attention seeking: Tweed's preferred career

[© tweed]

I'm in a holding action now, I'm a home health care aide for my grandfather, and I am well compensated for it.  however I'm not sure I'd like to keep doing it after his death; taking intimate (there is plenty of ass-wiping and piss-emptying involved, to be graphic) care of a loved one and a stranger are two different animals.

there will be a time when this ends, when he dies or becomes too sick/feeble to be taken care of at home.  at that point, my options will include

-continue to pursue the health aide/nursing field.  white male nurses/aides are in high demand.

-leech off my mother and work odd jobs here and there.  the leeching is not mutually exclusive with other options, she's quite emotionally dependent on me (her only child, and I suffered a life-threatening illness in infancy that manifests in some PTSD-type issues, overprotective, and so on.)  long and short is, she has money and lacks the emotional ability to "kick me out" no matter how much talent I waste.

-suicide.

-try to market my existing education and resume, most likely into some kind of 'office work' (banking, human resources, non-profit community organizing work, etc.)

-or go back into the hallowed education system and pursue something further.  I listed two areas in the poll that I've kicked around in my head a bit.


thanks in advance to any and all who offer input.

[J-Mann]

The health / nursing track pays well and, if you're into that sort of thing, can be very rewarding. You ought to be able to pursue a track that doesn't involve a lot of ass-wiping or bodily fluid duty, though something specialized may require more education.

You're in a unique position of continuing your education, and I'd say as long as it's not a financial burden on your mother, her generosity (or emotional dependency) could land you a better career track and work out well for you both.

Personal opinion: I'd stay away from theology as a career. It's a hobby, at best, unless you plan to be the next Joel Osteen. 

[Lief 🗽]

Are you still an aspiring morman, Tweed?

[© tweed]

The health / nursing track pays well and, if you're into that sort of thing, can be very rewarding. You ought to be able to pursue a track that doesn't involve a lot of ass-wiping or bodily fluid duty, though something specialized may require more education.

yes.  I'm able to work in my current situation without any certifications at all.  however 'real nurses', even the unionized ones with genuine living wages, tend to work in highly pressurized (and understaffed) environments, and as a young nurse explained to me over a beer one night, "If I screw up it might cost somebody their life."  not the most alluring thing to my mind.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

I almost certainly agree.  grad school departments in the humanities and social sciences are universally reported to be insufferable, and the tales I read from some theology PhD candidates make me think it's no different.

Are you still an aspiring morman, Tweed?

no, nothing like that.  Mormons barely qualify as having any 'theology', to begin with.  they have one accepted mode of reading their doctrinal texts (what we would call 'literalism') and an omnipotent human magisterium that even the pre-Reformation RCC would pine for.

[politicus]

Is your interest in theology purely theoretical or have you considered a M. Div.?

[King]

become one of those pretentious holistic alternative medicine docs with questionable credentials

[patrick1]

Find something that brings you enjoyment or satisfaction, then find a way to get paid for it.  It's trite advice, but really I think crucial to remember.  You spend so much time of your life working.  You get stuck at a soul crushing position and many other dominoes can fall. I think this goes doubly for people apt to depression and substance abuse.

[Beet]

Sometimes, there aren't any good options. I dropped out of a PhD program in political science (one of the top 10) to be a computer programmer. I can honestly say it was probably the right decision. I give 8 hours of my day to something completely meaningless in exchange for a modicum of security and freedom for the rest of my life.

[© tweed]

Is your interest in theology purely theoretical or have you considered a M. Div.?

it's hard to say where hobby ends and seriousness begins.  the only school that I've spent any length of time looking at is Union.