Being Content is Damn Cool!
I'm at that point in my life that I have to make a decision about my future. A real decision that will actually matter and not something that's posed as a decision like, "Do I go to college or not?" I mean, sure it's not required by law, but for all intents and purposes it's required. College is the thing you do after high school, period. That's the only reason I'm here. It's just what's done and will continue to be so until tuitions rise high enough that people aren't going to be willing to spend their lives paying off their loans. For the first time in three months, I'm at ease because I've found something that makes me happy in principle.
But this time, there are actually a few paths I could legitimately choose. PH.D in science, Masters in Education, job in science, job in education, job in the service industry, disappear into the country, disappear into Europe, or get my CDL and drive OTR semis. The way I see it, a PH.D only gets me a job in academia or some other research based position and that doesn't quite hold my attention too well. It's also a massive bullet to bite to get myself on a higher pay scale somewhere else. I've been considering teaching since high school, but for whatever reason, I feel that deciding to teach is like settling for less than one is capable, almost a fallback when you can't find a good job. Not sure why I see it that way because I respect dedicated HS teachers, but it's not for me. Oddly, I view butchers and masons the same way. Jobs are great, but I'm scared I won't go back to school once I start working, so I'll be limited in where I'll go. Disappearing would be sweet, but I'm no hippie. That's not what normal people do, therefore I'm not allowed. OTR would be little more than a dream, but a bit of a waste of a college degree. I'll do that in lieu of a normal retirement. Suddenly that PH.D is looking pretty sweet.
For those attentive readers who are asking themselves, master's degrees in science are nearly obsolete. Many schools don't offer them unless you get dispensation from some combination of adminitrators. Reason being that it doesn't provide you with enough skills to be completely independent, so it's of limited value.
I've spent the past three months fretting about earning stellar grades so I can be competitive in grad school applications and trying to find schools I'd like to go to. The only criterion being location in a city I can tolerate living in for 7 years. That left me with two choices: University of Illinois- Chicago, and University of Chicago.
This seems simple enough so far, but I've been stuggling with this crazy idea that there are different types of people than I've been surrounded my whole life. Moving from Park Ridge, IL to Madison has been, more or less, a move horizontally on the socioeconomic level. White collared parents, white collared mentors, douchebag peers. It was old five years ago, it's old now.
In addition to the personal satisfaction I desire from my job, I'm not convinced I've experiencd enough and want to see more of the world. I have this sneaking suspicion that there's this phantom blue collar class of working people out there who make this country run and I want to meet them. Translated, I need to do some traveling. How does one combine a PH.D and traveling? Three people, all of whom fall into the category of "Cool as Hell", already know and have told me, though it took all three to get me to listen.
Solution: Shove the PH.D and apply to this.
Summers off, a real salary, and many of the programs necessitate a certification which can very easily lead to a Master's in teaching at a discounted tuition. I just have to get over the "settling" factor and I'll be set. With any luck, sixteen months from now will see me headed west on Route 66. No joke. Route 66 goes to california.
Thank you Dan, Ellie, and Michelle.
Replies: 2 comments
God Bless America.
Posted by @ 02/09/04 12:17 p.m. ET
Also feeling like you're doing something is nice, too. I get annoyed when I get paid to surf the i'net.
Posted by @ 02/09/04 6:58 a.m. ET