another revision
Mar. 21st, 2012 02:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
winterbadgerSo, The Finn has been pushing me to think hard about my choices.
She thinks that I don't focus enough on what makes me happy, especially in terms of work.
Now, it has to be said, she is in the "work at what you love" camp. I have always regarded people in this camp as being either (a) very fortunate or (b) insane. Maybe both. :-)
But she's gotten to know me well enough in the past two months to see that my current job is not really thrilling me (to employ polite understatement) and that I feel strongly pulled by the idea of living somewhere new.
To her credit, she's been very altruistic in pursuing the latter, since while she likes me, she is quite happy in DC and doesn't want to leave. But she thinks that I need to focus more on myself and what makes me happy, and to do something about it *now* instead of always finding reasons to put it off.
So I looked again at all the issues involved in moving to the UK. And that's still really a non-starter. Scotland is trying hard to get people to move there, but until something changes, Westminster writes the rules for UK immigration, and they continue to make them more restrictive.
On the other hand, a news item caught my attention the other day: Canada is apparently trying very hard to encourage the growth of the education sector in Nova Scotia, including increasing foreign enrollment in university education there. And there are a couple of post-graduate history programs in NS that have very good reputations, according to my friend The History Professor. And a university in New Brunswick has a whole centre devoted to the study of Revolutionary War Loyalists (many of the Loyalists who emigrated during or after the war settled in the Maritimes).
I'm actually very excited about that idea. Seriously and professionally studying 18th century history (or Canadian military history, or early modern British history--several appealing Canadian unis have scholars who specialize in those fields) would be a big departure from what I've done up to now. But after 20+ years of (effectively) using my PoliSci degree, maybe it's time to go back to my other undergrad discipline and try working on that for a decade or two. Maybe teach, maybe do professional research and writing, maybe turn to historical fiction.
Now, of course, there's a snag. Which is that most of the Canadian unis' admissions close in January or February, so that has to be a "next year" thing. There's a possible opening in my current employer for work that I'd find more interesting than my current position. I've talked to the person who runs that section of the company, who I've worked for in the past and who is enthusiastic about finding me work there. If I were to get that, I could do that for a year, saving up some more money and taking the time to make sure my applications were as good as they could be. If I can't find work there, I might stay where I am or follow through with my paralegal training plan, so as to have a backup. If I can get into Dalhousie or St Mary's or UNB, and find that I enjoy academia, I might continue on that track, see if I can complete a doctoral degree, maybe even stay in Canada. If not, I will be that much closer to New England. :-)
At the end of the day, the one thing I can say for sure is, it's nice to have someone pushing me to do what will make me happy, instead of what they want me to do.
She thinks that I don't focus enough on what makes me happy, especially in terms of work.
Now, it has to be said, she is in the "work at what you love" camp. I have always regarded people in this camp as being either (a) very fortunate or (b) insane. Maybe both. :-)
But she's gotten to know me well enough in the past two months to see that my current job is not really thrilling me (to employ polite understatement) and that I feel strongly pulled by the idea of living somewhere new.
To her credit, she's been very altruistic in pursuing the latter, since while she likes me, she is quite happy in DC and doesn't want to leave. But she thinks that I need to focus more on myself and what makes me happy, and to do something about it *now* instead of always finding reasons to put it off.
So I looked again at all the issues involved in moving to the UK. And that's still really a non-starter. Scotland is trying hard to get people to move there, but until something changes, Westminster writes the rules for UK immigration, and they continue to make them more restrictive.
On the other hand, a news item caught my attention the other day: Canada is apparently trying very hard to encourage the growth of the education sector in Nova Scotia, including increasing foreign enrollment in university education there. And there are a couple of post-graduate history programs in NS that have very good reputations, according to my friend The History Professor. And a university in New Brunswick has a whole centre devoted to the study of Revolutionary War Loyalists (many of the Loyalists who emigrated during or after the war settled in the Maritimes).
I'm actually very excited about that idea. Seriously and professionally studying 18th century history (or Canadian military history, or early modern British history--several appealing Canadian unis have scholars who specialize in those fields) would be a big departure from what I've done up to now. But after 20+ years of (effectively) using my PoliSci degree, maybe it's time to go back to my other undergrad discipline and try working on that for a decade or two. Maybe teach, maybe do professional research and writing, maybe turn to historical fiction.
Now, of course, there's a snag. Which is that most of the Canadian unis' admissions close in January or February, so that has to be a "next year" thing. There's a possible opening in my current employer for work that I'd find more interesting than my current position. I've talked to the person who runs that section of the company, who I've worked for in the past and who is enthusiastic about finding me work there. If I were to get that, I could do that for a year, saving up some more money and taking the time to make sure my applications were as good as they could be. If I can't find work there, I might stay where I am or follow through with my paralegal training plan, so as to have a backup. If I can get into Dalhousie or St Mary's or UNB, and find that I enjoy academia, I might continue on that track, see if I can complete a doctoral degree, maybe even stay in Canada. If not, I will be that much closer to New England. :-)
At the end of the day, the one thing I can say for sure is, it's nice to have someone pushing me to do what will make me happy, instead of what they want me to do.
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no subject
Date: 2012-03-21 07:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-21 07:32 pm (UTC)Have you thought any more about checking out some paralegal program yourself? The G'town one is snazzy, but it's also expensive and time-consuming; there are many other options.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-21 07:32 pm (UTC)As for your last statement--That's what all your friends have been attempting to do for you for years, sweetie.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-21 07:40 pm (UTC)I know, my dear; some of you have been staunch advisors of the "do what is right for you!" school. This was more in the way of "...as compared with past partners." But definitely *hugs* for you, as you have always been firm about how I should seek broader horizons.