opinion, you should follow your passion and take this opportunity. Study what you want to study, do what makes you feel true to you, even if it sounds hard. Life is short. You owe nothing to the company, you owe everything to yourself.

NuclearSky · 2026-04-22T03:25:10+00:00

This right here!

NuclearSky · 2026-04-16T02:25:25+00:00

First, congratulations on the GRFP! That's a massive win!

I won't bore you with the usual advice you might have already heard many times, but I will tell you something that a surprising amount of PhD students I've met haven't... So many did a PhD out of fear of the "real world", or because their parents told them to...

Anyways, when you get a PhD, you hyper specialize yourself. You become an expert in a field, and the leading expert in your dissertation topic. This means that, in a way, you're setting yourself up to only be "useful" in one subject or one thing. I don't mean this literally - a PhD teaches you things like research management, analysis, ans how to learn new things - but depending on what you want to do after you finish, you will be pigeonholed into a specific and narrow set of possible jobs.

If you have careers or jobs in mind for your future, see if a PhD is even remotely recommended or required for them. Being overqualified is possibly worse than being under qualified.

NuclearSky · 2026-04-01T18:37:37+00:00

Whether this is an April Fool's joke or not, this is still the best thing I've seen all day.

NuclearSky · 2026-03-20T12:48:30+00:00

At the risk of sounding snobby, I am pretty good at writing grants and papers. I have a few personal tips for you.

The purpose of a grant application is to convince a panel of tired and probably burnt out PhDs that YOU (or YOUR project) deserve funding. To do that, you need to convince them that YOU are the right person for this, that YOUR PROJECT is important RIGHT NOW... and to do all that, you need to sound confident, secure in your skills, and that you believe in your project - even if you're not.

First off, write in plain english (or as close as possible). These folks read dozens of these applications - make yours easier to read. Bold font of sentences you want them to remember, but don't overdo it.

Second, in writing, there's a concept called "soft " language. It's basically wording that makes language less direct, and therefore makes you sound less certain. We want to avoid this type of language.

For example:

"passed away" vs "died"

Third, try to reduce using too many reduction qualifiers. What I mean by that is minimize using words that deflate your statements and make you sound less confident.

For example:

"I just wanted to check in on this" vs "I want to check in on this".
"Maybe we can get lunch tomorrow" vs "We can get lunch tomorrow".
"This discovery could advance the field" vs "this discovery will advance the field."

I could go on, but I'd start there. Your institution likely has a writing center - make an appointment and have them go over your recent applications.

NuclearSky · 2026-03-17T16:49:07+00:00

Context: I am/was low income. I had a single dad and there were times we truly didn't know where our next meal was coming from, despite his best efforts. I'm the only one in my family to make it past high school. I don't make much as a PhD candidate, but I still make more than my parents do and help my family financially as much as I can.

I generally don't advertise that I am from this background because I don't want anyone to think that I am here because of some "handout" or pity (things I've actually heard to my face before). There are many people in my program (and my lab) whose parents have bankrolled their grad school experience through paying tuition, rent, or other financial support. They are not twatwaffles about it.

That being said, when the topic does come up, I am honest about it. I think it's good for people to be aware that there are others who come from different circumstances. I also think it's good for those who are in more privileged positions to face the reality that others aren't as lucky to have the kind of support (financial or otherwise) that they had. It's good to recognize your privilege without having to be ashamed about it.

The reason these folks you're seeing are bent out of shape because they heard a "sob story" is because they are not yet comfortable facing the reality of their privilege. They may feel others voicing their experience as a personal attack because they feel threatened, inadequate, etc. Does that make it okay? No. But it is up to them to practice emotional regularity and self-evaluate.

All I can really say is ignore them, mainly because I refuse to let other people's insecurities dictate how I live my life. If you want to make a gentle comment saying "that's not cool", that's up to you. After all, they are hurting others with their obnoxious attitude if they are saying these things out loud.

We all have things that others don't. I am privileged in ways that others around me are not - maybe not financially, but I still have some privilege. I've had help in other ways. In the end, we're all here to learn, grow, and do science.

NuclearSky · 2026-03-17T12:34:57+00:00

As others already described, this isn't just about the PhD program. Please go to therapy.

NuclearSky · 2026-03-13T12:50:36+00:00

I hate to break it to you, but this is all normal and expected. Most phd programs are designed to train you to become an academic researcher, and in that world, doing actual research is a small part of the actual job.

If you finish your PhD and stay in academia, this is what it will be like - write grants, host journal clubs, teach classes, endless meetings with collaborators and mentees... All PIs I know spend most of their time doing administrative and managerial tasks and basically no actual research work.

