tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post2092449556373602689..comments2024-03-27T06:58:00.659-05:00Comments on Balancing Jane: Do What You Love, Love What You Do: Chasing the Carrot and EducationMichellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07801229525416203656noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-72363977164404758382012-08-01T14:19:33.461-05:002012-08-01T14:19:33.461-05:00Amen!
We only get one shot to live this life and ...Amen!<br /><br />We only get one shot to live this life and it is sad to know that there are people out there who do things they do not love; who are forced to spend their lives according to others' expectations; who do not have freedom to make a decision on their own.<br /><br />Well, success is still possible by learning to love what we do, but it wouldn't be as easy and effortless as when you already love what you do to start with.secretstaff.comhttp://www.secretstaff.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-45730470409673220262012-05-14T08:54:04.513-05:002012-05-14T08:54:04.513-05:00I'm certainly not saying that this is true for...I'm certainly not saying that this is true for everyone, but I work with students who are entering into graduate degree programs. They're committing themselves to YEARS of training, and if it's not something they love, they shouldn't do it because they're going to be competing against people who do love it. My advice isn't meant to be trite, and I recognize that there are a lot of factors in play as far as making the life that you want (as you mention, your job is enough to pay for your "wants," so possibly one of those is the thing you love? Your love doesn't have to be your career.) But since I am working specifically with students who are trying to find what they love out of careers and that are planning to go to graduate school to find that path, I think this advice is very relevant.Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07801229525416203656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-17513424064564837282012-05-14T08:40:11.452-05:002012-05-14T08:40:11.452-05:00That's great advice for those who know what th...That's great advice for those who know what they love. Me? I'm 30 years old and I've tried a number of things, and I just don't think there's a career out there for me to love. I like camping, so I tried being a camp counselor. Turns out I don't like being responsible for kids. I like video games, so I thought I could be a game designer. Turns out I have no talent for programming. I love animals, but I found out after volunteering at a shelter that I'm just too sensistive for a job with animals. In the end, I got an associates degree from a "fad" tech school and I work a boring cubical job but it pays me enough to cover my mortgage, enough of my wants, and I get three weeks of vacation a year. Not everyone has a calling. And that doesn't even take into consideration how many people just don't have the opportunities to find a career that they actually enjoy (if everyone did, who would be janitors or work at mcdonalds? our society isn't structured to give *everyone* opportunities). So for most people, I think the advice to do what you love is not just trite, but irrelevant.Ellennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-44516286002424839332012-05-08T13:14:03.954-05:002012-05-08T13:14:03.954-05:00Yikes. That is a disheartening article.
I think ...Yikes. That is a disheartening article. <br /><br />I think it speaks more to the (perhaps antiquated ways) that we frame what you can do with a graduate degree. There are not enough full-time professor positions and too many graduates who have had their eyes set on the few positions that are available. <br /><br />While stats like these may support an argument for not going on to graduate school, I still don't think it supports trying to chase a degree in something you don't love just because it happens to be the hot job.Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07801229525416203656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-24385763305584489322012-05-08T11:22:53.212-05:002012-05-08T11:22:53.212-05:00Up until this morning I would have applauded and a...Up until this morning I would have applauded and agreed wholeheartedly. Then I read this:<br /><br />http://chronicle.com/article/From-Graduate-School-to/131795/<br /><br />and now I just feel sick to my stomach-- as I'm months away from finishing a PhD in the (apparently useless) field of anthropology. Yikes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-76545561196437890092012-05-08T10:46:15.143-05:002012-05-08T10:46:15.143-05:00When I was getting my degree in English Writing, I...When I was getting my degree in English Writing, I had people snickering behind their hands at it, asking me if my parents really supported that decision, etc. etc.<br /><br />And yet somehow I'm gainfully employed doing a job that I love (web stuff for a major non-profit) and the fact that I can put coherent sentences together because I know how to write well is helpful every single day.<br /><br />I also think sometimes that a college degree is partially a piece of paper telling employers that you can toe the line and are willing to put up with a modest amount of bullshit and rules and regulations and can turn out work that meets those requirements.Emily WKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-50025723128996169642012-05-08T07:50:40.245-05:002012-05-08T07:50:40.245-05:00I agree with you 100% right here: "What I can...I agree with you 100% right here: "What I can teach you is how to communicate clearly, how to write effectively, how to think critically." *That* is what is usefull in every field. Why can we grade papers on how to solve a rubic cube, wether ford or chevy is the best truck, and what a work of art we have never seen means. English is the one field that crosses *ever* field. Tech schools like Devry and Phoenix are fads, like Atkins and low-carb, but a well-rounded education will help you adapt to whatever career path you find yourself on!Amanda R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08321763390879484704noreply@blogger.com