I would not go to grad school. Especially not in the city the program was in. Unless you’re an MBA or in engineering or something ultimately pretty lucrative, I wouldn’t recommend Academia Extended Stay to any sane person who values their own time, money, and dignity.
If I had to do it again, I would have gone for a more specific skill. Not the skilled trades. I know everyone’s all about that now, but we weren’t all born to be electricians. Just something more specific like a counselor, Auto CAD, etc etc
Self aggrandizing people being gossipy and passive aggressive…sounds like grad school.