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Soliciting Advice
I'm trying to get some work done, but something is eating my brain, so I thought I'd get it out of my brain, into my LJ, so that I can get the reading I need to do done and maybe get a little more sleep (I've already gotten about 5 hours...).
The last week or so I've been seriously considering dropping my history degree. I've got a few reasons for this.
1. The direction I'm thinking about taking my career really doesn't call for it anymore - I'm planning to go into conservation, and while the degree would be helpful, it's not really necessary.
2. Getting an additional degree is very expensive.
3. I'll be a full time student for another year and a half to complete it, whereas I could finish my SLIS degree with 2 more classes and would graduate in the spring.
4. I'm getting concerned about the fact that there seem to be no classes in my actual area of study at the graduate level. This is frustrating.
5. I don't see myself learning the Japanese necessary to actually earn the degree on time.
6. I don't need the degree for my current jobs; I could always get the degree later in life, by taking classes while I also work.
7. If I don't earn the degree, I can finish school, and then work more hours at the ALF, thus gaining more experience in the actual area I wish to work.
On the other hand, there are reasons to earn the degree.
1. Having a masters in something less limited than library science keeps my options open. It will help my get positions at places like archives or historical societies. I'm honestly not sure if my batchelors in history will allow for the same. Also, if I decide that I'm sick of this whole library science thing, I've got something very broad and encompassing to fall back on.
2. It never hurts to have another piece of paper and I'm already in the department. A broad range of interests and experiences helps on the job market, too.
3. I started thinking along this road because I got a poor grade on a paper in history, a paper I knew was crappy and rushed through writing. This is clearly not a very good reason for considering major life changes.
4. I've been advised by multiple professors that I trust that this is a good idea.
5. I'm good at history and I like history.
6. I can't think of any really good reason not to - "it seems like a good idea."
I'm sure I'm leaving some stuff out. However, I feel like I've never really thought this through, and the more I'm considering it now, the more it seems to me that it might be in my best interest not to waste the time and money on earning this degree, not to mention the stress on myself that another year in school would exact. (Note how it's 5 am right now, and I'm supposedly awake to be reading history...). I need to decide this soon, because I have to register for classes next semester, and obviously this will make something of a difference.
Really, any advice anyone could give would be appreciated. Hopefully, typing this out will mean I can concentrate on my Foucoult (or however the heck you spell it...) reading...
The last week or so I've been seriously considering dropping my history degree. I've got a few reasons for this.
1. The direction I'm thinking about taking my career really doesn't call for it anymore - I'm planning to go into conservation, and while the degree would be helpful, it's not really necessary.
2. Getting an additional degree is very expensive.
3. I'll be a full time student for another year and a half to complete it, whereas I could finish my SLIS degree with 2 more classes and would graduate in the spring.
4. I'm getting concerned about the fact that there seem to be no classes in my actual area of study at the graduate level. This is frustrating.
5. I don't see myself learning the Japanese necessary to actually earn the degree on time.
6. I don't need the degree for my current jobs; I could always get the degree later in life, by taking classes while I also work.
7. If I don't earn the degree, I can finish school, and then work more hours at the ALF, thus gaining more experience in the actual area I wish to work.
On the other hand, there are reasons to earn the degree.
1. Having a masters in something less limited than library science keeps my options open. It will help my get positions at places like archives or historical societies. I'm honestly not sure if my batchelors in history will allow for the same. Also, if I decide that I'm sick of this whole library science thing, I've got something very broad and encompassing to fall back on.
2. It never hurts to have another piece of paper and I'm already in the department. A broad range of interests and experiences helps on the job market, too.
3. I started thinking along this road because I got a poor grade on a paper in history, a paper I knew was crappy and rushed through writing. This is clearly not a very good reason for considering major life changes.
4. I've been advised by multiple professors that I trust that this is a good idea.
5. I'm good at history and I like history.
6. I can't think of any really good reason not to - "it seems like a good idea."
I'm sure I'm leaving some stuff out. However, I feel like I've never really thought this through, and the more I'm considering it now, the more it seems to me that it might be in my best interest not to waste the time and money on earning this degree, not to mention the stress on myself that another year in school would exact. (Note how it's 5 am right now, and I'm supposedly awake to be reading history...). I need to decide this soon, because I have to register for classes next semester, and obviously this will make something of a difference.
Really, any advice anyone could give would be appreciated. Hopefully, typing this out will mean I can concentrate on my Foucoult (or however the heck you spell it...) reading...
no subject
I'm of the opinion that, unless you are particularly focused on one particular career track (and know that you'll love it), then you should follow your heart, rather than your head. You'll find yourself enjoying things a heckuva lot more. ...and when you enjoy yourself, you are better at whatever it is that you're doing.
