(A piece that was planned at the beginning of October, finished and published after a month, too busy in between)
I experienced an important milestone in my junior year, so I want to record it.
When I wrote my freshman summary, and even my sophomore summary, my future plans were vague.
I was previously torn between pursuing a master's degree or entering the workforce. If I chose employment, I might find a decent job, but pursuing a master's degree is challenging, though it might offer more opportunities.
This question has appeared multiple times in my notes, but in the past, it was merely a vision for the future. Now, as a junior, I have reached this crossroads.
Compared to my previous confusion, after my internship, I have a direction—I may need to continue my studies.
When I first entered university, my goal was to find a job after my bachelor's degree. During my freshman and sophomore years, I really hoped to find an internship to experience working life and enrich my experiences. However, after actually interning, I realized I didn't enjoy it.
Severe overtime left me with no personal time, and the repetitive work had no barriers to entry; this is my summary of interning as a backend developer at an internet company.
If I were to work right after my bachelor's, I would likely engage in similar work and live a similar life.
I am not willing to do that.
Looking back now, why did I set a goal of finding a job after my bachelor's degree?
Partly because I had just gone through the college entrance examination and didn't want to waste time on meaningless selective exams, but more so due to my pessimism about the future of the internet industry, wanting to withdraw as soon as possible.
However, later I encountered many things that made me understand that computer science does not equal the internet, and there are more options for computer science graduates than just large internet companies.
Web development is just a subset of computer science; internet companies are just one type of relevant workplace.
There are many choices in the field of computer science, but my options are limited.
So I think I may need to pursue a master's degree.
The value of graduate studies is to enhance my educational background, gain more time to improve my skills, and have more choices.
In the past, elders always advised me to pursue a master's degree and find a good job. I never took it seriously, and even now, I still feel the same.
On one hand, I feel that someone who has never experienced graduate studies personally should not take others' opinions about it being a good thing as gospel.
On the other hand, I think their views on graduate studies are based solely on benefits without considering costs.
Only after truly experiencing work and considering the costs did I reach a conclusion and make a choice, and that’s when I became resolute. Even though I may have taken some detours, I believe I would make the same choice again.
Deciding to pursue a master's degree used to be a source of conflict for me, but once I made that decision, everything felt very natural.
Since I have already made my choice, I will move forward without hesitation.
Wish me luck.
2024.11.2