Soliciting Advice
Oct. 24th, 2006 05:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unforthI'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...
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no subject
Date: 2006-10-24 12:47 pm (UTC)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.