Enrolled in Grad School -- Now What?

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So I just enrolled in graduate school earlier this week, and my motivation to do my job is waning. I think of it as a form of senioritis. I tell myself that it is wrong that my motivation and performance are waning, and I should stick it out to the very end. At the same time, I am moving on, and indeed must do things in the following months to prepare for grad school (e.g. move to my new city a month before classes, etc). I can manage quitting financially, but have feelings this is immoral.

What do you guys think? Would quitting a few months before graduate school be wrong? Would it leave too big of a gap in my resume? I start classes in three and a half months.

if it were me, i'd keep working to build up more of a financial cushion, perhaps with an extra couple of weeks off at the end for vacation.

I'd personally suggest taking at least a month off beforehand. There are so few transistory times in life where you get to take a break like that, so when the opportunity comes up I always say it's best to jump at it! As long as your money situation is ok, don't worry about it and take as much time as you need. If anyone asks they'll understand, just tell them that you took a break between work and grad school to pursue some of your dreams or something.

If you do stay at your job though, make sure you're doing what they pay you to do. I know very very well how tempting it can be to just coast by those last few weeks since you no longer really have any stake in the job, but try to avoid the urge.

The financial cushion is a tempting one, but if your gut wants this time for yourself, listen to it.

Thanks, everyone. I'll sleep on it this weekend, and make a decision afterwards.

I am waiting to see if I really enrolled. I submitted the proper paperwork and they noted that it was submitted, but I do not believe them. Everyone around me says my fear is irrational, but what if they lose the paperwork, or forget to record it properly? What if they fail to communicate with the other departments of the university responsible for next steps in matriculation? For these reasons, I hesitate.

Then again, I also have constant fears they are coming for my college degree, and/or send me back to high school.

Well I just handed in my two week notice. After that, I live in a Zen monastery for a month or a bit longer, and then I will go to China for the first and maybe only time in my life. Let's just hope my grad school neither loses the paperwork to enroll me, or is tricking me. Otherwise, I am screwed.

That's awesome!! !
Go! Have fun!

(quit worrying, you're undertaking an adventure!)

Thanks. I;ve given myself permission to stop worrying and just to enjoy things, even if that is only intellectually permission (e.g. I still have a creeping sense of panic about it irrationally).

I hope your primary motivation in going to graduate school is not landing a job, because that is unlikely to happen... Internships will remain closed to you unless you've been able to majorly revamp your impression management. I say this not to be a "jerk" but to make sure you're not planning to spend two years of time and tuition without realizing the very likely possibility (>90%?) of having no job to show for it... What are your thoughts?

Actually, I would not be going to graduate school unless it was to land a job afterwards. I am happy to provide you specifics in a PM if you are so inclined, but I researched the school I am attending very closely. It is the only school of its kind located in its city (or, for that matter, in its state), and has extremely close connections with the professional community. The Wall Street Journal has given this school an extremely high return on investment based on lifetime earnings of alumni divided by tuition costs.
I cannot say with certitude I will get a job immediately afterward. No program can guarantee that. What I can say is that graduate school likely has a lower opportunity cost today than it did ten years ago or will when the economy recovers.