Posts tagged education
Confessions and Asides
Oct 23rd
I write in my sleep. No, really. Does anyone else do this I wonder? I’m certain they do. I’ve done this since high school. I should keep a notebook and a pencil at bedside, but I don’t. I usually think that my idea is brilliant enough that I will remember it, but this is rarely the case. When will I ever learn my lesson? I got lucky in the past day and a half and had something to scribble on as I faded in and out of that realm between asleep and awake, where I’m barely conscious enough to have rational though…
I’m a horrible graduate student, I must admit. I don’t keep up with my readings. I just can’t force myself to read all of something, sometimes even any of something, when it doesn’t hold my interest. I desperately need to overcome this because it creates huge gaps in my education that I might need! I’m sure it already has. I must have read fewer book than any person holding a BA in English. The real problem is that I’m a snob. I don’t even like reading trashy genre fiction (despite a former affinity for the Twilight series… I’m ashamed. very ashamed).
Right now I’m working on a short essay on the “new woman” of 1890s literature. It’s a topic that I actually find very interesting and would love to expand upon it, but the resources at my library are sorely, sorely lacking. I could get stuff on interlibrary loan, something I’ve never done before, but I really am not prepared to go through with that hassle just yet. Besides, with the amount of work I have to do within the next few weeks… I just don’t know. I need to write two papers this weekend and begin preparing for a group project.
I really had no goal with this little bloglet. I suppose I could express my disdain for group projects, but that is something that everyone shares, so why bother adding my vitriol?
Blog for you
Jul 17th
This resonated with me SO MUCH, especially in light of my recent cries for a guide on how-to-do-this-that-I-am-about-to-do…
“Undergraduates want, to varying degrees, to be spoon-fed. Just tell me the right way to do it, they say. Just tell me what you want. Why wasn’t that spelled out on the syllabus? Will that be on the test? These questions come out of fear, fear and the anxiety about getting it right. Grad school is new and different and confusing and I think we all have similar fears about doing what “they” want, doing everything the “right” way. We want to be spoon-fed, to be told exactly what to do. But grad school, leaving aside for a moment the lack of paying jobs on the other end, is training you to become a professor, an adult.” – Academic Cog
Thanks, dance, for showing me this blog. It’s completely eye-opening and really the exact thing I was looking for.
Would-not-be an Entrepreneur
Jul 15th
I have yet to find another blog by a twenty-something who, like me, eventually wants to be a college professor. They are all by entrepreneurs or would-be entrepreneurs. God, why would I want to live that a life that fast-paced? I don’t even want to begin to imagine. They are all chock-full of advice on the many hats you have to wear, and how life moves at 100+ mph. Ugh.
There is no blog about how to become a college professor, that I’ve found. Should there be? I don’t know. There are advisors along the way to provide the requisite hand-holding. It’s a pretty straight-forward career path. I’m terrified that I’m not cut out for it, that I’ll get bored before I finish my Master’s thesis.
I don’t know, maybe there SHOULD be a blog for those of us who seek to stay in the world of academia forever. As much as that world utilizes technology for research, it could also be doing so to communicate with the world and amongst themselves. Maybe they already are and I just don’t know it.
“When I graduated from college, I thought I’d get a job!”
Jul 11th
I was SO EAGER to graduate. Looking back now, only two years later, I am full of regret. I should have taken longer with my studies so that I had a better GPA. I should have involved myself in on-campus activities. I should have volunteered or found some kind of work that had SOMETHING to do with my degree. I didn’t do ANY of these things, and I’m paying for it now.
I keep editing and re-editing my resume… but no matter what font or design I choose, nothing changes the fact that it is merely a laundry list of retail jobs. How am I to negotiate my current work experience into a better, more fulfilling, relevant job* that, in turn, will aid me in settling onto the career path of my choice? I don’t know.
I am comforted that I’m not the only one in this position. Each on of my small group of friends is in a similar predicament… having a liberal arts degree, but no real clue what do with it. It doesn’t really help that where we live, there isn’t really a demand for an English degree unless you are a technical writer.
I have absolutely no desire to be a technical writer. I suppose I could be a copywriter, but I don’t know anything about that really… or how to get into it. This is where having internships and trying things out in college would have been helpful… Luckily, I know what I want to do. I want to study literature. I want to study, analyze, write criticism.
(Another personal dilemma of mine is that I have two parents who always encouraged me to do what I love… this being instilled in me at early age has made it difficult for me to stick with the retail jobs I’ve hated.)
My Solutions
- Volunteering
I love the job I have right now. Being a modern day Mary Poppins is so much fun and it is really perfect for the in-between state I’m in. Most places I would want to work, were I looking, rarely hire. If they did hire, I don’t have the experience they would be looking for. I’m thinking local museums and the public library. Volunteering gets my foot in the door, gives me experience working there, and enables me to do the second solution which is… - Networking
I’m horrible at networking. I don’t know how to do it. But, I need to start. I read a piece of advice somewhere that said you should never stop looking for a better job… and I believe that, to an extent. Most people find jobs through other people and I’m really not utilizing who I know.
