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Porkchop_express
Trad climber
Gunks, NY
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 24, 2008 - 10:00pm PT
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Thanks a lot Melissa. I would like to be put in touch with your brother. I hadn't thought about the possibilities of teaching elsewhere in the US as being a significant possibility. I did notice a nice little community college minutes from the Buttermilks when I was out there a couple months ago...made my heart skip a beat. But i gotta get the degree settled.
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Nov 25, 2008 - 02:54am PT
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Porkchop,
jstan has it right. Having a career you love is most important. I think your undergraduate background gives you more possibilities than you realize. Have you considered law? If you don't get sucked into the megabucks (and megatime) practice, you can make a good living, with lots of time, and be very intellectually stimulated. One of my best friends in law school got diverted from a Ph.D. program in philosophy, another from one in English. Two of my professors had Ph.D.'s in philosophy and J.D.'s as well, and had joint appointments in the law school and the philosphy department.
I practiced law for nearly thirty years, and greatly enjoyed it until a very severe depressive episode (not caused by the practice) forced me to make some lifesyle changes. I've taught commercial law and bankruptcy in law school, and economics at the community college level, and I love both. I've also managed to develop a low-pressure practice where I can work like a per diem nurse -- for as long or as little as I like. Most importantly, I only work on cases that interest me.
I guess this is a long-winded way of saying that you should pursue what interests you. It's wonderful to get paid for doing something fun.
John
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BASE104
climber
An Oil Field
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Nov 25, 2008 - 09:50am PT
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This is kind of a tough question. This is how I did it...
When you are about 16 to 18, climb all of the time and be a dirtbag. Being a dirtbag and climbing all you want does have its advantages. I would take odd jobs for a few months a year and then live off of lentils the rest of the year.
It wasn't until I was 32 that I got married and had a kid. Then I hunkered down and worked full time as a petroleum geologist. I am on the rack now. No time off. It was nice to just do what I wanted for all of those years, though. I can't imagine working a real job and doing it.
I now cherish that time, and the people and memories I had enjoyed for those years. I never even felt poor. I owned the whole world.
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alpinered
Trad climber
blue 1980 scout
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Man oh man what a thread. If you're still reading this porkchops maybe you should be an english teacher, because you can obviously make your way through a lot writing on the same thing.
So I'll add my voice into the heap. Careful with the guiding and Outdoor Ed. The work season is typically the season you want to be playing. I work as an instructor for an Outdoor Ed joint, and it's a blast, but getting to Peru last summer was like pulling teeth.
So we've all said it, but do what you love. If you don't know what you love, just pursue what excites you. I think the key is to pursue something. I've lived out of my truck for the last two years and it's been the dirtbag dream. But it has severely limited me on what I can pursue. Don't sweat what to pursue. You do it, and if you like it keep doing it. If not, change what you're doing. We don't live in a world where you have one job for life, our options are endless and I think that's what paralyzes us from making a choice. Things always change. I'm working through AMGA cert's right now, but have been sidelined by some serious tendonitis. There is no one thing that will satisfy us, and when I had to stop climbing for a bit I had other things to do with my life.
"There is nothing with which every man is so afraid as getting to know how enormously much he is capable of doing and becoming" Soren Kierkegaard
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Michelle
Trad climber
El Frickin' Paso
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what, nobody mentioned joining the army.. ? climbing shoes fit in the connex.
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Porkchop_express
Trad climber
thats what she said...
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 9, 2008 - 07:23pm PT
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Well the armed forces do not accept diabetics...not even to sling hash in a chow hall overseas. my sister is in the Marines and told me about all the loot (tax free) that the civilian support workers got (in the neighborhood of 60k per year, which is a sh!t ton of money to me) so I looked in to doing that for a year even. No dice. I cant judge though, it would probably be a detriment if I was over there.
Maybe truck driving? Im trying on different hats still, ya know...or modeling...my wife has friends who can get me gigs but I hate NYC.
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Brian
climber
Cali
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I can help clarify a few things here about the university teaching gig.
Yes, the job market in philosophy is very tight. Moreover, if you are going to try to teach at a 4-year school, you may have to move to a less desirable place. As a climber I basically only applied to schools west of Denver and in New England (and outside the country) and everyone thought I was an idiot (but it worked out!). Any school worth its salt has a philosophy department, which actually has nothing to do with English in most universities. The problem is not that universities don't have philosophy departments, it is that there are more Ph.D.s out there than jobs. That being said, the old adage that there is always room for "good" Ph.D.s is mostly true.
As a man, English might be a touch better at the university level, if only because it is one of the few disciplines that is gender imbalanced in favor of men (i.e., more women in English doctoral programs) which may help on the job market.
If you really like philosophy (or English) and climbing, go for it. I climbed 5+ days a week all through grad school and, as I noted above, my job now allows for loads of climbing.
Finally, Melissa is right about the community college gig, which can be great. You only need an MA, and you still get the good lifestyle. Lots more teaching and grading in most cases, but still a good choice.
Teaching--assuming you (1) like the subject and (2) like teaching--is an excellent choice for a job, with benefits, that allows lots of time to pursue other life objectives (e.g., climbing). I don't have your additional medical concerns; but, for what it is worth, I think that issue would make guiding much less attractive. Get a job that will allow you to stay healthy, including covering you ass in terms of insurance, and keep climbing for the long haul.
Best of luck.
Brian
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pimp daddy wayne
climber
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I peel in Vegas. It pays really well and I climb year around. If you want to make real money this is it......
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