I thought I should provide a brief update on my employment situation.
When I started this, I had no job, and, well, to be honest, no real prospects at the time. Not to mention, when one comes off of a PhD program, you may not even feel like doing anything remotely like what you just spent the last six years doing. This is complicated by living in what is basically a dying town. Each week I hear of another friend who has lost their job, or is nervously awaiting the next round of layoffs. Not only is this disheartening, but it leaves me little hope of someone desperate for an employee with solid structural equation modeling experience.
However, as we are nearing the two year point in our new situation, I am happy to say that the years of education have not gone to waste. I am an adjunct professor and I am doing some consultant work that has made me very happy. I get to feel like I have a hand in things, and when people ask me what I do, I don't have to say "unemployed" or "stay-at-home mom." Instead, I'm write down "consultant" for every line asking for employment.
I have found the consulting work to be quite fufilling and challenging enough that I feel like I am a useful part of a team. I am also optimistic that my continued experiences will only lead to more of these opportunities. In my adjunct world, I've been working on committees this quarter, and have found it absolutely fascinating to look at the comprehensive exam and dissertation experience from the other side.
So there is life, after dissertation and after mourning the tenure track.
No comments:
Post a Comment