Any other suggestions?
*not to say that my current job isn’t fulfilling, because it absolutely is. It’s a dream job for me, at this point in my life.
Life After College: My Journey Thus Far
Jul 5th
In December of 2007, earned a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature. Immediately following graduation, I jumped right into taking graduate classes as a non-degree-seeking student. The most important thing I realized from this was that I was not ready for graduate school, which was fine… I was accepting of that, on one level. On another level, it was a huge blow to me. I had always anticipated continuing on with my education in pursuit of a Ph.D without stopping for a breath of air.
So, from Summer 2008 until Autumn of 2009, I worked. I did a month-long internship in which I was able to utilize my research and organizational skills, but did not really learn anything about marketing, nor did I successfully network. (This was my own fault). I “temped” as a secretary for a month until I obtained a regular job in a book store. I mistakingly thought that working in a book store would be an appropriate environment for someone with a passion for literature, such as myself. Again, I was terribly wrong. The book store at which I worked put a higher emphasis on sales (especially the dreaded “discount card” and magazine subscriptions) than they did on anything else. I should have known better – it is, after all, a retail establishment. I toughed it out from March 2008 until March 2009, when I finally received an opportunity to nanny. Now, I describe myself as a modern-day Mary Poppins. While I am still working for an hourly wage, I no longer feel that my work is necessarily menial, nor do I feel undervalued as a person.
Yet, I am by no means a “young professional.” I finally feel like I am back on the “right” path in that I am returning to the wonderful(ly safe) world of academia. I joke, in way, calling it wonderfully safe… It’s a world in which I walk happily and comfortably, also one in which I’ve always imagined myself living and working. I remember saying in the 3rd grade that I would obtain a Ph.D. Now, I feel like I’m on the way. Though I am not a “young professional,” nor will I ever seem to be (by the time I begin a true profession, I’ll probably be in my 30s), I am on a path on which I know I am not travelling alone.
I suppose I should have known way back in 1992 that I was destined to read for a living.
The Adventure of English
Jul 5th
I am ready for autumn, for my own adventure of the English language and literature to begin again. In Autumn, I will begin graduate school in pursuit of my M.A. degree. I am over-excited, already, like a kid ready to begin kindergarten instead of a would-be adult. Where does this idea come from that adults are supposed to treat things very soberly? On today of all days, why am I trying to foist myself into that idea? I just spent a few hours with my wonderful, beautiful friends running around lighting firecrackers. All of us are would-be adults, in our mid-twenties… but not a single one of us is a “grown-up,” in the way where we know what we are doing and have our lives together. I can’t even imagine getting to that point, yet, and slowly, but slowly… I’m accepting that it is OKAY not to have my stuff together, to not know exactly what I want, yet.
I know that I’m not the only one my age who feels pressured by what their peers are accomplishing, by what their parents have accomplished by this age. It’s difficult to remember that we are not them, that this adventure is ours to have and cherish.
I keep having to remind myself that I am only 24 years old. Yes, some of my peers already have careers panning out, some are getting married and starting families… but that is not for me, yet. I’m moving at a different pace, I have a different plan. That’s perfectly acceptable, in fact, it’s perfect for me.
I know for a fact that I’m not the only one with a Bachelor’s degree who lives with family and works for an hourly wage at a job that is not my desired career. I know that I am not in any way in the place in life where I imagined I would be by now. I must be challenged by this and learn from it, and not let it get me down.
1. KEEP AN OPEN MIND: Be ready for new experiences and new challenges. Be ready to LEARN. Managing my own money and supporting myself financially was something I had to adjust to.
2. EXPECT TO BE DISAPPOINTED: You will be let down at some point, that’s life so just be ready. You might not get the first job you interview for. You may not get the salary you expected. All I’m saying is be realistic. Especially in this economy the game is totally different.
3. CHANGE IS INEVITABLE: Even if you stay in the same city you attended college, your life will not be the same. Friends will leave and life will be different. There are no “mental health days” allowed at work like in college. You need to change your method of thinking and remember that you are being paid to be there and your company values your time so you should too.
4. TAKE RISKS: If not now, then when? Move somewhere new. Apply for a job you might be under qualified for. Travel and work somewhere exotic for a while. Go out and meet new people- NETWORK! This is probably the most valuable take away networking will do wonders for your career in the present and in the future.
5. TAKE YOUR OWN PATH: This is your time to be selfish. By that I mean, you need to make decisions for yourself about where you will live, work and play. Don’t make your plans according to what your best friend or boyfriend/girlfriend is doing- you will be left thinking what if. Go with your gut and make sure that you are doing something that you are proud of and are in a place that you feel excited about going to work and being part of the company.
Starting off is both frightening and exciting and you will never get another first chance to decide what the first thing you will do after college is going to be so make it something great and do not be afraid of listening to your heart!
At this time in life, I am the only one holding myself back. That is the reality of the situation.