Drum Roll, Please

22. May 2010 · 43 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

I have an announcement.  I was going to wait until Monday, but what the heck.  What I’ve been busy with over the last few weeks has been interviewing.  Interviewing, preparing to interview, researching, etc.  I’ve accepted a position at a nearby Independent school for girls (my own FGS, if you will) as the Computer Science Coordinator.  I’ll be teaching technology and computing for middle school and high school.  Quite frankly, I’m a little giddy about the whole thing.  I can’t remember if I mentioned it here, but I know I’ve mentioned it in comments elsewhere that K-12 was an avenue I was looking into.  I had thought, of course, that I’d end up teaching English.  And, indeed, I’d sent out many applications and inquiries looking into doing just that.  And then this job fell into my lap.  At first I thought, I can’t do this.  On paper, it looks like I can’t do this.  But then, I started thinking about it, learning more about the job and I realized that actually, I could do it and could do it well.

So many interviews later, and a practice course teaching a group of middle school girls, here I am with a new job in a field that I love.  Sure, I love reading and writing and talking about books and poetry and communication, but I think my true passion lies in technology.  And I’m especially excited about the possibility of influencing and mentoring young women to pursue computing as a career.  If I’d had someone like me teaching when I was in middle school, I might be at Google by now. :)   And now, I’m at EdCampPhilly, meeting all kinds of new colleagues, people I can draw on as I’m learning the ropes, so yippee!

Speaking of going back to work

08. April 2010 · 1 comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

Here’s a really interesting article in the WaPo about an over 50 lawyer’s struggle to find work after being out of full-time employment for 17 years.  It is both sobering and uplifting.

On the job front

07. April 2010 · 3 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

I spent several hours yesterday touching up my resume, writing a cover letter, digging through job listings and school web sites.  There were no actual jobs posted in areas that I was qualified/interested in, but two places just suggested sending resumes directly.  So, that’s where I’ll start.  As I turned to the higher education listings, I saw a couple of jobs in my field nearby.  Both were interesting on the surface.  One was at a school that catered to adults returning to school, and that seemed interesting to me.  But then I looked at the course load.  Five courses a semester.  And the other job, four courses a semester.  Plus research. Plus service.  And I sighed.  I just can’t do that.  I know how much work I’d put into class prep and grading, and I’d want to do some research, at least attend/present at conferences if nothing else.  And so, I know I’d feel overwhelmed pretty quickly.  And so I wrote full-time college teaching off my list of possibilities.  Maybe if I’d started back before kids or when the kids were young (and *I* was young), I’d feel more like I could do it.  But being as familiar as I am with the way higher ed works and my own work habits and commitment to students and institutions, I know that I’d be putting in 60 hours a week easily.  That’s not doable for me personally or for my family.

Part-time college teaching still appeals as do administrative jobs in higher ed.  And high school teaching, while nearly as demanding as college teaching, has enough of a balance for me to make it worth it.  No research requirement.  Plenty of time off.  Small classes (looking at independent schools), and the likelihood of being home most afternoons to meet my own kids.  Not to mention no working in the summer.  The thing is, there are things I can outsource if my income increases–housework, house repair–but there are lots of things I can’t.  Spending time with the kids, making sure they get their homework done, being at soccer games, taking them to friends’ houses, going on field trips.  There were times when I worked full time when I couldn’t do those things.  I skipped soccer games to work on my dissertation, for example.  Often, neither Mr. Geeky nor I could make it home to be with Geeky Boy after school and he frittered away his time and fell behind in school.  I don’t want to go back to that.  So I’m being careful.  I think I’ll find the right thing eventually.  And though it’s not an employee’s market, I’m lucky that I can afford to be a little choosy (for now).

Back to reality

06. April 2010 · 1 comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,

We arrived back home yesterday around lunch time.  The dog was ecstatic to see us.  We unloaded the car, called Mr. Geeky and reacquainted ourselves with our house.  I made a trip to the hardware store and the grocery store.  Because the weather was so nice, I planted my herbs in little pots I’d just bought and started cleaning up the driveway.  Afterwards, I spent one last free moment reading outside with a glass of imported Scotch ale I’d picked up on our trip.  It was a thoroughly pleasant way to unwind.

6 a.m came quite early this morning, but we all managed to get ready and out the door relatively quickly.  Geeky Boy did forget his lunch, but otherwise, it was a smooth morning.  Today, I begin “operation income.”  As I’ve said many times before here, we’re not hurting financially, but we are limited by my not having an income to speak of.  I have several irons in the fire that I’ve basically let cool off too much.  So, I’m reheating those efforts.  I am finishing the book this week if it kills me.  I’m also going to do some more writing in this venue, which I’ve only managed to contribute to once a month or so.  And I’m going to see if I can make anything out of the business again.

But, I’m also looking at more traditional routes for producing income, i.e. a real job.  I’m open to all kinds of things, though my experience points mostly to teaching, and I enjoy that work so that is likely where my efforts will be focused.  However, I’m open to working in cultural institutions, writing, or working locally.  Basically, I’m looking at this as an opportunity to learn, not just as a way to make money.  I’m open to doing something completely different.  I’ll keep you posted on the possibilities and results.

Meanwhile, here’s some pictures of Gracie, who apparently does not like Easter:

Gracie "playing" with the bunny.

The aftermath

Jobs

24. March 2010 · 3 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,

I’m on a million job lists.  When I started planning to quit, I had already looked for and even interviewed for some jobs in my field–English professorships and/or instructional technology.  So I had those lists/searches and still do.  After I quit, though I decided that doing my own thing was the way to go for the foreseeable future, I didn’t want to close off any options.  So I subscribed to different lists–things coming from craigslist, a local cultural jobs site, and a general search that included words like “writing,” “technology,” and “blogs.”  I see a lot of interesting and sad things.  Some observations:

  • Jobs in my field are increasingly more like A/V tech than anything to do with education
  • Part-time jobs are available if you want to work the desk at a museum or theatre or be a juggler/clown
  • There are plenty of jobs for technical/medical writers
  • There are plenty of jobs writing proposals of various kinds–sales, grants, etc.
  • There are jobs writing curriculum that pay less than minimum wage
  • Blogging jobs, ditto. ($2/500 wds.)
  • Crappy programming jobs are plentiful and pay well, but probably suck the life force out of you.
  • Most of the faculty jobs I see are in the medical field.
  • I often see lots of the same positions offered by the same company–big red flag.

If I were really looking for employment seriously, I’d be more focused about my search and probably use good old-fashioned networking in addition to these lists.  It’s been interesting to see at least a slice of both where the jobs are and what jobs actually pay a decent salary.