The 14th and 15th of January, 2009

[JonPorobil]

There was no thread for the 14th. It's 1:00 A.M. on the 15th where I am, so here's a double dose of DRC.

Tuesday I took the three twelve-week-old degus into the vet for a proper determination of sex, and neutering for the boys. I had made a cursory examination, and determined that we had two boys and one girl (we named them Bart, Lisa, and Millhouse). The vet determined that Lisa and Millhouse were both girls, and that Bart was a boy. She drugged the li'l guy, made an incision, and had a hard time getting the appropriate parts of come out. All of a sudden, a certain part of the anatomy made itself more visible, and it became apparent that Bart, too, is a girl.

D'oh!

The vet called me up after the surgery and began the conversation with: "So here's what happened." Isn't that a great way to start a conversation with a pet owner who just left the life of his pet in your hands?

God my veterinarian is AWKWARD. I mean, it's like that literal doctor from Arrested Development.

Question of Yesterday: Are there any professionals you deal with on a regular or semi-regular basis who are just, you know, kind of weird? Who, and what about them?

And then, of course, I've been telling people about the new job. I'm working for the same bank as the old job, through the same temp agency that let me go before Christmas. I can't really give them points for a speedy reassignment, but at least I have a job now, and the pay is higher than it was before.

But the reaction I keep getting, from parents (one of whom funded my college education) and former classmates, is "What does that have to do with your degree?" This is kind of old news; since graduating last May, I've been a baker, a political canvasser, a professional staple remover, and now a bank/mortgage customer service representative. And I have a B.A. in English.

So, the Question of the Day is: If you're already settled into a career, how long did it take you to find your field? And if you're not, then do you have any ideas?

[Caravan Ray]

I had made a cursory examination, and determined that we had two boys and one girl

Yeah...I've been that drunk too. That was a crazy night.

[HeuristicsInc]

When I was in elementary school and watching shows about "The Making of Star Wars" and such I wanted to do special effects for movies. And we had a computer back in those days too, a TI 99 4A, and I wrote a bunch of programs. When I was in high school they started offering a computer science class which I took. I guess it was about then that I decided to pursue CS. So I took that in college. At that time my favorite class was graphics, so I was thinking that I could still do movie stuff, but do it digitally. Maybe. I went to grad school, CS again. There I specialized a bit more into geographic databases. It was around this time that I realized that it was hard to get into movies ... and that I didn't want to move to CA. So I got a job to do software engineering, with a big part of it being geographic databases. Since then I work on that stuff and simulations. It's been since 1997 at the same job (different projects), so I suppose I've settled in there. I guess that's a long way of saying "yes" since it appears that I've been settled in a field for years !
-bill

[Paco Del Stinko]

I work in a psychiatric hospital and some of the weirdest people are the professionals, especially the doctors. One we call Dr. Stink, one we feel was once a woman, another is a midget lesbian. In the past there was one who wore sandals and said he operated on his own testicles, another who got caught shoplifting, one who had been a male model, then a doctor, then went missing, only to be found naked and insane in a room wallpapered in his own feces. I'm sure there are weirder, but those'll do for me for now, thank you.

[jast]

I work in a psychiatric hospital and some of the weirdest people are the professionals, especially the doctors. One we call Dr. Stink, one we feel was once a woman, another is a midget lesbian. In the past there was one who wore sandals and said he operated on his own testicles, another who got caught shoplifting, one who had been a male model, then a doctor, then went missing, only to be found naked and insane in a room wallpapered in his own feces. I'm sure there are weirder, but those'll do for me for now, thank you.

Those sound like exactly the people I'd like to care for me should I ever need treatment.

QoY: no, though I know very well that there are weird people in pretty much every profession.
QotD: I'm still a student. Should I ever manage to graduate I have at least three vague ideas what I could do. One is software development, possibly combined with managing a small team of developers of my choice (see QoY). The other two are too hazy to be serious so far. I'll probably keep them in the part-time/hobby department for now.

[ujnhunter]

Say YES to midget lesbians! Even better if they dress up like clowns... big clown shoes on midget lesbians FTW!

QoY: The landscape architect we deal with at my office must have had a really fun time in the 60's & 70's... thats all I know.

