tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post4300380626312691398..comments2024-03-18T04:15:27.703-05:00Comments on Balancing Jane: On PhDs, Dreams, and Coulda-Shoulda-WouldasMichellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07801229525416203656noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-83701651117063637012012-07-24T08:24:40.001-05:002012-07-24T08:24:40.001-05:00I think your point about your original passion gro...I think your point about your original passion growing into a new career path is a really important one. I think a lot of the frustrations graduate students face stem from realizing that their programs are very track-minded without leaving the flexibility for other possibilities open. And really, isn't possibility and flexibility what that in-depth level of thought is supposed to be about? Isn't that where we get our best ideas?Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07801229525416203656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-58530684926739222842012-07-23T22:18:48.629-05:002012-07-23T22:18:48.629-05:00I finished my PhD for similar reasons. Although I...I finished my PhD for similar reasons. Although I am doing a total 180 now (although my original passion for my new career stemmed initially from my academic work), I am still glad I did it. <br /><br />For me a lot of it came down to this: I wanted to write a book on the subject I was researching. So I wrote a book on the subject I was researching. By the time I started thinking about changing careers, I had already come upon this awesome and under-research area, and I just couldn't let go off those voices. And I got paid to not let go of them. Granted, I barely got paid a living wage. But we made do, I managed to work mostly from home for the first 4 years of my kids' lives, and I wrote the book I wanted to write. Sometimes I cringe when I realize I will be 35 before I finally have a CAREER instead of a job (which is what academia was for me, and I was sort of aware of that all along -- or at least after my first totally naive years -- because I knew we wouldn't leave NYC). But I accomplished something I wanted to accomplish. That's not, as they say, nothing.<br /><br />(And I never had to take out a loan, which really would have changed the whole thing for me, I'm sure.)robinahttp://smallthingsgrow.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-14626222163142879312012-06-03T20:10:42.127-05:002012-06-03T20:10:42.127-05:00Hi, and thanks for reading! One of the main things...Hi, and thanks for reading! One of the main things that I have to remind myself is that it's not a race, it's my life. I'm not trying to get to an arbitrary "finish line." I'm trying to get the experiences that I want throughout my life, and for me that means weaving all of these things that are important to me together. Good luck with your pursuit! One of my students just finished her bachelor's degree this year, and she's near 50. She'll be starting her Master's program in the fall.Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07801229525416203656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-27991890891015689702012-06-03T14:26:34.984-05:002012-06-03T14:26:34.984-05:00Here via Feministe: Thank you for this post. I am ...Here via Feministe: Thank you for this post. I am also behind in school. I'll be 30 this year, and just starting the 3rd year of working on my bachelors degree. I'm determined to get a PhD if it takes me until I 80 to do it. I have good reasons, but one of my stupid reasons is that I want to be called Doctor. I'm fortunate that my family is willing and able to support me for the next two years of school so I'll only have to work part-time, and I don't have children yet (though we'd like to). But once I move on to grad school I'll be down to part-time school, full-time work and possibly a baby in the mix. It's good to know that someone's been there first, is able to make it work, and doesn't regret it.Mabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08524943063925386824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-49740216105791406332012-05-31T13:45:46.747-05:002012-05-31T13:45:46.747-05:00Great post. I've felt much the same way at tim...Great post. I've felt much the same way at times in the past. I have definitely had the anxiety that not getting a PhD will close doors for me in terms of the kinds of conversations I can participate in (especially since we share a passion for developmental education). If you can swing the time and the funding, I can see why you'd chose to stay in.Laurenhttp://www.mamanervosa.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-39876041857766299902012-05-30T21:38:26.758-05:002012-05-30T21:38:26.758-05:00Go get your Ph.D.! I never regret getting mine. Le...Go get your Ph.D.! I never regret getting mine. Learning will always be an asset. That said, for me it was good to leave academia. But I'm still glad I got that Ph.D. And tenure and promotion.Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01216616459705692371noreply@blogger.com