So. Job.
More newsing on the job search front. Well, not "newsing," silly, "musing!"
Still haven't found a perfect fit. Nothing close, even.
There are tons of environmental engineering-type jobs around but those seem, on the whole, not so interesting. I mean, it's clearly not science, at least not in the sexy basic science or innovation kind of way. The same holds for most construction-related or engineering-type jobs. I could see myself getting pretty bored after a while.
Consulting? Nope. Too much time spent, not enough real result. Finance? Eek, nope. Moral qualms between client obligation and ideals, probably. But generally I don't like playing with money too much. Also highly competitive, which is not my cup o' tea.
Policy is likely a no as well. There are good hours and decent pay, but I'm pretty certain things can easily get muddled in bureaucracy, leading to frustration and vitriol towards "the process." EPA has an office in Seattle, but it's unclear how effective they are in that region.
Nonprofit activism, while the polar opposite of management consulting, ends up being cut out for the same reasons: not enough return on investment.
Nonprofit philanthropy (e.g., Gates Foundation) is iffy. It would be interesting because someone would effectively be paying me to do what I like doing, i.e., reading up on the latest and greatest, but at the end of the day I would merely be an enabler -- not a doer like I would like to be.
As much as I think being a cook/chef would be an ideal career, it isn't for me. Lots of manual labor on my feet, long hours, low pay -- just the kind of thing I've had enough of as a grad student.
This leaves science-based jobs. A postdoc is not out of the question, if it helps me get to where I want to go. And where do I want to go? Unfortunately, that's gotten more nebulous. My advisor tells me to leverage my background -- my strengths -- because that will make me much more desirable on the job market.
Lesee...I've done air pollution chemistry, isotope geochemistry, molecular reaction dynamics, spectroscopy, and optical physics during my tenure as a would-be scientist. The only one with any obvious real-world leverage is air pollution chemistry, which I've already established as a potential bore several years down the road.
I've thought about going the semiconductor/nanoparticle route, i.e., for solar cells and the like. But I just haven't been able to get too interested. It seems like there is a lot of fiddling with solar efficiencies, much like spectroscopy is plagued by overcompensation by way of pushing detection limits. There's certainly a lot of work to be done here -- just maybe not by me.
More of atmospheric chemistry would be okay, I guess...but I'm starting to get antsy at the fact that none of what I do is obviously useful. It's all very interesting -- explaining strange phenomena, providing tools for future study, etc. -- but I'd like to see something really happen because I was intimately involved.
It would be interesting to own a business, or get involved in that sector of the world. Lots of travel is good. Lots of money is good. Pushing strong, smart products into the marketplace is good, and definitely something I could get behind. I also have the passive side interest of benevolent manipulation. The rub is that there needs to be either a product or a business I really believe in. Right now there isn't anything, but maybe I need to spend more time on it.
To some extent, it's all bullshit anyway. There's no predicting whether any of these jobs will pan out to meet my life goals in any reasonable way. I could get frustrated with what seems like the coolest job, or get giddy after finishing a good grant proposal as a professor.
So far, only one thing's for sure. I like music, and I want to continue moonlighting as a shredding kickass guitarist.
Still haven't found a perfect fit. Nothing close, even.
There are tons of environmental engineering-type jobs around but those seem, on the whole, not so interesting. I mean, it's clearly not science, at least not in the sexy basic science or innovation kind of way. The same holds for most construction-related or engineering-type jobs. I could see myself getting pretty bored after a while.
Consulting? Nope. Too much time spent, not enough real result. Finance? Eek, nope. Moral qualms between client obligation and ideals, probably. But generally I don't like playing with money too much. Also highly competitive, which is not my cup o' tea.
Policy is likely a no as well. There are good hours and decent pay, but I'm pretty certain things can easily get muddled in bureaucracy, leading to frustration and vitriol towards "the process." EPA has an office in Seattle, but it's unclear how effective they are in that region.
Nonprofit activism, while the polar opposite of management consulting, ends up being cut out for the same reasons: not enough return on investment.
Nonprofit philanthropy (e.g., Gates Foundation) is iffy. It would be interesting because someone would effectively be paying me to do what I like doing, i.e., reading up on the latest and greatest, but at the end of the day I would merely be an enabler -- not a doer like I would like to be.
As much as I think being a cook/chef would be an ideal career, it isn't for me. Lots of manual labor on my feet, long hours, low pay -- just the kind of thing I've had enough of as a grad student.
This leaves science-based jobs. A postdoc is not out of the question, if it helps me get to where I want to go. And where do I want to go? Unfortunately, that's gotten more nebulous. My advisor tells me to leverage my background -- my strengths -- because that will make me much more desirable on the job market.
Lesee...I've done air pollution chemistry, isotope geochemistry, molecular reaction dynamics, spectroscopy, and optical physics during my tenure as a would-be scientist. The only one with any obvious real-world leverage is air pollution chemistry, which I've already established as a potential bore several years down the road.
I've thought about going the semiconductor/nanoparticle route, i.e., for solar cells and the like. But I just haven't been able to get too interested. It seems like there is a lot of fiddling with solar efficiencies, much like spectroscopy is plagued by overcompensation by way of pushing detection limits. There's certainly a lot of work to be done here -- just maybe not by me.
More of atmospheric chemistry would be okay, I guess...but I'm starting to get antsy at the fact that none of what I do is obviously useful. It's all very interesting -- explaining strange phenomena, providing tools for future study, etc. -- but I'd like to see something really happen because I was intimately involved.
It would be interesting to own a business, or get involved in that sector of the world. Lots of travel is good. Lots of money is good. Pushing strong, smart products into the marketplace is good, and definitely something I could get behind. I also have the passive side interest of benevolent manipulation. The rub is that there needs to be either a product or a business I really believe in. Right now there isn't anything, but maybe I need to spend more time on it.
To some extent, it's all bullshit anyway. There's no predicting whether any of these jobs will pan out to meet my life goals in any reasonable way. I could get frustrated with what seems like the coolest job, or get giddy after finishing a good grant proposal as a professor.
So far, only one thing's for sure. I like music, and I want to continue moonlighting as a shredding kickass guitarist.