Sometimes I say that Rebecca and I are just like any normal couple. Well, as normal as a couple can be when one of them is in med school and the other is in grad school. Advanced degrees don't lend themselves well to normal lives.
So a normal part of our abnormal lives is finals week. We've both worked hard all semester and expect to do well, but there's still that looming uncertainty. In my case, I have one exam, a presentation, and an online portfolio. I have no idea how many exams Rebecca has, but probably a lot. She's done a week from today and then will fly out to visit family in California for a week or so. I'll be staying home trying to work on my thesis.
During my undergrad, I once blogged about how school is kind of like a video game - each year is a level, and the end of each semester is a save point. Graduating is beating the game.
Not too much longer.
Oh, but there are always more levels. The super secret boss is trying to get a postdoc after your Ph.D and then there's a second super secret boss that's trying to get an elusive tenure-track faculty position. Finally, you actually have to get tenure and by then you're in about grade 35.
ReplyDeleteI've tentatively decided that I'll stop before the tenure-track position. I'm interested in educational policy, so I'd like to work with a think tank, PAC, or even just a local or state government to get students the language support that they need and deserve. Maybe I'll change my mind if I find a program I really love, but I'm not sure that I want to be required to produce research on a certain schedule.
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