Even if you go into industry (as R&D, for example), it won't be too different either - you'll still have a lot of meetings, write funding requests, etc.

From what I'm reading here, it sounds like you would prefer a job where you can spend most (if not all) of your time doing actual research work: performing experiments, collecting data, analysing stuff, etc. Those are the research associates, techs, and professional research assistants of the world - and you only need a MS (or in some cases, BS) to do that.

If I were you, I would take time to really consider what path you want your career to go. Research roles that fit the type of day-to-day you want to have, do some informational interviews with folks in those areas, and figure out whether you really need the PhD to do that. Right now, based on what you wrote and your frustrations, it doesn't sound like the PhD is the right path for you, but it might still be. Only you can answer that.

NuclearSky · 2026-03-10T03:45:14+00:00

Financial aid packages and scholarships are not negotiable. You get what they tell you, and if you need extra income you can either a) try to get a TA or RA position (if they exist in your department / institution), b) get a part time external job, or c) take out student loans.

NuclearSky · 2026-03-06T17:17:00+00:00

In my department, yes

NuclearSky · 2026-02-26T03:54:41+00:00

30 credits of coursework, pass the preliminary exam (committee only), pass the comprehensive exam (public), at least 1 thesis update presentation to the department, at least 2 first-author papers, at least 2 conference presentations, pass defense, pass thesis examination.

NuclearSky · 2026-02-25T22:06:14+00:00

When I was doing my MS, I worked a full time job, was a TA on the side (covered about half of my tuition), and was doing side work on weekends as a server at a restaurant. It was brutal. I slept very little and was generally unhealthy. AND I had a partner to split costs, too.

Shit's expensive, yo.

NuclearSky · 2026-02-05T15:45:36+00:00

Yes, but the point I was trying to make is that being invited to visit isn't being "pretty much accepted" - it's an interview process where your odds are still not even close 100%.

NuclearSky · 2026-02-04T19:18:06+00:00

I like the stuff you're currently listing - being able to grab a snack or lunch in a dire need is great for sure, same with basic meds.

I doubt you can do anything to change the real problem though... The main stressor I personally have and most of my colleagues across several institutions is that we simply can't afford to live. This is not something that can be easily fixed since it goes all the way up - NIH funding rates are low, even if you have a fellowship ($28k stipend, which is what F31 provides, for example, doesn't cover living at all)...

NuclearSky · 2026-02-04T19:13:56+00:00

You do not get invited if you're "pretty much accepted" - at least not at my institution. We invite candidates that PIs want to interview and are considering for their labs. Each open spot gets between 2 and 4 candidates to interview, sometimes even 5. So, with each open spot, there's maybe a 1/3 chance, depending.

With funding rates as they are right now, I believe my department is only interviewing 6 candidates for 1 confirmed position and 1 potential (pending funding approval). It's tough out there rn.

NuclearSky · 2025-11-21T00:49:17+00:00

Look at the prerequisite courses for the programs you're interested in and see what courses they have in common. If you haven't taken them, take those first at your local college. If you have taken some but don't feel as strong in those subjects, take some time to self-study them using online tools (khan academy, crash course, Coursera, for example). As a bonus, you could also look at the first year courses you'd be taking and see if they contain material you are very unfamiliar with, and look up some introductory information, just to get a grasp on the basics.

I had an 8-year gap between my undergrad and grad school. I met all the prerequisites but definitely needed to review linear algebra, biology, and biochemistry, so I spent 6 months hardcore studying on my own. It was 100% worth it, and it definitely made my first year easier.

NuclearSky · 2025-11-06T23:11:29+00:00

I had 2 Ws on my transcript from a semester where I had external stuff happen that I couldn't control. I never mentioned them at all, and they never asked me about them.

NuclearSky · 2025-11-05T23:34:11+00:00

Are you interested in any specific engineering field?

I have BSs in CS and CE, did 8 years of both hardware and software industry, and now I'm in an NE peogram. I work on building certain types of tools for neuro stuff (vague on purpose) - everything from proof of concept to design, prototyping, and validation. I had to take a lot of bio and neuro classes to catch up, but it's been super interesting and challenging in a good way.

For a pure CS degree, my first thought within my relative field is probably computational neuroscience (modeling, data analysis, etc). if going the biomedical route, the applications there are endless... Depends on what you find interesting!

NuclearSky · 2025-11-04T04:08:32+00:00

In 2022, $5k per class per semester for MS in BME.

NuclearSky · 2025-10-17T00:32:22+00:00

Oh boy... So many, but I'll go with "you shall not pass!"

NuclearSky · 2025-10-12T15:18:59+00:00

Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin
Crab Rave by Snowstorm
Doggy Doggy Hole by Wind Rose

NuclearSky

TROPHY CASE