Another Oath
See, even while we're fighting, Jane still has the power to inspire me.
I hereby promise to get a PhD in Psychology by 2013. Having a PhD will give me many options for a backup career.
Because, really, at the ripe old age of 26, I'm feeling a little too old to be earning an hourly rate that's not based on instruction-hours. I wouldn't mind hopping from one part-time professorial position to another, or being a School Psychologist in lean times. But I don't have much patience left for temp work. I'm having a difficult time working alongside ditzy receptionists, doing a job that most companies leave to well-programed voice mail systems. The filing and data entering I'm doing this week is a welcome change, but it's still frustrating to see my fattest, fullest paychecks fall fifty dollars short of what I had earned, in a much crappier job, many years ago.
I've come to the realization that the road to being a Graphic Artist who's awesome enough to get steady work is a hard one, especially outside a major metropolitan area. (Quiet, Otto- I've applied to literally hundreds of jobs that I am well-qualified for, that would allow me to take the same train to work as you and snuggle in your arms as you caress your new laptop. I haven't received a single invitation to an interview.) The inbetween times (luckily, I'm quickly approaching the end to one of those) suck a lot. So I want a backup career, and it might as well involve Psychology. I've had fun in every single Psych class I've ever taken, and I soak up the new theories and experiments like a sponge. Besides, I'm itching to get back into college again: I didn't have any really deep lows in my whole college career. It would be great to study at Purchase, but they don't have graduate studies in Psych. So- maybe Peach's program in Albany, maybe one of the 5 colleges in Northampton, maybe UVM (after getting Vermont residency! Same with any state school, I guess.), maybe something in Westchester County or upstate New York. Or on the Guyland.
Got a few things to do first, though. See what classes I have to take to finish up my Psych undergraduate stuff. Take them. Take the GRE's. Take 'em again, if I do as averagely as I did on my SAT's. Impress some adults enuff to give me Letters of Recommendation. Research schools that teach stuff I wanna learn . . . I'd love to take an Animal Behavior class, and I'll need at least one Creative or Play Therapy class. Oh, and get off my ass, do some new moving doodles, and get myself an MFA in Animation or Graphic Art. That's easier (if pricier) to do, but I need to get it done if I wanna teach adults at anywhere more prestigious than the local vocational schools. Not that they're bad places, it's just that I wanna be a Real Professor. With my own office and office hours and everything. Heh, being a Professor of Computer Art is a very clever hybrid of both my parents' professions. Leaning more towards my dad's, I guess, but that's hardly surprising. If I had a rich spouse or something to support me, I'd do my mom's profession in a New York Minute.
I miss NYC. And I've only been gone a little while. Maybe I'll move to New York State in a year, so I can start the residancy thing. Maybe then get an MFA from Purchase, and then start work on a PhD in Psych?
When Manic, anything seems possible. There must be some secret to keeping myself up constantly. Buddhists call it enlightenment. Maybe I need to meditate more.
I hereby promise to get a PhD in Psychology by 2013. Having a PhD will give me many options for a backup career.
Because, really, at the ripe old age of 26, I'm feeling a little too old to be earning an hourly rate that's not based on instruction-hours. I wouldn't mind hopping from one part-time professorial position to another, or being a School Psychologist in lean times. But I don't have much patience left for temp work. I'm having a difficult time working alongside ditzy receptionists, doing a job that most companies leave to well-programed voice mail systems. The filing and data entering I'm doing this week is a welcome change, but it's still frustrating to see my fattest, fullest paychecks fall fifty dollars short of what I had earned, in a much crappier job, many years ago.
I've come to the realization that the road to being a Graphic Artist who's awesome enough to get steady work is a hard one, especially outside a major metropolitan area. (Quiet, Otto- I've applied to literally hundreds of jobs that I am well-qualified for, that would allow me to take the same train to work as you and snuggle in your arms as you caress your new laptop. I haven't received a single invitation to an interview.) The inbetween times (luckily, I'm quickly approaching the end to one of those) suck a lot. So I want a backup career, and it might as well involve Psychology. I've had fun in every single Psych class I've ever taken, and I soak up the new theories and experiments like a sponge. Besides, I'm itching to get back into college again: I didn't have any really deep lows in my whole college career. It would be great to study at Purchase, but they don't have graduate studies in Psych. So- maybe Peach's program in Albany, maybe one of the 5 colleges in Northampton, maybe UVM (after getting Vermont residency! Same with any state school, I guess.), maybe something in Westchester County or upstate New York. Or on the Guyland.
Got a few things to do first, though. See what classes I have to take to finish up my Psych undergraduate stuff. Take them. Take the GRE's. Take 'em again, if I do as averagely as I did on my SAT's. Impress some adults enuff to give me Letters of Recommendation. Research schools that teach stuff I wanna learn . . . I'd love to take an Animal Behavior class, and I'll need at least one Creative or Play Therapy class. Oh, and get off my ass, do some new moving doodles, and get myself an MFA in Animation or Graphic Art. That's easier (if pricier) to do, but I need to get it done if I wanna teach adults at anywhere more prestigious than the local vocational schools. Not that they're bad places, it's just that I wanna be a Real Professor. With my own office and office hours and everything. Heh, being a Professor of Computer Art is a very clever hybrid of both my parents' professions. Leaning more towards my dad's, I guess, but that's hardly surprising. If I had a rich spouse or something to support me, I'd do my mom's profession in a New York Minute.
I miss NYC. And I've only been gone a little while. Maybe I'll move to New York State in a year, so I can start the residancy thing. Maybe then get an MFA from Purchase, and then start work on a PhD in Psych?
When Manic, anything seems possible. There must be some secret to keeping myself up constantly. Buddhists call it enlightenment. Maybe I need to meditate more.