QotD: My field was chosen for me... kinda... I used to make prosthetic legs! Hurt my back in a lifting accident... and couldn't work there anymore because it required me to lift more than I was allowed to after fixing my back. I was sent to a tech school, and the only option I had there was to learn CAD which was fitting as I was already a computer geek makin' my own musicz & artz on my puter... So now I'm a CAD Man. It took 1 year to find my career!

[JonPorobil]

QoY: The landscape architect we deal with at my office must have had a really fun time in the 60's & 70's... thats all I know.

That's all you really need to know, isn't it?

[Billy's Little Trip]

I used to make prosthetic legs! Hurt my back in a lifting accident... and couldn't work there anymore

Something poetic about that. Like, I need a back but I'm surrounded by legs?

[mrbeany]

My general experience is that BAs in English are mostly useless. There are just too many people with them in most places. A lot of places like to see a degree, they're just not as picky about whether the degree directly relates to the job at hand. -- But really, unless you have a job where you speak in another language you are using your degree!

QoY: I've worked with all kinds of people. I've worked with a male-to-female transgendered person, but she was by far more normal over-all than the fellow that looked like he just walked out of a renaissance fair every day. Personally, I really like the jobs where the "weird ones" are the one or two conservative-looking Christians. But then, I get along well when surrounded by freaks and geeks.

QotD:

My father works in the same field that I work in. When I was young, I really didn't want that to happen.

I picked up programming at a fairly young age. I started so I could cheat at computer games. I had aspirations of making my own game at some point, too.

Anyway, with the help of my father my first and third jobs were in the field. (The second one was cleaning toilets at an amusement park.) For a long while I would say that I didn't know what I wanted to do when I got old (who is to say if you will get taller, but getting old is much more likely), I just knew I didn't want to work with computers... but it is always good, fairly easy money... Periodically my father would pull out these opportunities to work in the tech sector and make good money. "You should apply here." I'd apply and get the job.

So when the stock market bubble burst in the late nineties I was feeling burned out. I thought I wanted to work a job that involved helping people. I had a few different ideas, but eventually I decided to go for social work. I took some classes heading in that direction. While I was going to school, I took some jobs directly interacting with the public. It was around this time that I decided that, well, I just didn't like directly interacting with the public. I really preferred working with computers. Now I'm back working with computers and I'm much happier with it (plus I'm not in the commercial sector).

On a personal note: I've finally listened to the last big batch of Songfight titles I downloaded. This means I've heard all the songs from the present back to the middle of 2004. Just a little further and I'll have listened to a full five years! There have been a lot of really great songs!

And that reminds me, I've listened to this week's songs. There were a lot of really great ones this week. I need to sit down and write my review.

[JonPorobil]

My general experience is that BAs in English are mostly useless. There are just too many people with them in most places. A lot of places like to see a degree, they're just not as picky about whether the degree directly relates to the job at hand. -- But really, unless you have a job where you speak in another language you are using your degree!

Learned that one the hard way already.



Oh well, things don't seem to be completely crashing and burning for me.

[Reist]

My general experience is that BAs in English are mostly useless. There are just too many people with them in most places. A lot of places like to see a degree, they're just not as picky about whether the degree directly relates to the job at hand. -- But really, unless you have a job where you speak in another language you are using your degree!

Learned that one the hard way already.



Oh well, things don't seem to be completely crashing and burning for me.

Uh oh. I'm two years deep into that one.

[Caravan Ray]

My general experience is that BAs in English are mostly useless. There are just too many people with them in most places. A lot of places like to see a degree, they're just not as picky about whether the degree directly relates to the job at hand. -- But really, unless you have a job where you speak in another language you are using your degree!

Learned that one the hard way already.



Oh well, things don't seem to be completely crashing and burning for me.

Uh oh. I'm two years deep into that one.

Repeat after me:
"Do you want fries with that?"

[JonPorobil]

My general experience is that BAs in English are mostly useless. There are just too many people with them in most places. A lot of places like to see a degree, they're just not as picky about whether the degree directly relates to the job at hand. -- But really, unless you have a job where you speak in another language you are using your degree!

