![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I've been pondering postgraduate courses again of late, since it's that time of year. It seems I know that I need to do something, I'm just not sure what. Graduate law? A Master's in public policy, or maybe media and communications?
All three of those options are appealing, and all for different reasons. Law would be great because my work in the public service back in Perth showed me that I actually like looking at legislation, nutting out the meaning of certain phrases, the history of the law and how and why society structures itself a certain way. On the other hand, it would mean becoming a lawyer. And that would mean spending time with other lawyers. From what my lawyer friends have told me, this is Not A Good Thing. Plus, while my marks in my undergrad degree aren't horrific, they're not stellar either. They wouldn't get me into a good law program, though I could probably get around that by wriggling into a mediocre law program, working my butt off for brilliant marks and then transferring. It would be the longest of the three qualifications to get, and probably the most challenging to do. Would I like working in the area? Dog knows.
Public policy is a similar kind of job, the sort where you nut out ideas and then apply them to practical situations. This is the one I'm leaning towards at present. It'd mean I could get a job in a government department, but probably not outside a capital city. To make it transferrable to a regional centre I'd have to do a policy qualification geared specifically towards social policy; that'd still get me into a government job if I wanted it but it would also allow for working in the not-for-profit sector. Which would be all well and good if I didn't think social policy was too fluffy for my liking, and if I hadn't seen first hand exactly how fucked up the inner workings of not-for-profits can be.
Finally, there's media and communications. This one allows for work across a broad range of organisations, and it would probably also mean lots and lots of writing. It would also, unfortunately, leave me feeling vaguely dirty, like some kind of sellout to my English Literature and Creative Writing roots. I really don't like the idea of being in a position where I had to consistently defend the organisation I worked for, even if I disagreed with their handling of current issues. There's publications work which doesn't require that kind of blind commitment, but it's less accessible, what with the whole need to be screaming at InDesign and the like on a regular basis.
In short, I want a job where I can:
- write and research,
- feel like I'm not a fluffy bunny in the land of hugs and rainbows,
- make a difference to society
- hold onto (the majority of) my ethics and beliefs,
- choose to live in a major city or regional centre, and
- be happy
Problem is, I think all three of these qualifications would give me most of those things such that I could be content doing any of them. A part of me doesn't want to choose any of those options; the bouncy and esoteric bit of my brain wants to go off and do an Honours thesis in children's literature, or a Master's in Anthropology. Something near-useless from a career perspective.
And another part of me says I'll never be sure. That part of my brain just wants me to dive in there, pick a horse and bloody well ride it.
This is all assuming I could get into something, of course.
All three of those options are appealing, and all for different reasons. Law would be great because my work in the public service back in Perth showed me that I actually like looking at legislation, nutting out the meaning of certain phrases, the history of the law and how and why society structures itself a certain way. On the other hand, it would mean becoming a lawyer. And that would mean spending time with other lawyers. From what my lawyer friends have told me, this is Not A Good Thing. Plus, while my marks in my undergrad degree aren't horrific, they're not stellar either. They wouldn't get me into a good law program, though I could probably get around that by wriggling into a mediocre law program, working my butt off for brilliant marks and then transferring. It would be the longest of the three qualifications to get, and probably the most challenging to do. Would I like working in the area? Dog knows.
Public policy is a similar kind of job, the sort where you nut out ideas and then apply them to practical situations. This is the one I'm leaning towards at present. It'd mean I could get a job in a government department, but probably not outside a capital city. To make it transferrable to a regional centre I'd have to do a policy qualification geared specifically towards social policy; that'd still get me into a government job if I wanted it but it would also allow for working in the not-for-profit sector. Which would be all well and good if I didn't think social policy was too fluffy for my liking, and if I hadn't seen first hand exactly how fucked up the inner workings of not-for-profits can be.
Finally, there's media and communications. This one allows for work across a broad range of organisations, and it would probably also mean lots and lots of writing. It would also, unfortunately, leave me feeling vaguely dirty, like some kind of sellout to my English Literature and Creative Writing roots. I really don't like the idea of being in a position where I had to consistently defend the organisation I worked for, even if I disagreed with their handling of current issues. There's publications work which doesn't require that kind of blind commitment, but it's less accessible, what with the whole need to be screaming at InDesign and the like on a regular basis.
In short, I want a job where I can:
- write and research,
- feel like I'm not a fluffy bunny in the land of hugs and rainbows,
- make a difference to society
- hold onto (the majority of) my ethics and beliefs,
- choose to live in a major city or regional centre, and
- be happy
Problem is, I think all three of these qualifications would give me most of those things such that I could be content doing any of them. A part of me doesn't want to choose any of those options; the bouncy and esoteric bit of my brain wants to go off and do an Honours thesis in children's literature, or a Master's in Anthropology. Something near-useless from a career perspective.
And another part of me says I'll never be sure. That part of my brain just wants me to dive in there, pick a horse and bloody well ride it.
This is all assuming I could get into something, of course.