what the fuck am i getting myself into with this grad school stuff

anyways I'm pretty sure the answer to this quarterlife crisis is to find and marry a rich heir/heiress and make them finance everything you want to do

; )

yeah, that seemed like the answer when i was in my early twenties too, ;_;

dyao ur an excellent nu addition 2 ilx - maybe the best of 2009 - and we will totes get thru this together

btw this isn't a quarterlife crisis, it's a thirdlife crisis. i'm taking 65. then it's hunter s thompson or i die anyway from nature

it would be a terrible fucking shame, nay, waste, for you to wear those teeth only as far as 65.

seriously, if you go hunter, aim above the nose and i will claim ur teeth

aw ~thankin u~ louis

http://www.hindmansettlement.org/files//images/handshake.jpg

my lower teeth are slightly wonky, my upper teeth almost worthy of america, so i will honour that request

dyao i accept the shake and speaking of hands over the next few weeks will ilxsearch the word 'dexterity' before adding to yr wonderful thread; there is much that is dextrous in this world

also sinister

shaking w/ left hand = either masonic or too busy w/ right hand already

Being hard-left of politic and yet desiring to create special or individualistic art is the hardest conundrum my moral mind has to deal with. I hope it resolves itself well. Can any of you think of something that discusses this conundrum? A touchstone for me to explore?

― 102. LJ: British. 5. (acoleuthic), Wednesday, December 9, 2009 6:53 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masturbation

― iatee, Thursday, December 10, 2009 4:41 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark

hard and sinister 4u

Maybe Adorno? Don't fancy him much myself.

http://chronicle.com/article/Graduate-School-in-the-Huma/44846/

Graduate School in the Humanities: Just Don't Go

They are excited by some subject and believe they have a deep, sustainable interest in it. (But ask follow-up questions and you find that it is only deep in relation to their undergraduate peers — not in relation to the kind of serious dedication you need in graduate programs.)

They received high grades and a lot of praise from their professors, and they are not finding similar encouragement outside of an academic environment. They want to return to a context in which they feel validated.

They are emerging from 16 years of institutional living: a clear, step-by-step process of advancement toward a goal, with measured outcomes, constant reinforcement and support, and clearly defined hierarchies. The world outside school seems so unstructured, ambiguous, difficult to navigate, and frightening.

With the prospect of an unappealing, entry-level job on the horizon, life in college becomes increasingly idealized. They think graduate school will continue that romantic experience and enable them to stay in college forever as teacher-scholars.

They can't find a position anywhere that uses the skills on which they most prided themselves in college. They are forced to learn about new things that don't interest them nearly as much. No one is impressed by their knowledge of Jane Austen. There are no mentors to guide and protect them, and they turn to former teachers for help.

They think that graduate school is a good place to hide from the recession. They'll spend a few years studying literature, preferably on a fellowship, and then, if academe doesn't seem appealing or open to them, they will simply look for a job when the market has improved. And, you know, all those baby boomers have to retire someday, and when that happens, there will be jobs available in academe.

this doesnt sound like anyone i know!

just kidding, it sounds like me and 80% of my friends!!!

not gonna read that. will cause weeping.

No one is impressed by their knowledge of Jane Austen.

NO ONE!!!!!

actually it doesn't describe my situation very well, it describes the academia bubble certain people are content to remain within. my problem has been wanting to get ahead in the real world and finding myself unable.

I read that article a while back. I don't agree with its argument. I agree that if you have any doubts about whether going to grad school in the humanities is right for you, you shouldn't go, but that's because the stress in achieving at a level adequate for hope at getting a job and ultimately a promotion is so high that you need to love this more than you love anything else; and doubt is a sign that you don't.

also, LJ it describes the situation in America.

yeah in england they use jane austen as money

whereas here in the usa we party in the usa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmKnQjBf8wM

yeah caek posted that article back in november (and other people have also sent it to me, apparently assuming everyone goes to graduate school to escape the "real world" and never ever considers what their career prospects might be afterwards, so this is at LEAST the fifth time i've seen it).

(also, graduate school on fellowship does not just "sound like" a good place to ride out the recession, it IS if you're not leaving a good job to do it. i have several friends who are unemployed or have only been able to find part-time or temp work over the last year after losing their jobs, most of them are either living with or living off their parents again in their mid-20s, and yes, two of them are applying to go back to school in different fields - i have a really hard time finding anything to criticize there.)

Guys, I gotta remove my bookmark from this thread. Way too depressing.

For me, though, I'm not sure whether I'll end up with a tenure job somewhere, but I love my studies. So I don't see myself as ducking out of a bad economy. I see myself as studying what I love for a few years. If I end up with a career from it, great. And if I don't, I'll still be leaving school with two (or three) extra languages, tons of writing skills, and some teaching experience, and I can't imagine that'll hurt no matter what I go into next.

haha that article. kamerad first posted it here in february '09. nothing new under the sun.

ha jesus i didn't even notice it was a year old

grad school is still the same

no one has said anything on this thread that wasn't already in the groening cartoon ned read in high school

Mordy you do have an excellent point about school itself being worthwhile, I have to admit I fucking love it most of the time (and am really glad I worked after college to fully appreciate it).

I'm getting close to the time when I'll have to be applying to funding bodies for PhD monies. In the humanities. Lols. I am considering it very unlikely, but I really don't know what I'll do if I don't get anything, since the "take three years off to work full-time and save up enough to be able to study part-time, while working to pay the bills, over, ooh, seven years?" option sounds... less than ideal. Ayayayay.

Applying for grad school is expensive if you went to four universities. (Total cost of sending these four transcripts = $55, Boise State charging $15 extra if I want them to mail instead of fax.) (Also did not help that my mom lost my childhood immunization records & had to get MMR titers for $110 to prove to U. of Arizona that my parents weren't crazy in the '80s altho they are forgetful now.)

not to mention application fees and gres. some people take the gre multiple times but damn, that's $120 (or was it $140? don't remember!) a pop! are you doing applications now abbott?

gre hee hee

GRE was $150 (plus the $40 taxi ride there & back to the weird-ass non-bus-route strip- mall the place was in). I am doing apps right now & so is my husband + sick dog = defs emptying the pantry of pasta type of month.

geez, they've raised the price again. best of luck to you and your husband (and your dog ;)

Oh shit man this is all worth it bcz if nothing else I got to see this letter one of my faves people, a dude who I just respect & love so much, wrote for me. The kind of praise that will sustain you for a few years. I'm like almost in tears here.

:D

haha i have trouble reading those letters! had a rec written weeks ago and the guy attached the letter to an email to me and i still haven't read it. even though i know it's very good.

http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/files/2010/01/educationalattainment.png

fml

gonna fucken treasure my half-percent

max, i'm guesing that factors in loss of earnings from loan payments? or is that the type of work taken with advanced degrees forgoes income from more profitable jobs elsewhere?

finding it hard to credit those as absolute figures, certainly.

i think they mean a person with a doctoral degree made 10% more in 1999 than in 2008, it's not decline in the same individual's earnings. right?

ok, got you.

so in real income terms the higher qualifications are becoming less of a relative advantage over time?

oic now