thought

[lolamatopoeia]

Tudor and I were talking briefly about applications, about PhD's and academia in general and I mentioned how I never really saw an end point to my academic journey when I started graduate school (or, even during my undergrad). I just assumed that I would go on afterwards and continue into a career in a university, as a professor. I didn't consider anything outside of that and I really, really, really should have. I chose to get a Master of Arts degree in English Literature because I like books, and I didn't want to stop being in school. I was very wrong, and I've got years of being virtually unemployable and miserable to show for it.

If I were to do it all again, I explained to him, if I would have known that a PhD was not for me (since I'm still not sure it is, even though I'm applying) I would have chosen a more marketable, career-focused, Masters program - like professional or creative writing, or library sciences, or museum studies. I could pursue a lot of the things I'd like to professionally with any one of those degrees, and would have turned out much more employable and possibly much less miserable.

If I were really able to do it over again, though, I realized with absolute resolve - I would have done an MFA instead and studied Art History and learned to be a better painter and sculptor. In such a program I would have pursued the things that bring me so much joy I can feel it in my fingertips and I would be marketable to galleries, museums and other cultural institutions where I would flourish. Yes, absolutely - if I could go back I would have done an MFA instead. And flourished.

This may not seem like much to you reading it, but to me that knowledge feels like a revelation. I felt the need to document it in some way. If I were to do it again, I would pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree, and painted and sculpted and studied the masters, instead. I know this for certain, I wish I would have known this then and followed my first instincts.

I think that if I go to New Zealand I will definitely pick up my third teachable subject and become qualified to teach Art as well.

A second Masters would just be silly though, wouldn't it?

Comments

[adventureman.livejournal.com]

A second Masters would actually be really awesome.

The folks running Adventure Man!'s program tell us constantly that people who do Masters programs in Museum Studies are much much less employable than people doing college-based programs like ours. The A-Man! isn't exactly sure if that's true, or just something that they have to say.

The point there was probably that a career-focused Masters program may not have been more helpful.

So you shouldn't feel bad.

Or something.

Fire me! I'm already fired!

[heavenlyevil]

Actually, I heard that too from some of my more honest profs doing my MLIS. It's funny though, because the MLIS is a requirement for most of the full-time library jobs, yet in order to get jobs in a related area instead I'd have been better off with a library tech diploma.

[lolamatopoeia.livejournal.com]

Get both, cover all bases - haha!

[heavenlyevil]

I'm thinking about that too, to be honest. But at the moment I think computer courses would be more interesting.

[lolamatopoeia.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Oh, and you're totally fired (again).

I can see their point about those with a Masters being less employable than a college-based program. Masters programs, in general, tend to be much more theory based than skill based. Masters like English Lit or History or Philosophy and such are the obvious theory heavy ones, but even more specialized, career-focused, Masters programs are more based in theory than a college based course (if there are other factors I'm ignorant of in this generalization though, I'd welcome correction).

As such, I don't think that it would be useful/advantageous/sane of me to embark on another Masters - if I were to do it over again though I would absolutely do a Master of Fine Arts degree instead. When I got out of school and was looking for jobs that interest me I found, more and more, that what most of the dream jobs had in common were a MFA (or equivalent experience, blah blah blah) - nowhere did I find listed a Master of Arts degree in English Literature as a requirement. I may or may not have been still be in the same spot I'm in now, but at least I could have studied something I really, really, really love and move on from there.

From here on in it's all about the college courses - I'm going to Teachers college next, and I think that I'll pick up some courses in things that interest me, art and creative-wise, along the way.

Now, to get this PhD idea out of my head and out of my life ...

[heavenlyevil]

During my time getting my MLIS (which is career-focused the way Western does it), there were people there who had a Masters degree already and they are much more likely to get a job than I am. The few that had Ph.D's got snapped up by university libraries right away.

I would love to go to college and take programming/systems admin courses. There's a program starting in September that I've been eyeing. In the meantime, I'm going to be taking bookbinding home study.

In short: more education is a good thing. Plus, it lets you figure out exactly what you want and you can shoot for that.

[lolamatopoeia.livejournal.com]

Bookbinding home study? Where do I sign up? Seriously! I would LOVE to learn bookbinding! At home? How? What? What do I have to do to get in this course because that sounds too awesome to be true!

Ugh, can you imagine though getting a PhD and, after 4-10 years of working your ass off at it and having to go back to school for something else on top of that just to be employable? You spend 4-10 years buried in a library because of your research, and then have to go back to school again in order to work at the library? Alright, I'm just making assumptions here - and I know how awesome it is to work at a library - but with a PhD too? C'mon. Mind you, they may be making six figures by now.

Are you enjoying the program though? How much longer is it? I'll pray for some old librarians to retire for you and open up some jobs if you pray for some old teachers to retire within a year or so for me to get a job when I'm out of school :).

[heavenlyevil]

http://cbbag.ca/HomeStudy.htm

It's not accredited or anything, but it's a rare enough skill that I don't think that matters at all. They will give you a certificate if you do all 6 (the last one must be done in person).

I think it's great, because it's possible to make books that are completely practical and books that are pure art, or anything in between. Plus, it means I'll be able to repair books in-house if I ever find a job around here.

I'm as mind-boggled as you are about the Ph.D plus library school thing. One lady in particular had 2 Masters degrees already, plus her Ph.D and was going for the MLIS. She's on co-op at UW (Davis, I think) until the end of the school year, but I wouldn't be surprised if they hire her on after this.

The MLIS experience at Western was both beneficial and completely infuriating. Mostly because little has changed for them in the last 40 years, and they are proud of that instead of doing something about it. It can be done in 12 months, which is how I did it. But I don't recommend that unless you consider food and sleep to be of little importance.

If I had been willing to spend more time on it, and move further away, I would have went to U of T or McGill for it, to be honest. My reasons for going to Western had little to do with the program itself.

I'll definitely be sending retire vibes out to any of the teachers I get near. You'd think with the kind of pensions most of them have that they'd retire as early as possible. Most of mine did.

[bibliotropic.livejournal.com]

You and I are thinking some of the same thoughts, my dear.
Here I am, in solidarity with you. Give 'em hell.

[lolamatopoeia.livejournal.com]

Really? What are some conclusions you've come to? Any tips or further words of solidarity?

At this point, I am reconsidering putting in an application for the PhD program. I don't know if it's right for me, and right now it feels like a crapload of stress that I'll be putting myself through for the rest of the month for something I'm not even sure I want.