(no subject)
Ugh. Lately I've started to really wonder what I want to do with my life... There is still a big part of me that wants to go out into the industry for a few (5 to 10) years, start working on my doctorate and retire into teaching/research. However between my lab work and trying to set up my own computer, I'm starting to think that computers hate me, vice versa, and that I don't want to deal with them at all.
I've never thought more about leaving this path of my life than in the last few months. I've spent 6 years working on 3 degrees, and now I'm thinking about doing something else... no... anything else. I've been presented with the option of... well, Options. 3 of our alumni work at the Board of Trade. It's a thankless job for the first year to two while being a clerk and taking classes, but once you're a trader, the lifestyle increases quickly. Days get shorter and the pay goes up. So it's not going to be a temp job. I would probably have to commit to doing it for at least 5 years for it to be worth anything to me, and it doesn't fit anywhere in line with my long-term goal of teaching/research.
It's also been suggested to me to stay in the field I've been working in for 6 years, University Event Services. There's definitely a love/hate relationship with that field. I'm good at it, I've got experience in it, and if I'm in the right spot, I love doing it. But laregly, dealing with the university world sucks. At this point, I'm leaning towards it only as an option if I can't find a job in the Computer Engineering field. (and probably only until I do so). It's really not something I want to do for the rest of my life.
Really, I'm just fried... I'm sick of computers for now. I need to not do anything with them for a while, but at the same time, I don't have long to finish my project, and I'm working with stuff that nobody else seems to be able to help me with. My advisor doesn't know anything about the software, but the student who's supposed to has a completely different schedule than me, has caused me long delays, isn't very good at communicating with me, and just isn't helping much. I think I may have figured out the problem, (since the basic thing that's supposed to work isn't even working, so I'm guessing it's a cable issue) but that would mean ANOTHER trip to Radio Shack, so I want to talk to this other student first to see what he thinks...
Hmm... I think it's time to zen out on some chainmail for a bit.
I've never thought more about leaving this path of my life than in the last few months. I've spent 6 years working on 3 degrees, and now I'm thinking about doing something else... no... anything else. I've been presented with the option of... well, Options. 3 of our alumni work at the Board of Trade. It's a thankless job for the first year to two while being a clerk and taking classes, but once you're a trader, the lifestyle increases quickly. Days get shorter and the pay goes up. So it's not going to be a temp job. I would probably have to commit to doing it for at least 5 years for it to be worth anything to me, and it doesn't fit anywhere in line with my long-term goal of teaching/research.
It's also been suggested to me to stay in the field I've been working in for 6 years, University Event Services. There's definitely a love/hate relationship with that field. I'm good at it, I've got experience in it, and if I'm in the right spot, I love doing it. But laregly, dealing with the university world sucks. At this point, I'm leaning towards it only as an option if I can't find a job in the Computer Engineering field. (and probably only until I do so). It's really not something I want to do for the rest of my life.
Really, I'm just fried... I'm sick of computers for now. I need to not do anything with them for a while, but at the same time, I don't have long to finish my project, and I'm working with stuff that nobody else seems to be able to help me with. My advisor doesn't know anything about the software, but the student who's supposed to has a completely different schedule than me, has caused me long delays, isn't very good at communicating with me, and just isn't helping much. I think I may have figured out the problem, (since the basic thing that's supposed to work isn't even working, so I'm guessing it's a cable issue) but that would mean ANOTHER trip to Radio Shack, so I want to talk to this other student first to see what he thinks...
Hmm... I think it's time to zen out on some chainmail for a bit.