Another Turn

Not much has happened in my life since my last post. It is pretty much the same. However, my career path has taken another turn. It is no longer going to be in international development. I have missed the window for that. I also realized I am not disciplined enough to work in this field since there is a lot of working independently. I am getting better at discipline but I don't have enough of it.

So what exactly do I have in mind now? Working with kids. Probably helping them, too. I still like to and would like to incorporate that into my future career. I have ruled out teaching from my volunteer experience where I did a lot of raising my voice and telling kids to do their homework. I can not handle a group of kids even if they are a bunch of little kids. At the end of the day, it's just tiring. I did some research into child psychology graduate programs. A lot of the graduate programs are aimed at creating researchers and academics in the field. That's not what I want to do. The other option I came across is a career as a school psychologist. The graduate program wouldn't take as long (3-4 years, whereas the child psychologist path is about 5-6 years). I also wouldn't need to basically go back and take a bunch of psychology courses to get into programs. I would just need to take some. The only thing is I have to go talk to a counselor at the community college first to see if I could still get into grad school with the coursework I did as an undergrad. It's been 8 years since I graduated. Could I still use those courses to fulfill my undergraduate requirements?

Just before writing this post, I came across this blog written by a school psychologist. Reading about what one of her days is like, made me smile. This is pretty much what I would love to do for a career. I love school, I like/love kids, I love helping them. This must be it. Now it's just a matter of studying for the GRE and taking those psychology courses to prepare me for grad school.

the foundation program

in my research, i've come across this before and only yesterday have i really taken notice of it:  foundation programs in u.k. universities. typically a one year course of study for certain fields of study for entering undergraduate students who lack the educational background needed to apply for an undergraduate study. these students could be career changers like myself, or maybe students who feel they need more time to prepare. completing and passing the foundation year they are usually admitted into the bachelors program at that same university but can also apply to other u.k. universities.

it is one year. basic courses in that field make up the program. somehow that is enough to prepare the student for entry into the bachelors program. fortunately, many universities offer the program i need: science and engineering. i've look through just about all the universities that came up in the google search. in a lot of these foundation programs for engineering i will need to take statistics, chemistry, organic chemistry, calculus and physics. and that's just the advanced courses. i may also have to take the lower math: algebra, geometry, trig.  great... well, i was already thinking of enrolling in a junior college at home and taking statistics and chemistry.

compared to the u.s., it is light in math courses. before i thought i would have to take so many of the classes i already took--basically doing the bachelors degree from the very beginning. interesting that a bachelors in the u.k. only consists of courses for your major. there are no general education courses. perhaps they (u.k. students) already took those classes in their high school equivalent. therefore many bachelors program in the u.k is only 3 years.

i already know which program i want to do for my master's (though that can change if i find something better). i just need to figure out which foundation program and which bachelors program will best prepare me for the master's.

scary to think that i can leave as early as next fall.

what now?

i went out with one of my friends yesterday. we got to talking and i told her about my plans for grad school. as we talked she would stop to tell me that i don't sound passionate about my career aspirations. i told her that that's because i have no previous experience working in international development. that i don't know where my place is in this. how does one become passionate about something you've never done before? i remember she wasn't passionate about going into teaching either when she first started. (i had asked her then if she's always wanted to teach. she said, no). anyhow, she then suggested i try the peace corps to get my feet wet to see if this is something i really want to do. i told her 2 years is too much for me. i could do 6 months, maybe 1 year. she then suggested i go for 6 months or however long i could stay and then if it's not for me then i can leave. otherwise, i know it would give me that experience and it may answer the questions that i have right now.

throwing peace corps into the mix now makes me more confused about what my next step should be. it isn't a bad idea. it makes a lot of sense but it will push me back another 2 or 3 years. sigh.

a new chapter

today i went to barnes & noble and bought a book on the g.r.e. test prep. as i was flipping through each book i couldn't help but feel like, "wow. this is it. i am going to grad school. this is the next big chapter of my life." exciting.  first though i have to take the g.r.e.

