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SteamPowerDev
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08 Nov 2010, 10:06 pm

I now have a job at Wal-mart. It seems to be mindlessly easy and kind of stupid. I had planned on going to school during the Winter quarter, but it looks like I won't be able to get the financial aid to pay for classes because I turned everything in late. Which is annoying because I thought I was doing it early. I am just worried that I will lose focus between quarters and just end up working at Wal-mart for my life.

Ideally I would like to get a doctorate in Physical Anthropology with a focus on Archeology and Forensics. I have no idea if I'll even be able to accomplish that much, but I would be happy if I could manage to get a bachelor's although I am hoping realistically to get far as a Masters.

I just feel that Wal-mart is a stumbling block, a nice easy job with a paycheck might distract me from my long term goals. It's frustrating.



bucephalus
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08 Nov 2010, 10:11 pm

Then i recommend you draw up a plan - with Walmart being the temporary initial stage of it. By the way, i'm a graduate and wouldn't actually mind working somewhere like Walmart. Maybe the situation is a bit worse in the UK at the moment i don't know



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08 Nov 2010, 10:19 pm

I'm ABD right now and I work. My advice. Just keep your eyes on the prize. And trust me, after a couple month as WalMart you will be the most resolute guy in the world.


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lionesss
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08 Nov 2010, 10:22 pm

Keep in mind that Wal-Mart is temporary and definitely not the final destination of your educational and career journey like the others have suggested. I know it's easier said than done considering I would feel the same way if I was in your shoes but.. remember, it is not permanent.

Mir


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wavefreak58
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08 Nov 2010, 10:37 pm

billybud21 wrote:
I'm ABD right now


What is ABD?



Ariela
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08 Nov 2010, 10:41 pm

All but dissertation



happymusic
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08 Nov 2010, 10:43 pm

wavefreak58 wrote:
billybud21 wrote:
I'm ABD right now


What is ABD?


All but dissertation. Basically a PhD. Nice! :)



billybud21
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08 Nov 2010, 10:57 pm

happymusic wrote:
wavefreak58 wrote:
billybud21 wrote:
I'm ABD right now


What is ABD?


All but dissertation. Basically a PhD. Nice! :)


In academia nomenclature, you can also use Ph.D. Candidate. But I like ABD. Right now I am finishing my prospectus, so I hope to have everything wrapped by the summer, but who the Hell knows. Thanks happymusic! :D


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SteamPowerDev
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08 Nov 2010, 11:02 pm

billybud21 wrote:
happymusic wrote:
wavefreak58 wrote:
billybud21 wrote:
I'm ABD right now


What is ABD?


All but dissertation. Basically a PhD. Nice! :)


I academia nomenclature, you can also use Ph.D. Candidate. But I like ABD Right now I am finishing my prospectus, so I hope to have everything wrapped by the summer, but who the Hell knows. Thanks happymusic! :D


What are you dissertationing for?



billybud21
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08 Nov 2010, 11:13 pm

SteamPowerDev wrote:
billybud21 wrote:
happymusic wrote:
wavefreak58 wrote:
billybud21 wrote:
I'm ABD right now


What is ABD?


All but dissertation. Basically a PhD. Nice! :)


I academia nomenclature, you can also use Ph.D. Candidate. But I like ABD Right now I am finishing my prospectus, so I hope to have everything wrapped by the summer, but who the Hell knows. Thanks happymusic! :D


What are you dissertationing for?


A great question that I ask myself every morning. What do I plan to do? Ideally, I would like to teach at a small liberal arts school like I attended. What topic am I writing on? United States county finance. Specifically, the implementation of user fees as a mechanism of broadening the tax base of small counties (under 100,000 persons in population). Some work has been done on large counties (100,000 persons plus in population), but very little on small counties. I am also interested in some normative questions such as the fairness of user fees, specifically their regressivity. That is what I am working on writing right now, so it will inevitably change once my dissertation committee gets a hold of my prospectus.


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SteamPowerDev
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09 Nov 2010, 12:17 am

billybud21 wrote:
SteamPowerDev wrote:
billybud21 wrote:
happymusic wrote:
wavefreak58 wrote:
billybud21 wrote:
I'm ABD right now


What is ABD?


All but dissertation. Basically a PhD. Nice! :)


I academia nomenclature, you can also use Ph.D. Candidate. But I like ABD Right now I am finishing my prospectus, so I hope to have everything wrapped by the summer, but who the Hell knows. Thanks happymusic! :D


What are you dissertationing for?


A great question that I ask myself every morning. What do I plan to do? Ideally, I would like to teach at a small liberal arts school like I attended. What topic am I writing on? United States county finance. Specifically, the implementation of user fees as a mechanism of broadening the tax base of small counties (under 100,000 persons in population). Some work has been done on large counties (100,000 persons plus in population), but very little on small counties. I am also interested in some normative questions such as the fairness of user fees, specifically their regressivity. That is what I am working on writing right now, so it will inevitably change once my dissertation committee gets a hold of my prospectus.


That's one thing I do not look forward to if I get to working on my PhD is the dissertation committee. Even now I dread the thought of having people rip apart my work, criticizing it and so on. But I just have to remember that by that point, I should have enough skills, knowledge and experience to not only handle it, but write a fantastic dissertation that will hopefully wow the committee into giving me huge sums of money and a career. Ah, the fun of a fantasy world.



ruveyn
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09 Nov 2010, 4:22 am

SteamPowerDev wrote:
I now have a job at Wal-mart. It seems to be mindlessly easy and kind of stupid. I had planned on going to school during the Winter quarter, but it looks like I won't be able to get the financial aid to pay for classes because I turned everything in late. Which is annoying because I thought I was doing it early. I am just worried that I will lose focus between quarters and just end up working at Wal-mart for my life.

Ideally I would like to get a doctorate in Physical Anthropology with a focus on Archeology and Forensics. I have no idea if I'll even be able to accomplish that much, but I would be happy if I could manage to get a bachelor's although I am hoping realistically to get far as a Masters.

I just feel that Wal-mart is a stumbling block, a nice easy job with a paycheck might distract me from my long term goals. It's frustrating.


Beware. Do not become institutionalized. Regard your Walmart job as temporary. Do it well, but don't plan on doing it the rest of your life or until you are fired.

ruveyn