to ask you to help me make this life decision?

[Blinketyblink]

Hello MNers!

I'll try to keep this brief - would really value your opinions on this.

I have recently been offered a place on a masters course at Cambridge to study a subject I love and I cannot decide whether to go or not. This is not at all a humblebrag situation and I actually have some quite significant imposter syndrome which leads to me telling myself that I don't deserve the opportunity I've been presented with here (but that is another story).

So the backstory is that I am 31 - no children or partner at the moment, so relatively free of any significant commitments. I am not at all the stereotypical Cambridge 'type' - wasn't privately educated or anything like that, although I know they are trying to move away from all that now, and rightly so. I am the opposite in fact, and have come from quite a difficult background, both academically and in terms of my family life - I left school very early, with few qualifications at all and my home life as a child was pretty disastrous - including a brief stint in care.

I just don't know what to do and whether or not to go. Will it benefit my life in a significant / tangible way, both professionally and personally? Hard for you, as strangers to say, maybe. I am just concerned that I would be going for the wrong reasons - which are basically that I feel there is a huge void in my life and this feels like the only remotely positive thing in my future.

My career is not on track, at all! But I think that maybe it could be with this masters degree on my CV. And I have worked out that with a student loan I can scrape the money for the fees + living costs together.

What other things might I gain from doing a postgraduate degree at a good university like Cambridge? Am I too old? (I realise I am not old of course, but relative to the other twenty-something students there perhaps?).

The last 3 years have been extremely difficult and have included leaving an abusive relationship - it has taken me most of this time to recover.

Thank you for any advice - and please be kind as I am feeling a bit wobbly!

Do it! I did my masters at Oxford when I was 50 having done my first degree at a polytechnic 30 years previously. Massive imposter syndrome when I started but loved it, especially working with people with same very niche interest to me. Use what I learnt on a daily basis.

A friend of mine did a masters at Cambridge aged 50 so you're definitely not too old!

She hadn't had a an easy of life of it up 'til then either, having had mental health problems in her teens/20s, brought up her DC as a single parent etc but she went for it, did brilliantly and is now in a very specialist job that she loves.

Believe in yourself!

@burnoutbabe

Just reading your OP and you sya you don't have many qualifications? so no undergrad degree?

Will your career oath accept someone who has non standard qualifications of "just" a masters but not the alevels/degree they expect?

Else it may be better, career wise, to get an undergrad degree (open university if doing it part time) to open many more doors, not just the one to this particular career.

What recent experience of study do you have? I did a 2nd degree at 46 but could show i had done a GCSE a year before, so i was okay with putting the time/displine into something and could spend weekends studying.

The studying was fine, i enjoy Law. I can answer problem questions. But being able to write academically in their particular style is a struggle and not something they particularly teach (maybe it naturally follows on from current A levels). So that part is hard and writing 3000 word essays on "xyz said ABC, discuss" is hard to do, even if you know the topic well.

So yes, I'd struggle with going straight to a masters after nothing to build up to it.

Thank you for your post :) - I do have an undergraduate degree - its just that it was really hard to get through and took me quite a bit longer than planned, so its not a case of this being my first rodeo, academically speaking - but that only brings minimal comfort if I'm honest!

If you’re 31, no responsibilities and nothing to give up career wise - go for it!
The only thing that should stop you is if the degree isn’t very marketable but this is a golden chance.

Also to add age doesn’t really matter it’s the level of responsibilities and income.
I’m a similar age and also want to do a masters but am settling for distance learning as I don’t get student loans as a foreigner. If I were you I’d jump at the chance!
Also there’s no chance of you not doing well as you have all the time and mental space to dedicate to your studies without a kids/partner in the way..

If you have a diagnosed mental health condition, even if it's relatively well-managed or your perception is that it's not severe, I would recommend exploring the option to apply for a Disabled Students Allowance (DSA). An award could mean you are given funding for a specialist, 1-1 mentor for an hour a week throughout your course. For many students it's the extra layer of support that can make a big difference to their study experience.

Even if you don't have a diagnosed condition, or prefer not to go the DSA route, there are still likely to be lots of support options through the university to help you to maintain positive mental well-being whilst you're studying. Imposter syndrome is very common in academia, particularly amoungst females.

You have a fantastic opportunity to do something many others dream of OP, you are absolutely worthy of this experience and have earned it! Career improvement is only one consideration, you are young, free and single and life is for seizing the chance to do extraordinary things when they present themselves!

There is a TED talk by Amy Cuddy on power poses. The first half isn't my cup of tea but in the second half she talks about imposter syndrome as an academic and it massively resonates for me. Best of luck!

I’d say go for it and take the opportunity to get support from the university support services with your mental health and your imposter feelings. You have already accomplished so much.

leanin.org/news-inspiration/overcoming-imposter-syndrome-to-reveal-your-presence

Here is an article where Amy Cuddy talks about her experience of imposter syndrome