i have continued to do research on schools.  i came across this awesome european program for humanitarian aid that involves 7 universities around the world. the program itself is only 16 months long. there are 4 semesters or quarters, i think. the first week of the program the students take off to the university of warsaw for an intensive program. they then return to do the first semester at their home university.  the first semester is the same at all participating universities. the second semester you apply to another school and study there. you then come back to the home university for your third semester, however, you can also go to another university, if you wish. during the summer you go do research abroad supervised by professors. the last semester you work on your theses.  the school i'm looking at is the university college of dublin. tuition is less than american schools but after i added in the price of this special program plus the graduate diploma (which i will need to get before admission to the masters program) plus cost of living for three years, it's just as expensive as its american counterparts.  another thing i don't understand yet is that each semester, you take around 6 classes?! i wonder if the classes are as intensive as the classes in american universities.

although it seems like i have already determined my course of study, i haven't. international development or humanitarian studies? some schools offer humanitarian studies as almost a minor, there are a few classes regarding this study. other schools don't offer humanitarian studies at all. sigh.

pisces

being born a pisces can be frustrating at times. sometimes very frustrating. we are undecisive peoples - but only sometimes. out of all the fish's characteristics, that one frustrates me the most. i once spent two hours deciding between two backpacks. having options is not always a good thing for us. now my new dilemma are all the options for grad school that i have. a) i could apply to grad school, then go to france in the meantime, then start grad school. b) i could apply to this school's certificate program (it's four classes), then apply for a master's degree at another school after. c) this school offers everything i could want in a program but its one of the most expensive schools out there. d) i want to study french but what if i can't defer enrollment...the questions and options are endless.

the last time i had to make a major decision (it was about my most recent trip to france), i had done a ton of research in the four years leading up to it. i would have to say it was the best choice and maybe my only choice (it was either that or not go and continue to be miserable).

in the meantime, i will need to study. i will need to learn how to write research papers all over again. i am currently studying how to write better. next i will need to study for the g.r.e. then i will need to think about what to write for my letter of intent. even more difficult will be trying to find professors who can write a rec letter for me - i studied art; that might be a problem. my cousin suggested one of my professors from the language school school in france. i hope that will be good enough. if not, i was thinking trying to get a hold of one of my art history professors. i hope, again, that i still have one of the papers i wrote for her class somewhere.

ouch.

thinking ahead a few years when i will possibly be in grad school, i finally got to doing the math properly for one year of studying and living in london.  it is a lot more than i previously thought but still less expensive than going to a good school in the u.s.
 
  costs for one year:             tuition                                $27000
                                                     cost of living                      12000
                                                     rent in private flat           17000-21000
                                                     total                                    $56000-67000

 hmm... now i need to do the math for paris.

quoi?

i'm looking at some previously bookmarked pages regarding ngos and humanitarian work.  all of a sudden i see a link that i didn't notice before.  i click it and the website in front of me mentions french universities that offer international development, ngo, and humanitarian degrees.

anyhow,  if i want to work for a french organization, i have to go to their schools, first.  at least that's what i think.   however, if i want to work for an international organization with offices in france, i may not need to.  i'm not too sure on this.  however, i would still need to be fluent in french.  if i have a degree from outside of france, i will absolutely need to have the right to live and work in france.  it would be easier to do it through a french education.

well, this does make things more complicated. there are schools in france for humanitarian and international development studies.  if i want to study in france, i would have to go back to a language school and have my french at a high level to get into one of their universities.  darn it.  that's at least another 6 months.

here is my list of preferred schools so far:

• Ecole Superieure de Commerce et Developpement, Lyon France 
• Universite Paris 1, UFR 11, M2 Pro - Coopération Internationale, Action Humanitaire et Politiques de Développement
• London School of Economics