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[The Shadow]

But more than that, it sucks when you have to make a big decision.

Right now, I'm a full time student trying to earn a BS in Biology. I work a pretty menial job but it's nice because I basically do absolutely nothing and they're very reasonable with the hours. I can be a full time student and not really have to worry about work. It's easy and it's like getting paid to do homework and reading, answering the occasional phone call.

So friday I check my mail and see that I've been offered a pretty nice job. It pays about 2.8x what my current job pays. It's a carrier job as in, I wouldn't have to finish my degree in order to pay off loans, buy a car, or even a house. However, it's full time work. It would be very difficult to schedule time to take classes for my Bio degree. What's more, I really, really like taking classes and my current job is a slacker's job and I'm a huge slacker. Aside from the pay, it's perfect.

I have student loans to pay off though and it will take a while before I can finish my BS. My car is a rolling wreck and although it gets me from here and there, if it breaks down again there's very little I could do to get it working again.

So that's my dilemma. Stop taking classes and my dream of being in research but live comfortably, or continue to live in near poverty while I finish up my degree and enjoy the school life (which I do quite a bit).

To have a decent job or continue to be a student. You wouldn't think it'd be so hard to decide. I basically have a week to make a decision but I'm really racking my brain. I'm in an infinite loop.

 

[galeninjapan]

In the long run you will be happier you finished school and got a degree. Your wallet will also be happier down the road.

 

[Kuramu]

I think i'm pretty indecisive too... or perhaps not.

 

[The Shadow]

In the long run you will be happier you finished school and got a degree. Your wallet will also be happier down the road.

That's how I feel right now. However, I'm just sick of never having any money. I think what I might do is take the job and suffer for the 6 months or a year or however long they adjust my work schedule (they'll adjust it frequently at first I've heard) until I become a regular with a stable schedule. Then I can take classes again, when I know my schedule.

I'm just not sure. My sister called me earlier today and tried to talk me into it, but then again I know she was never big on earning a degree. She thinks higher education is a waste of time.

 

[ChrisReid]

That's how I feel right now. However, I'm just sick of never having any money. I think what I might do is take the job and suffer for the 6 months or a year or however long they adjust my work schedule (they'll adjust it frequently at first I've heard) until I become a regular with a stable schedule. Then I can take classes again, when I know my schedule.

Well, definitely don't count on the job being flexible down the line. It very well may become more stable and easier to take classes later, but you certainly can't depend on that. That being said, I worked full time throughout college and double-majored in four years. It's doable. Didn't do too well in the sciences however and switched over to the financial and political studies after a couple years.

 

[The Shadow]

Well, definitely don't count on the job being flexible down the line. It very well may become more stable and easier to take classes later, but you certainly can't depend on that. That being said, I worked full time throughout college and double-majored in four years. It's doable. Didn't do too well in the sciences however and switched over to the financial and political studies after a couple years.

Well, believe it or not I've actually been thinking about changing my major again and mentally kicking myself in the balls for even considering the idea. After talking to a few friends for a couple of hours one night, they suggested I should do something that I want to do (theology, anthropology) instead of something I think I should do (Biology, Psychology). Both of them are pretty intelligent and I value their opinion a lot. However, they're also a lot younger than me and switching majors at their age would be a hell of a lot more doable for them than it would be for me.

I like Biology a lot but I realize I have a ton of labs to go and while I'm making it now, they're starting to get pretty difficult. I don't know if I can cut it.

I don't think that job will be more flexible down the line. As a matter of fact, I'd guarantee it won't. It's just that the schedule will be more stable and "in stone" so to speak, which would make scheduling classes around it easier.

 

[mrkgoo]

It's funny - at any one moment in your life, it seems problems are insurmountable, and decisions seem like the mos timportant thing in the world. But are they really that bad? In my experience, everything you do, particularly in the so-called 'career-path' of the scientist, means so little when you actually move on up.

Think about it. Now that you'r studying for a BS, how important, or how easy do you think high school was? High school seems like a breeze in comparison, right? You wonder what the Hell you were complaining about back then. It's the same with a BS. You study hard the first year, have problems/issues, but you make it to teh second. Then you wonder what was so hard in 1st, in light of your problems/issues in the 2nd. And it goes on. Partly it's becasue your achievements mean so little as you go higher up. High school graduate? Means crap when you have a BS. BS? Means crap once you've got an MS, and that means little once you have a PhD. It's only there when things start to even BEGIN getting serious.

But such is life. If life were to get EASIER as you went on, then you wouldn't grow. It's important to go through those steps first.

It bugs me somewhat, about the 'career' of the science-type person, at least in biology, and at least in this country. You study hard, you do well, and what is there at the end? A lack of well-paying jobs, and people who studied far less are getting huge incomes. But while they may have better incomes and better job security, but do they have the same kind of interesting and mentally stimulating occupation? As a relatively slack person myself, science as a job can be awesome for that life: work balance.

