I’m afraid this article is a bit old. I strongly suggest checking out the dateline.

I dig the sestina. You done me proud, Mr. Chris. I’ll be seeing you at your August shindig. I’ll think of more improbable challenges before then.

Mo, we need to get trashed before you head to Chicago. You know… for old time’s sakes.

later all

And I’d like to add:

I was in pretty much the same predicament after I graduated. All of a sudden I was like, “Oh … what I am I going to do with these degrees?” I had kind of forgotten about that practical-application-in-the-real-world step.

What I sort of decided on, though, was that the stuff I wanted to do with the degree wouldn’t exactly rake in the dough. I gravitated toward the English degree because reading and writing are two of the only things I have consistently loved since I was a kid. I gravitated toward WS because I took the intro class and it totally clicked with me, and seemed like something I just had to learn more about.

So after graduation, I was also stuck, and had no idea where to look for a job. I was lucky enough to land a job that combined what I’d learned from my two majors, plus a lot more, but this kind of job wasn’t something I was at all counting on.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that your education can do a lot more than get you a job. Mine has enriched my non-work life a lot, and honestly I wouldn’t be that bummed to get a job that has nothing to do with my degrees and just enjoy the things I learned in college in other contexts.

And honestly, you’ll always end up on your feet. I’d say move to a place that you feel drawn to, and start looking in the classifieds. You’ll find something.

Wow, that was long.

I did not wake up one morning and say, I need to move to Georgia, get married, and don a lab coat to do performance science in front of the kiddies. I need to convince the boss to give me the equipment job because I suck at instruction and his orginization is a mess. I did not say, “Georgia FUCKING Tech!” shit, I have GOT to do some low temperature research there!

Do something. Do something you kind of like. You’ll meet people who do other somethings, somethings you may like more. You can walk with, or climb over the heads of these people towards somethings that are interesting. You’re an extremely smart, analytic dude who can talk to people about smarts AND feelings. Being one, and working around smart analytic dudes who can talk about proton spins, this seems like a pretty magic combo that must be able to make money somehow.

Good luck,
I’m sure everything will work out.
And I wrote that damn sestina