The Mid-Degree Crisis

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Three years ago I should have been enrolling in classes for the third year of my undergraduate degree. Instead, I was googling the cost of flights to Australia and reading hostel reviews. Even thinking about choosing classes for the coming year had me panicking. What if the classes didn't help me find a position for my field placement in my fourth year? And what did I even want to do for my placement? Could I see myself doing that as a career? Where the heck was I going with this degree? I was experiencing a major mid-degree crisis.

Defined by Urban Dictionary as the sudden realization that you have absolutely no idea what you want to major in for the next two years of your four year college career, I think any sort of panic about your education and future at any point in your academic career counts as a mid-degree crisis.  The crisis can be caused or influenced by a number of things. My mid-degree crisis was caused by a sudden realization that I really, really disliked editing. A number of classes in editing had only enforced my dislike of the task. This was not a very good realization to have two years into a degree I had entered into with the intention of becoming a professional editor.

Changes in living situations, funding, interests, and the economy can all be factors in a mid-degree crisis. So can pressures from instructors, parents, and peers. And sometimes just the stress of assignments and tests is enough to have you mentally pressing a panic button. Whatever the cause, a mid-degree crisis is scary. When I started to realize I needed to rethink my entire life plan, I was terrified. Now I can admit, as horrible as it seemed at the time, my mid-degree crisis is the best thing that ever happened to me as far as my education and future is concerned. 

I was forced to take a really close look at my goals, priorities, and skills in both the short- and long-term. I quickly realized that I needed to take a break. I needed to get away from the stress of academic life before I could make any serious decisions about my future. So I used all that information I had gathered googling Australia and left the country for eight months. When I returned, I had a clear goal in mind, I had a plan to achieve that goal, and I felt amazing. That goal has evolved since then, but it has still followed a pretty straight trajectory. 

I'll admit I was pretty lucky in that I had the luxury of basically disappearing for eight months without any major repercussions. I hadn't taken out any student loans (yet), had money saved, and my program was set up in such a way that taking a break between year two and three worked really well. No two students experiencing mid-degree crises are going to have the exact same set of circumstances. And while travelling for eight months was the perfect way for me to work through my mid-degree crisis, it is not going to be a solution for everyone. So if you're facing a mid-degree crisis or are worried you may have one in the future, I offer the following advice:

• Speak to an advisor at your school. Their job is to help you out in situations like these. Tell them everything you're worried about. They're better equipped to deal with all the questions you might have about your options, and they might be able to offer some options that you wouldn't consider. And even if you have a decision in mind, they can help get you on the correct path to following that decision through. Once I realized editing was not for me, I spoke to my program advisor. She helped me focus on what other options my program provided me, and she also gave me some much needed encouragement and support. 

• Talk to your instructors. They might not be aware that you're having issues. And a mid-degree crisis is an issue regardless of if it's affecting your marks. Letting your instructors know you're unsure about your future in the program may result in them working with you to make your classes more topical. Or they might offer the advice or encouragement you need at that moment. Some students don't actually make any major changes in response to a mid-degree crisis. They simply need a boost in confidence. It's my experience that most instructors really do have your best interests in mind. 

• Think long and hard about what you want and not what your mom, dad, instructors, partner, or anyone else might want. Yes, choosing not to finish your degree and focusing on yoga, art, or any other number of disciplines not generally taught in a formal educational setting is very difficult, but making that choice might just result in something amazing. 

• Finally, know that there is no right or wrong way to deal with a mid-degree crisis. Nor is it required to ever have a mid-degree crisis. As much as my own experience dealing with panic mid-degree was rewarding for me, I still wouldn't recommend it. I've always been jealous of people who have known what they wanted to be since they were five and probably always will be.

Image courtesy of Threadless Inc. 

Whether you choose to abandon all responsibility and drink your way across the beaches of Oceania or work through the panic and stick with your original degree, the mid-degree crisis does not have to be a horrific ordeal. It may become the catalyst to the change you needed; if you don't believe me, there are other students who have recorded their experiences here and here. And once you're done dealing with your mid-degree crisis, you can get a head-start preparing for that quarter-life crisis that I hear I'm just about to encounter. I sure am glad my mid-degree crisis led me to apply for graduate school! 

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