I haven't made any substantive posts here for a while, so here's one, if short.
I've become pretty tired of not having a job, and particularly
frustrated with going down one path, only to have that not work out,
and then feeling like the time spent going down that path has been a
waste. So I've decided to take a new approach, one in which I'm
pursuing multiple paths at the same time. I'll briefly list these paths
here and discuss their pro's and con's.
1) Marines.
This path works on all levels. I'd be serving my
country and working in a team. I'd improve my leadership skills and my
ability to work with and lead people. It would help me with future
career options. It is the most difficult path, and the most dangerous.
My goal is to have a reasonable PFT by April 2007. Thus April is a kind
of deadline for this option. If I did not meet the goals by April, I
could potentially continue to pursue this path while pursuing another
path, but it would have to become secondary to actually performing well
in whatever path I ended up on.
2) Firefighter.
I'd been sort of rolling this one around in my
head for a while, and I noted recently a sign at the ASU fitness center
that the Tempe Fire Dept. will be accepting applications next week. So
I thought I'd add this one to the list of potential paths. This too has
a long lead time, as the entire application process won't be finished
until February, as (as I understand it) even if I get through that
entire process, then actually being hired requires waiting on a list
until a spot opens up. This path has the benefit of doing some good,
and serving on a team, where one has serious responsibilties to one's
teammates. However, this path doesn't really appear to have any
significant career potential. There is a security component to a
certain degree, but it is on a smaller scale, so while it would be
rewarding, it would not have broader implications. This option has a
deadline of sorts in February, but other local cities will have
application processes that begin on different dates, so this has more
of a rolling deadline.
3) Aforementioned security-related federal job.
This is sort of
the complement to the firefighter job. It doesn't have the strong
teamwork aspects, but it does have significant career potential. It
also has a strong national security component, which is a plus. The pay
for this one is better than options 1 and 2. The security background
check is supposed to take about nine months, so the deadline for this
option is about June or so.
4) Economics graduate school.
This path is not an actual job, so
it would be a net outflow of cash rather than inflow. Thus one can
argue that the pay for this is worse than options 1 and 2. However
eventually, after getting the Ph.D, the pay would be better than 1, 2,
or 3. I have to submit an application by December and I will hear back
from schools around March, I think. I don't know what the deadline for
actually agreeing to attend would be. This option does not have any of
the national security nor teamwork/character-building benefits of the
first three listed options. It would be intellectually stimulating, but
that's about it. It's highly unlikely that I would get into a top
program, given that when I finished my undergraduate degree, it was not
with an eye to graduate school. Hence I did not take hard math classes
nor did I complete a senior thesis project.
5) Foreign service
This path is very similar to #3 except that
it would be a more interactive job rather than just a desk job in
Washington writing reports all day. The foreign service exam is given
in April and results are available in July. Like #3, it has good future
career prospects.
6) White House Fellow
This is a one year program. Again, it is
similar to #3 in many ways. Probably a good deal better for career
prospects than anything else listed. It is highly selective, only 20
out of 1000 applicants are generally selected. The applications are due
in February. This isn't really a long-term path, as it is only a
year-long program, but completing this would open up more options than
currently are available.