Learned that one the hard way already.



Oh well, things don't seem to be completely crashing and burning for me.

Uh oh. I'm two years deep into that one.

IT'S NOT TOO LATE FOR YOU!

On the other hand, I'm not sure that things wouldn't have been easier for me with the same degree in a different economy. I can write very proficiently in a wide range of styles, and I can poofread like nobody's business. It's just that nobody is really looking for writers when their business is tanking. Except for newspapers, but my degree was English Lit, not Journalism or Communication.

[nyjm]

My general experience is that BAs in English are mostly useless.

Mine is quite the opposite. My wife has a BA in English and this has gotten her very rewarding jobs in: a bookstore, where she quickly rose to management and turned a failing store into the most profitable in the chain; a lighting design company, where she quickly rose from shop clerk to accounts payable and one of their most profitable salespeople; and an airplane charter company, where she quickly rose from a self-described "typing monkey" to coordinating the pilots' schedules and travel arrangements.

In each situation, she started as a part-time or temp employee and within a few weeks made it apparent that she was an invaluable addition to the staff. There's a certain amount of natural talent at work, of course, but her English degree was key: it taught her to empathize with people, to analyze discourses of all sorts, to construct sound arguments and to think critically. These are excellent skills that don't necessarily transmit themselves on a resume, but the moment her employers saw my wife at work, they immediately understood her worth.

QOTD: I've been teaching French for 9 years now. At the university level, this means a very long process of apprenticeship (that is, grad school for 7 years). So, I've had my Ph.D. for only about a year, but I've been doing the same basic thing (teaching introductory French, doing service for the university on boards and various organizations, and doing research and analysis of French culture) ever since my first year as a Master's student.

I got into this by a series of defaults. In high school, I loved to write (I still do), and I thought I wanted to become a journalist. Two years on the high school newspaper disillusioned me of that. Senior year, I looked about and thought "what else am I good at?" Well, I had skipped a year of French and was taking the AP French Literature exam (which they no longer offer - *sniff*). So, I became a French major with a minor in secondary education. (I had a fantastic French teacher in high school.) Three years of preparing to teach high school disillusioned me of that. So, what then? Teaching college, of course!

7 years of grad school excited and challenged me. I couldn't be happier with a starting career that has already provided me the chance to publish and present my research and continuously foster young minds inside and outside the classroom. - Oh, and education (especially at the university level) is one of the most recession-proof of vocations. When they hire you on, most universities ensure your salary in the budget in perpetuity.

Next step, a tenure-track position.

[roymond]

I had a music performance degree. So I became an editor at a classical guitar journal. Then learned the first digital typesetting program to take over the journal publishing process. Then learned database programming to take over the subscription management process. Then went back to grad school for programming, got temp jobs programming futures portfolio forecasting at banks, and then landed at Time Inc. doing inventory forecasting for their home video division. Studied digital imaging at night and got picked up by Book Of The Month Club (also at Time) to run their desktop publishing operation (which at the time had two consultants whom I replaced). Built a staff of 30 to bring all photography in-house, handle digital imaging, book and catalog templating and designed the workflow to create all their publications. Jumped to Bertelsmann to do more of the same and automate catalog assembly and convert to PDF workflows. Then after building a copy management system there I jumped to the consulting firm we had hired and have been consulting in media the past 9 years. This has included building an online collaborative publishing system for FujiFilm, helping design the satellite distribution system for NPR, building the performance reporting and royalty management system for ASCAP, and building broadcast video DAMs for Televisa and Travel Channel.

Which is to say, I still haven't settled into a career yet.

[mrbeany]

My general experience is that BAs in English are mostly useless.

Mine is quite the opposite. My wife has a BA in English and this has gotten her very rewarding jobs in: a bookstore, where she quickly rose to management and turned a failing store into the most profitable in the chain; a lighting design company, where she quickly rose from shop clerk to accounts payable and one of their most profitable salespeople; and an airplane charter company, where she quickly rose from a self-described "typing monkey" to coordinating the pilots' schedules and travel arrangements.

