What's up with this? I've found a lot of graduate students don't know shit about the field they're getting their MA/MS in. My guess would be they were the type who crammed for every test but never really learned anything. Anyone else notice this?
What's up with this? I've found a lot of graduate students don't know shit about the field they're getting their MA/MS in. My guess would be they were the type who crammed for every test but never really learned anything. Anyone else notice this?
yes it is the norm.
I want to add that about 2/3 of the GA's I've had were very knowledgable of their respective fields of study, but the remaining 1/3 have been more clueless than the students in the class.
Yes, undergrads are generally more intelligent than grad school students.
Yes, you are correct. You are clearly a very smart person worthy of much prasie and adulation .
if grad students knew anything they wouldn't need more school now would they...
the norm? wrote:
What's up with this? I've found a lot of graduate students don't know shit about the field they're getting their MA/MS in. My guess would be they were the type who crammed for every test but never really learned anything. Anyone else notice this?
As an undergrad English student I was tutoring grad students on grammar and spelling. I decided to go to grad school myself and have found myself more intelligent than most of my professors in certain fields. It is a progression my friend.
I've seen it, too, but please don't be so quick to disparage or pigeonhole.
What I saw and experienced was
1) me, as a senior, had nearly four years of focused study on a certain major. My profs and the Department staff saw I knew my stuff and could benefit those who had less exposure to it.
2) relatedly, grad students are a mixed bag... some just didn't get enough of the needed knowledge in the discipline and need remedial work; others come from a more broad or different educational background and came to grad school to learn the particulars; some are back-to-schoolers or perpetual students.
Not every grad student comes in crammed with knowledge and familiarity with the subject matter as an adept undergrad, and often the age difference less than 3 years.
Make good use of your role as an expert... the potential to make connections and strut your stuff could pay off if played correctly (don't be arrogant, be helpful, be interested in others' work, etc.)
OP, I'll amend my reply to acknowledge your point. In my field (biology) as well, some grad students are there only to meet the educational requirement (many govt jobs ask for MS degrees even though much of work remains slightly beefed-up farm/forest-type duties). I've seen, since the mid-1980s, a lesser proportion of grad students in my field on the research/academia track. The MS has become the old BS (pun intended).