Reality Check
So I've been severely depressed lately, mostly because of this chosen career path. Some of the people on the job market this year said something like a starting-level position was giving $37.5K. I don't know what I was expecting ($45K?), but I was shocked by this amount. High school teachers make more than that, and so do a lot of other entry-level jobs that hire straight-out of college. I know for a fact, just to give two examples, that both an engineering post-doc and a regular industry number cruncher (analyzing psychological profiles of juries; straight out of college, non-degree-specific) make $60K - and the responsibilities and expertise required are far less than for, say, an assistant professor. So I started asking around, and one feedback I got (admittedly not the most experienced one) was that I'd be making $ in the 50s when I'm in my 50s.
WTF? This is poverty level. I could make as much, and sooner, by working up the ranks at my local Starbucks, and becoming a manager there. I feel like getting this advanced degree would be worth it only if I was making at least 60 when I'm in my 30s.
I'll have to get a second opinion on that. But meanwhile it got me thinking about how career-driven everyone is in this profession, and how a lot of women would find it absolutely ridiculous to put a bump in their momentum by having kids and stuff. Would I be willing to sacrifice a real life for $37.5? Hell no! But then I would consider that one needs a man before one can start a family and kids, and I've never been able to keep a man, so maybe I should stop blaming the profession for my simply being pathetic...
On the other hand, I can't shake the feeling that this academic environment IS holding me back, because who the fuck am I going to meet while I'm here? Weird autistic people, that's who.
But to end on a happier note: I had a positive little reality check last night when, brooding over these melancholy thoughts, I browsed through some of the stuff on monster.com. Truly, there isn't a job out there that doesn't suck. So maybe I made the right choice after all.
WTF? This is poverty level. I could make as much, and sooner, by working up the ranks at my local Starbucks, and becoming a manager there. I feel like getting this advanced degree would be worth it only if I was making at least 60 when I'm in my 30s.
I'll have to get a second opinion on that. But meanwhile it got me thinking about how career-driven everyone is in this profession, and how a lot of women would find it absolutely ridiculous to put a bump in their momentum by having kids and stuff. Would I be willing to sacrifice a real life for $37.5? Hell no! But then I would consider that one needs a man before one can start a family and kids, and I've never been able to keep a man, so maybe I should stop blaming the profession for my simply being pathetic...
On the other hand, I can't shake the feeling that this academic environment IS holding me back, because who the fuck am I going to meet while I'm here? Weird autistic people, that's who.
But to end on a happier note: I had a positive little reality check last night when, brooding over these melancholy thoughts, I browsed through some of the stuff on monster.com. Truly, there isn't a job out there that doesn't suck. So maybe I made the right choice after all.
posted by Rex at 11:43 AM
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