I have decided to go back to school. This is partly because I like school and have always wanted to go back, but also because I seem to have no career options. Currently there are two educational possibilities: take a baking and pastry arts curriculum in preparation for working in and eventually owning my own bakery or getting a graduate degree in a useful field. “Useful” is the problem I am facing. What the heck does that even mean?
I would love to get an MPA and try to actually do good in the world, but the jobs are not numerous and the pay is not particularly great. The smarter option is probably an MBA but that does not guarantee a job either. Can you substitute an advanced degree for a lack in actual work experience? If I spend the next two years working freelance gigs and going to school full-time only to graduate and find out I still have zero job prospects I’m going to be a little pissed and still poor and unemployed. My other problem is that the things I love to do are not helping me career wise. I love to write and to bake, but my English degree thus far has gotten me bupkis so I am hesitant to get a masters in English or go full force into the culinary arts world which is more to prep me for my own business, not a paycheck.
So what do I do? Follow my dreams and do what I love or choose a path that has a better chance of getting me employed, but not making me happy? This is why we go to college and choose careers at a young age. In our twenties we don’t know how much the working world can suck your soul out of you nor are we jaded enough to plan for that kind of world. So we go to school, get our degrees, plan our path and out we go fresh faced and excited to be part of the workforce. I sort of got a late start, exiting college already aware that my English degree was useless and I’ve never quite recovered.
I’m 37, possessor of quality work skills and more than adequate intelligence, but not a solid resume. I don’t know what I want to do with my life and the things I do know I would like I am either not qualified for or not sure how to turn them into money-making careers. So back to school I go with the hope that a better degree will get me a job when my actual job experience has failed. I’m good at a lot of things, but how do you know which of the skills you are good at or like are translatable into the job world. If I’m going to spend a year or two in school pursuing it, I don’t want to take any chances. At some point I’m going to need an answer to the “what do you want to be when you grow up” question.
I'm in the same boat. Never did figure out what to be when I grew up. But before I had kids I lived in the troubled world of "being" whatever job I happened to be working at. And I believe your words were "it sucks the soul out of you". True that!!! I cried every day knowing that I was not doing what I was meant to be doing, but not knowing how to use my God-given gifts to sustain me.
ReplyDeleteIf you're questioning following your dreams vs solid employment, by all means - follow your dreams!! If you have the means, which it sounds like you do, look at it as a second chance. You don't need lots of money to find true joy. Joy and happiness comes from giving to the world and you can only do that if it comes from the heart.
I'd love to go back to school....There are about 15 majors I'd thoroughly enjoy studying. I'd love to be multi-lingual, I'd love to study history, anthropology...on the other end of the spectrum medicine and genetics and biotechnology sound amazing. And of course, a masters in English where I get to write and read wouldn't pay the bills, but it would feel intelligent.
ReplyDeleteMy advice, at this point in life, is to choose a path that you'll enjoy walking, and don't worry about the destination. If going back to school gets you excited and stimulates your creativity, then do it. And take only classes that you like the professor, the syllubus and the discussions. When I went through college, it was an ends to a means. I chose classes with the least requirements, and saddled up at least 20 hours a semester so I could get 'done'. And I woke up at 21 in a teachers lounge on a Friday morning prepping a chem lab....instead of in a cheap apartment to a can of ravioli and red bull on my way to a lecture or a lab where I could play with ideas and ideals. I had a paycheck and insurance, but I missed something in the process.
Follow your dreams today, and everyday, and you'll find yourself exactly where you are supposed to be.
oops....means to an end....mommy-brain is gunked up today...
ReplyDeletebake for crying out loud. i'm taking this assumption from many previous posts, but it sounds like that is something you enjoy. it just so happens that eating baked goods also makes people happy so you'll always have customers.
ReplyDelete