A Big Move
Geez it’s been awhile since I last updated… I know, I know, I’m such a bad kitty.
What’s been going on in my life as of late? Short answer: Not really much. This summer has kept me rather busy with my work doing research for the Forest Service, and Sakita’s job has him working a shift pretty much exactly opposite of my own, so we haven’t been able to get out and do nearly as much as we would have liked. We’ve barely even spent any time with friends (besides our roommates) this summer, which is rather tragic.
The main reason that I’m writing this post is to inform the few people who will care enough to read it all that my life is about to change pretty dramatically within the next year.
As some of you may have heard, my current advisor and project funder at the RMRS offered me the lead research position on a rather important (.75 million budget, 4 states involved) economics project that I could complete here at the University of Montana and receive my Ph.D. Obviously, having such an opportunity practically spoon-fed to me was enough to make me raise an eyebrow in consideration: the project is bound to receive a lot of attention (especially here in the west), I would have been well funded, and I effectively would be a Dr. by the age of 24… Not too shabby. Of course, with all opportunities that come up in life, there is a cost associated with them.
Some of you out there may be familiar enough with higher education to be sympathetic to my concerns:
1) I’ve already exhausted all the classes available to me at this university that are relevant to my degree and my interests, and I’m only 1 semester into my masters. As it currently stands, I’ve been teaching myself rather advanced mathematical and econometric theory, which has proven to be quite challenging and probably not an efficient use of time.
2) If I stay, I will have completed 2 bachelors degrees, a masters, and a Ph.D. from the same, relatively un-prestigious university.
3) Even though the work that I am doing is entirely economics , this position would grant me a Ph.D. in
Forestry and Natural Resource Conservation, not Economics… Which would limit my credibility in future job applications.
Also, as much as I love Missoula (and don’t get me wrong, I really do love Missoula) there’s a part of me that wants to spend a couple of my ‘younger years’ in a larger, busier city. There’s not really much going on here most of the time, and I think I’m ready for a change for a few years.
So, that being said, my advisor and I had a chat yesterday, and after discussing some of my concerns with him, he concurred (through gritting teeth and a bitten lip (he really didn’t want me to go)) that staying here is probably not in my professional best interest. Seeing as how I have some personal reasons for wanting to leave, it looks like I’ll be moving after I finish my masters next summer.
So, where will the lion be going? Currently, it looks like the most likely location will be Oregon… Either Portland or Eugene. I know several ‘persons of high standing’ at this university that have several Oregon contacts that they would happily pull for me, and I’ve always had a somewhat romantic obsession with the state for some reason (I think all the rain and greenery has a lot to do with it). Other possible locations that have come to mind are Seattle, Denver, and maybe even Edmonton up there in Canada-land. Obviously, the institution will ultimately dictate where I decide to move, however, the city it’s hosted in will play a huge role, and right now I’d prefer to stay in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, and certain parts of California (I.E. not LA and other such cities) and Nevada.
I doubt anyone that’s reading this will know much about economic programs at Universities, but if anyone has any particular suggestions as to institutions that might have a good Economics department (and one that will allow me to focus on environmental economics) I would most certainly appreciate your input. Also, if you happen to live in the fore-mentioned cities, drop me an IM or an email sometime… I’d really like to know various different things about the city, like what the culture, the nightlife and gay community, and the furry community is like, the malls and other ‘entertainment facilities’, if there is a zoo or animal reserve nearby (VERY important to me… specifically one that has lions), and other things like that about your city.
I’ll let you resume your life now.
What’s been going on in my life as of late? Short answer: Not really much. This summer has kept me rather busy with my work doing research for the Forest Service, and Sakita’s job has him working a shift pretty much exactly opposite of my own, so we haven’t been able to get out and do nearly as much as we would have liked. We’ve barely even spent any time with friends (besides our roommates) this summer, which is rather tragic.
The main reason that I’m writing this post is to inform the few people who will care enough to read it all that my life is about to change pretty dramatically within the next year.
As some of you may have heard, my current advisor and project funder at the RMRS offered me the lead research position on a rather important (.75 million budget, 4 states involved) economics project that I could complete here at the University of Montana and receive my Ph.D. Obviously, having such an opportunity practically spoon-fed to me was enough to make me raise an eyebrow in consideration: the project is bound to receive a lot of attention (especially here in the west), I would have been well funded, and I effectively would be a Dr. by the age of 24… Not too shabby. Of course, with all opportunities that come up in life, there is a cost associated with them.
Some of you out there may be familiar enough with higher education to be sympathetic to my concerns:
1) I’ve already exhausted all the classes available to me at this university that are relevant to my degree and my interests, and I’m only 1 semester into my masters. As it currently stands, I’ve been teaching myself rather advanced mathematical and econometric theory, which has proven to be quite challenging and probably not an efficient use of time.
2) If I stay, I will have completed 2 bachelors degrees, a masters, and a Ph.D. from the same, relatively un-prestigious university.
3) Even though the work that I am doing is entirely economics , this position would grant me a Ph.D. in
Forestry and Natural Resource Conservation, not Economics… Which would limit my credibility in future job applications.
Also, as much as I love Missoula (and don’t get me wrong, I really do love Missoula) there’s a part of me that wants to spend a couple of my ‘younger years’ in a larger, busier city. There’s not really much going on here most of the time, and I think I’m ready for a change for a few years.
So, that being said, my advisor and I had a chat yesterday, and after discussing some of my concerns with him, he concurred (through gritting teeth and a bitten lip (he really didn’t want me to go)) that staying here is probably not in my professional best interest. Seeing as how I have some personal reasons for wanting to leave, it looks like I’ll be moving after I finish my masters next summer.
So, where will the lion be going? Currently, it looks like the most likely location will be Oregon… Either Portland or Eugene. I know several ‘persons of high standing’ at this university that have several Oregon contacts that they would happily pull for me, and I’ve always had a somewhat romantic obsession with the state for some reason (I think all the rain and greenery has a lot to do with it). Other possible locations that have come to mind are Seattle, Denver, and maybe even Edmonton up there in Canada-land. Obviously, the institution will ultimately dictate where I decide to move, however, the city it’s hosted in will play a huge role, and right now I’d prefer to stay in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, and certain parts of California (I.E. not LA and other such cities) and Nevada.
I doubt anyone that’s reading this will know much about economic programs at Universities, but if anyone has any particular suggestions as to institutions that might have a good Economics department (and one that will allow me to focus on environmental economics) I would most certainly appreciate your input. Also, if you happen to live in the fore-mentioned cities, drop me an IM or an email sometime… I’d really like to know various different things about the city, like what the culture, the nightlife and gay community, and the furry community is like, the malls and other ‘entertainment facilities’, if there is a zoo or animal reserve nearby (VERY important to me… specifically one that has lions), and other things like that about your city.
I’ll let you resume your life now.