I ask, why do you feel you SHOULD do Biology/psychology? Why do you WANT to do theology/anthropology? There's what is interesting to you, and what you think will give you a comfortable life. Some people want the former, some want the latter. Some believe they can get both by getting an occupation that ithey enjoy (afterall, it's not a job, if you love it!). For me, life is more important than work. Money means nothing if you don't spend it, and I'm happy to do anything, so long as it affords me a reasonably comofrtable lifestyle - even if my job is mundane - I find happniess elsewhere. Work to LIVE, don't live to work.

But of course, that's me. People like Bill Gates loves working, investing - they see the challenge of making something out of nothing as enjoyable in its own right, and thats fine.

On decisions: Life only goes forward. Every decision you make can really feel like a big fork in the path, and you hope that teh decision you make doesn't send you down the wrong one. But in my opnion, there is no really 'wrong' path, so to speak. Everything that happens has an effect on you, and outcomes can be at times, bad, but they create who you are. You make mistakes, but that's what it means to be human - you learn from them, adn become better. Do things with no regrets, with the kind of self-assuredness so that no matter what happens, or what you choose, you are always happy.

 

[RaymondCarver]

Shadow, I was in the same boat as you. I also realized that Texas State's biology dept. was lacking. I wasn't fulfilled in studying bio any longer, and the labs and chemistries were getting harder and harder. No one seemed like they wanted to help each other study. There was no camaraderie.


I went to my counselor and told him that I was sick of school, sick of having no money. So, I went to work for Sony in sales and tried my hand at computer science, Japanese, and working at Sony--while still continuing biology classes. That didn't make me happy in the least. I just got burned out and depressed. I told my counselor that I wanted out of school fast, and that I wanted a job to where I could just go work to live. He asked me what I liked to do in my spare time, and I told him I'm interested in animation and 3D modeling. He said there's a degree on campus that does that, and I've been signed up for a couple of years. However, this degree isn't all it's cracked up to be, and the equipment seems light years older than what we're actually going to be working with in the field, but I'm happier to be dealing with a facet of technology. Eventually when I graduate, I'll be in something I'm interested in as opposed to just a job in a lab testing medications on monkeys.

 

[The Shadow]

I ask, why do you feel you SHOULD do Biology/psychology? Why do you WANT to do theology/anthropology?

Should? Well, that's kinda complicated. When I was younger I just thought I'd be a scientist. I didn't know what field but I thought that's what I was going to do. I also felt like helping people. If I couldnt' be a doctor, perhaps I could be a therapist or someone that would aid in the search for a cure for AIDS, or that magic bullet that'll kill tumors without hurting surrounding tissue. I felt like it was a destiny or a duty or something. That's what I was supposed to do. I like both subjects so that just reinforced that feeling.

Why would I want to do Theology or Anthropology? The idea of just reading and studying other cultures appeals to me greatly. Unlike Biology or Psychology, they just don't seem like "practical" degrees which is why I never invested time in them. To me, it seems like you can do more with a Bio or Psych degree. What can you do with a Theology degree? In the end, it's not about what I want but what's best for me.

To put it bluntly, I don't even know what I want to do anymore. -_-

 

[mrkgoo]

Should? Well, that's kinda complicated. When I was younger I just thought I'd be a scientist. I didn't know what field but I thought that's what I was going to do. I also felt like helping people. If I couldnt' be a doctor, perhaps I could be a therapist or someone that would aid in the search for a cure for AIDS, or that magic bullet that'll kill tumors without hurting surrounding tissue. I felt like it was a destiny or a duty or something. That's what I was supposed to do. I like both subjects so that just reinforced that feeling.

Why would I want to do Theology or Anthropology? The idea of just reading and studying other cultures appeals to me greatly. Unlike Biology or Psychology, they just don't seem like "practical" degrees which is why I never invested time in them. To me, it seems like you can do more with a Bio or Psych degree. What can you do with a Theology degree? In the end, it's not about what I want but what's best for me.

To put it bluntly, I don't even know what I want to do anymore. -_-

For TheShadow and RaymondCarver: That's the thing - noone actually knows what they want to do - it's not something new, particularly those involved in the biological sciences. Heck, I've been studying biological sciences at Uni level for a good 9-10 years, and I'm STILL not sure it's where I want to be. It's a crazy field, since it seems to lack any kind of job security whatsoever - the career path may be 'set'', but it seems to me that there aren't that many permanent positions in research. There's a lot of money in the industry, but most of that seems to go towards consumables, equipment, adn technology, not so much the people. Not to discourage anyone, because the field is exciting, and in the right environment, very rewarding (mentally) and challenging. Of course, I can only speak for myself at this perspective. I understand the States are much more well suited for biotech stuff.

In the end, the question you have to ask yourself is, whether you want to do something you really enjoy or find rewarding as a career, or something that sets you up for a more than comfortable life outside work. It's entirely possible to do both depending on what you like, and what you consider to be comfortable. Maybe eitehr of your philosophies in that regard could do with some tweaking.