a fork in the road
so after weathering the employment doldrums I suddenly am faced with this choice:
A) teach sociology of religion at UW-Parkside. this is my absolute favorite academic subject and I've always wanted to teach it. it would be a foot in the door with UW, possibly leading to more teaching. it would be more money than adjuncting at private colleges has gotten me, but still not a lot because it would be just the one class, so I'd still need to look for another part time job. this would be the option of security because my lifestyle would basically remain unchanged.
B) move to Washington DC for 4 months and be an SPSS specialist for a polling firm that works for the Obama campaign. this would be full time and more money, but I'd have to live in an alien environment where I don't know anybody. it could potentially lead to more work in politics, which excites me. I might even like DC and want to stay. But I don't know too much about what the work entails, so it may be out of my league and it could end up as a disaster if I get into it and it winds up over my head. So this is the option of risk because there are a lot of unknowns and a new living environment and a new field of work.
i don't think it's possible to make a wrong decision here, but that's not stopping me agonizing over it. anyone ever had to make a similar decision?
A) teach sociology of religion at UW-Parkside. this is my absolute favorite academic subject and I've always wanted to teach it. it would be a foot in the door with UW, possibly leading to more teaching. it would be more money than adjuncting at private colleges has gotten me, but still not a lot because it would be just the one class, so I'd still need to look for another part time job. this would be the option of security because my lifestyle would basically remain unchanged.
B) move to Washington DC for 4 months and be an SPSS specialist for a polling firm that works for the Obama campaign. this would be full time and more money, but I'd have to live in an alien environment where I don't know anybody. it could potentially lead to more work in politics, which excites me. I might even like DC and want to stay. But I don't know too much about what the work entails, so it may be out of my league and it could end up as a disaster if I get into it and it winds up over my head. So this is the option of risk because there are a lot of unknowns and a new living environment and a new field of work.
i don't think it's possible to make a wrong decision here, but that's not stopping me agonizing over it. anyone ever had to make a similar decision?