Basically, for me, it boils down to your #5 and #6 reasons in favor of continuing the degree. If you like it and it seems like a good idea, then do it. You can always get money; the appropriate time to do something you enjoy isn't as likely to come around again.
my little two cents
and to think this is the same person that always told me to follow my instincts about people and places and that the worse offense was to just give up for 'bad' reasons. i'm not saying that you are doing that, i'm just trying to convey that if you love history, and you know that it is something that will go along with through this life that we live, then stick with it. you are surround by people that will always tell you that you are doing good and that everything will turn out for the best as long as you are following your heart and not letting that evil voice inside your head (that i know exist) tell you how it should be. you don't want to look back at this moment when you are older thinking of what could of been.
and damnnit, i worked hard on that recommendation!! lots of huff and puff to make you seem awesome!
but honestly, any choice you make has to be from the heart and not from the head. live for the day and realize that the 'money issue' should never come between you and an education that will make you even more awesome.
p.s. tom said he would be a musketeer. so you have two from binghamton, he's only comment was "do i have to wear the hat with the feather?" goodness do i love him . . . =)
p.p.s where my freaking email!!!???
p.p.p.s what would you like from santa?
p.p.p.p.s what are your favorite colors(the more the better, and you can include combinations too) and historical eras?
p.p.p.p.p.s miss you!
Re: my little two cents
To address both these comments...
Well, at the moment my instincts are telling me that a history a degree is sort of a waste of my time. I don't need one to do what I need to do; I spoke to my higher up at work today, and she told me that it almost definitely wouldn't be a problem for me to pick up more hours at the ALF, so I could be gaining experience for what I do want to be doing...but only if I have fewer classes. The issue with "it seems like a good idea" is that it's just that, I'm sort of "whatever" about and can't think of any good reason. At the moment, at least, I don't really want to be working on it; however, I'm worried that that is just because of the grade I received and not an accurate reflection of my opinion. And I'm bothered that a bad grade can bother me this much, too...there's a lot to it.
On other topics...
P.S.: Woot! When? Origins? Gencon? I think I can scare up two from here...and yes, he needs to where a hat with a feather dang it all!
P.P.S.: Hun, I haven't gotten two minutes together. I only have time to write this because I'm at work right now. Oh, the e-mails I owe people...(you,
P.P.P.S.: Disgaea?
P.P.P.P.S.: er...I like most colors, as long as they are dark. I like most historical areas, too. What on earth are you plotting, woman?
I miss you too. :( A lot. :( You should come visit me. I'm planning to bus it up to Binghamton some time around Christmas, assuming you and
no subject
I have a Folklore MA and an MLS degree. Admittedly, I had completed almost all of the coursework for my Folklore degree before I even started at SLIS...but I went into SLIS because I decided I didn't want to be a professional academic. I wanted to work in a more public folklore arena (i.e. museums) and a full PhD was not necessary for work in that sphere, while an MLS would make me more competitive. So definitely, having second degrees can help...but so can focusing on what you need to get a job in what you want is important. And speaking as someone who has been on the job market for several months: almost all of the postings I've seen emphasize your practical experience. If you can demonstrate that you have an interest in History through, say, graduate-level coursework (which at this point you have), that's a bonus. But if what you want to do is conservation work, then the more actual experience you can get in that realm, the better for your job prospects.
And it's not like you can't study history on your own, or (as you said) go back and get it later. I slammed through two Master's degrees in 3 1/2 years so that I would have to take out as few student loans as possible (and still ended up $72k in debt). The last semester of grad school was living hell for me as I tried to finish my Folklore thesis and the last of my SLIS coursework at the same time. And you know what? I used to live and breathe folklore before college and grad school. Now it's like pulling teeth to make myself read anything but fluff fiction, and sitting down in front of the word processor makes me cringe and whimper. So if getting an official history degree is making you stressed and unhappy, then study it on your own, and go back and get that piece of paper later, when you can take it at your own pace. I realize that basing your opinion off of one grade on a paper can be shaky...but I also think that, if you haven't had grade issues before, this could be a sign of problems to come. I guess what I would do is keep on with this semester and see if you get more interested, and how your grades are doing, before adding that as a factor.
Okay, so this wasn't as quick a summary as I'd hoped :) Long story short (or a little shorter, at least): Kniedzw and mistress_sin have some really great points. And I agree that having two degrees can increase your job options. But if you like and really want to go into conservation, the more practical experience you can get the better in terms of that particular job market. And again, if you love history, go for it, but the academic environment isn't always the best place for that love to develop. It's kind of like moving in with someone: you might like them a lot while you are hanging out and spending time together on your own terms and at your own choosing, but once you move in with each other and are more or less constantly immersed in each other's lives, with the positives and negatives that the situation entails, you will either grow very close or very apart in a hurry. [And note that this analogy was based on random experience and has nothing to do with anyone in my current sphere.] :)
Okay, I really have to get back to work now! Hope this rambling was/is helpful...
no subject
I like your pro-history-reason #1, since I like having options open. That's why I'm doing the joint-Ph.D. plus a music minor! In principle, I'm in favor of multiple degrees since I think it's important for people to have a broad eductation.
On pro-reason-#5, that's why I got a math undergrad degree... I had no idea why I was spending time in math except that I was good at it and liked it. My official work has been more closesly tied to computer science, but the math part has been far more useful -- both in terms of what I learned in the program and in being able to point to it on my resume for jobs and such. So since you're so good as history and enjoy it, it's nice to have official recognition of your knowledge/skill on your CV.
The cost of the degree doesn't seem so important to me, since if it were all about money we'd probably all have chosen different fields to optimize salary, etc. (I'd be doing math for traders on wall street, for example.)
You said you're frustrated about not having classes in your avea at the graduate level... perhaps an independent study thing with a cool professor would be useful to you?
Extra reasons for doing the history degree:
#7. I helped carry a ton of history books up a bunch of stairs, so you should put them to good use :P
#8. We'll all miss you if you leave!!!!