I dropped out of grad school twice, so, you know, take this all with a grain of salt. I was dissatisfied with working in industry, and learning more math and computing were hobbies of mine. At 28 and 32 Because despite the odds you want to work in academia. Because you don't like working in industry. I have been told that it used to be very different, but academia has most of the things that make working in industry suck now. Also, university administrators do not respond nearly as well to being told to fuck themselves as managers do. You are going to work your ass off and either pay for the privilege or be paid poorly. In return you get access to an institution's resources and people who know more about things you really want know more about than anyone else. Faculty working on something that interests you, or at least something you won't mind doing the grunt work for. Be an RA if you can, then you're getting paid to learn things, which is what you're there to do anyway. TA is easier to get, but it's a lot of boring work and very frustrating work. Never TA a calculus class.1. Why did you go to grad school?
2. When did you go to grad school?
3. What is a good reason to go to grad school?
4. What is a bad reason to go to grad school?
5. What is the best state of mind to start grad school?
6. What obvious and not so obvious things should I look for when choosing a program?
7. How on earth am I supposed to generate income while simultaneously committing enough hours to my studies? During the school year in undergrad I worked usually less than 10 hours a week.
Be an RA only if because of your age you can swing being the RA for the postgraduate-specific dorm (if your school has one). Or maybe be one even if you get stuck with undergrads. I don't know. Two of mine tried to kill themselves and about ten more dropped out. Bad part of the country, but still, just a baffling experience all around. A bit like joining the army, if the army was run by mid-twenties, low-IQ, overgrown "adult education" majors who have real and negative impacts on the lives of youths in their most formative years.