Posted by Emme on February 27, 2004, at 8:23:36
In reply to Re: Nag, as requested » Emme, posted by pegasus on February 26, 2004, at 11:46:52
Hi Peg.
> I tend to be a bit embarrassed about my PhD, because it's so far off from what I love.
Don't be embarrassed by it. Think of it as showing that you're versatile. All folks have multiple interests, right? And...being trained to be analytical could be helpful in your new career. You know, analytical enough to help people take apart their problems and empathetic enough to be supportive and all that.
> I think a lot of it was about getting that external validation that you mentioned. You know, doing hard science to prove I'm smart, and all that.
Yeah. I think there may be a side of me that had something to prove. But that side wouldn't have won out if I didn't honestly feel interested in the science. Now I'm applying for academic jobs and a big part of that is wanting to mentor students. If I try for a research job somewhere, it'll be because I want to do research that will be of value to the environment. So I'd like what I studied to be a vehicle for things I feel strongly about. Whether that actually happens given the job market and my need to move on and find a job, well I'll find out.
> Turns out that I didn't get any validation from teh people I wanted it from anyway.
That's too bad. I hope you felt some internal validation. Unfortunately, along with the really cool parts of my program, I also felt really incompetent a lot of the time. That wasn't good. But I guess that's my internal baggage. I think I'll have to fight feeling incompetent no matter what I do.
> I went through a big episode in therapy about changing careers. My T, of course, was all for it. But I thought I'd used up my one chance to choose a career, and that it was too late to try again. Plenty of fuel for self hate there.Boy that rings a bell. Big time. That's good that you pushed through that. How long were you thinking about it before you made the plunge? An MSW program isn't really a good option right now for practical reasons. But I'm going to definitely keep it in mind if I want to give it a go at some time in the future.
> But it's so incorrect! Life is full of chances, it turns out.
Thanks for the reminder! I have to keep telling myself that.
> So, what's your dissertation topic?In a quick sentence, the chemistry of iron in groundwater and aquifer sediments. Were you in an environmental science program? I think I saw your topic mentioned in one of the posts above and it looked like the sort of think someone might have done in my department.
What kind of work are you doing now?
Okay, now if anyone on this board knows me, they're one step closer to figuring it out. :)
Emme
poster:Emme
thread:316982
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040219/msgs/318166.html