In each situation, she started as a part-time or temp employee and within a few weeks made it apparent that she was an invaluable addition to the staff. There's a certain amount of natural talent at work, of course, but her English degree was key: it taught her to empathize with people, to analyze discourses of all sorts, to construct sound arguments and to think critically. These are excellent skills that don't necessarily transmit themselves on a resume, but the moment her employers saw my wife at work, they immediately understood her worth.

This reminds me that I've heard that degrees in philosophy tend to do very well for people. They rarely actually get jobs directly related to their degree, but the skills they learned getting the degree appear to give them a leg up in any profession they go in to.

My wife has a BA in English. Of the jobs she has had while we've been together only one didn't make her horribly miserable. That one actually managed to use her skills. In that job they recognized her skills and were rapidly promoting her. She left that job when we moved so I could take my dream job.

It is my wife that says BAs in English are mostly worthless. She focused her highschool classes towards going in to English, got a BA in English, and has made a couple attempts to get a Masters in English.

I, on the other hand, still have no college degree. Yet she's the one that gets to be a stay-at-home parent.

Oh, and education (especially at the university level) is one of the most recession-proof of vocations. When they hire you on, most universities ensure your salary in the budget in perpetuity.

I highly recommend full-time professional positions at universities. I'm professional staff at a university. They don't have the education requirements that teaching has, they tend to be a lot less stress than both dealing with students as well as working in the commercial sector, and they have all the same core benefits that the tenured faculty have.

I work with a fellow that had been working as staff writing software while finishing his doctorate in medieval studies. He got the Phd, but after looking at the job market he found he would make more money, and be under less stress, if he just stayed in his current position.

[Billy's Little Trip]

I can poofread like nobody's business.

Was that sarcasm? Just say no so I can laugh one more time.

[Albatross]

It is my wife that says BAs in English are mostly worthless.

What DO you do with a BA in English?

[JonPorobil]

I can poofread like nobody's business.

Was that sarcasm? Just say no so I can laugh one more time.

That's actually an old joke back from my high school creative writing days. We had a major project due at the end of the school year, and the teachers handed out a packet with very specific guidelines (number of pages, number of sources, formatting style, scope of subject matter, etc), the very last of which was "And most importantly, remember to poofread [sic] your work very carefully -- typographical errors will count against you!"

Now, whether they did it on purpose or not, the jury is still out.

[Billy's Little Trip]

I can poofread like nobody's business.

Was that sarcasm? Just say no so I can laugh one more time.

That's actually an old joke back from my high school creative writing days. We had a major project due at the end of the school year, and the teachers handed out a packet with very specific guidelines (number of pages, number of sources, formatting style, scope of subject matter, etc), the very last of which was "And most importantly, remember to poofread [sic] your work very carefully -- typographical errors will count against you!"

Now, whether they did it on purpose or not, the jury is still out.

You could have just lied and said no for me.

[mrbeany]

Uh oh. I'm two years deep into that one.

IT'S NOT TOO LATE FOR YOU!

Really, Reïst. You should ask around about your job prospects after you finish the degree. This is considered a standard part of going to college, so no one should think it strange -- not even your parents. It could be that in your area you have a mysterious hot-spot of demand for BAs in English.

At most schools most of the first two years is covering the general education stuff that everyone going there needs to take. So you probably have taken enough to minor in English, most places do like people who can communicate well, so it isn't like it was time wasted.

The other thing to remember is that it can be emotionally valuable to separate your true passion from what you do to make end's meet. There are people who get degrees in English because they like to write, but then they get a job using English that makes them want to avoid doing extra writing. Separating your passion from your day-job allows you to focus your free time on your passion without sacrificing anything to make it fit in to someone else's image of "profitable".

It is also important to remember that I've heard that at this point people change entire occupations about every 7 years. That is not jobs, that is entire fields. This is one of the reasons places like the degree, but don't always care if it is directly relevant to their field.

[Reist]

The other thing to remember is that it can be emotionally valuable to separate your true passion from what you do to make end's meet. There are people who get degrees in English because they like to write, but then they get a job using English that makes them want to avoid doing extra writing. Separating your passion from your day-job allows you to focus your free time on your passion without sacrificing anything to make it fit in to someone else's image of "profitable".

That's pretty much what I'm doing at this point. English is definitely not my passion.