Golden Monkey

Yeah, good point. Are you an outdoorsy person? That's the best way to recharge for me. And it's important NOT to take your laptop, smartphone, or iPad with you, IMO.

The advice to "go out and have fun" is always well-intentioned, but... man, such an over-simplification. It seems that the person giving the advice is always thinking, "go out and have what I consider fun," instead of "go out and have fun." For example, my mother is the most outgoing, gregarious, people-person on the face of the planet, and for her "fun" always involves being around as many people as possible. And if other people don't consider forced, awkward, social situations to be "fun" like she does, then undoubtedly they are miserable people, living in their own version of purgatory or something. If reading medical journals and wikis is what you consider fun, then I'd either tell the prof that you really are, or just politely say "okay, I will."

Well, I wouldn't think they'd hold it against you. But most people's linkedin profiles (mine included) just mention their current position and don't mention that they're currently looking for work, unless it says so in a status update, or stated in a group or something like that.

I started my master's at 40, so I'm pretty "non-traditional." My mom started hers at 50. I have a bachelor's in mechanical engineering, then went out and worked for many years (doing all kinds of stuff,) got laid off at the age of 38 and realized I was at a complete career standstill. So I started my master's in a "new media" program at 40, got a job with the university, which got me extremely discounted tuition, finished the program at 43, and am now in the "waiting to hear from PhD programs" phase. In my case, both my master's degree and the PhD programs I've applied to are pretty closely related to the line of work I was doing for so many years, which I'm hoping works to my advantage. Still it was admittedly kind of weird being the same age as most of the faculty.

It seems like a lot of people are going to this format. No html required, and it's easy to post text, images, embed videos, pdfs, etc. I like both tumblr.com or soup.io.

I guess I would hope that what exactly one spent those years out of school doing and how it was related to the program would be a factor. If you spent 15 years being a Tax Accountant, then suddenly decided you wanted a PhD in English Literature or something, I can see how that might work against you, but I'm hoping that ones relevant work experience comes into play. The first thing I wanted adcomms to look at was my resume, then my master's thesis, then my grades from my master's program.... and then my dismal undergrad grades, and then I wanted them not to look at my GRE scores at all.

I'd list them if I were applying to be a GRE tutor, but otherwise, it's pretty odd.

Does your profile indicate that you're currently looking for work?

Yes, you're right. I've been bookmarking the web sites of companies and leaving it at that for now. I actually had an "informational" interview a couple months ago, as in, they were just collecting resumes for future reference. But I'm sure actively applying for openings right now would be getting ahead of myself.

*Sigh* I also didn't apply for any outside funding. That whole world is a mystery to me. Two of the programs I applied to are funded, but the other two are not. For the two that are not, I'm really not sure how funding works at all.

I hate snow because some of it was still on my shoes the other day, so I slipped and fell down the stairs. It kinda sucked.

I would have started applying earlier. Like 10 years earlier.

No, I actually have a university job right now. It isn't teaching, but sort of pseudo-IT work. I guess the rush is that when it comes to this kind of thing ( school/career,) I'm really antsy and am kind of the opposite of a procrastinator, whatever that is. I'm grossly overqualified for my job, as much as I enjoy it. Even though I know I was really lucky to get it, it was a huge step backwards career-wise, so I'm eager to either take my education further, or get back to work at something more suited for me. I guess I'm always trying to prepare myself for disappointment, and if things don't work out with the PhD programs, having some job options open would at least make it less of a downer.

Well, back to the original question (as amusing as the discussion of the meth vs crack industry was,) I'm actually at the point where I'm now kind of waffling with the question of how much to pursue my Plan B of looking for a new job. Not only does Plan A hinge on being accepted to the programs I applied to, but also on funding, because at my age, I've already decided that if it isn't funded, I'm not going. So now I'm pretty actively checking job listings, but addressing a cover with, "Dear Backup Plan Company, I am submitting my resume in case things don't work out for me this Spring" seems kinda weird.

Well, as a 43-year-old with absolutely dismal GRE scores, I guess that's good to hear. Then again, even when I was back in the classroom, I was terrible at standardized tests, so the "out of practice" excuse doesn't really apply anyway. The really laughable part is that I have an engineering degree and years of work experience as an engineer, but my quantitative score was the worst of the three parts.

Well, ha, I sure hope not! I'm 43 and am applying to PhD programs right now. Though in my case, all of my industry experience is (extremely) relevant to the programs I applied to, so it isn't like I suddenly changed directions at my age. I suppose the way I see it is that I'm applying to get a degree in an academic version of something I've already been doing for a living for 15+ years. Though whether or not they'll see it the same way remains to be seen, I guess.

This is really sad. My SOPs and CV have a link to my portfolio URL. My portfolio URL has Vimeo clips embedded in it. I keep checking the number of views on my Vimeo account to try to guess if adcomms have looked at my work. I guess I could have put a hit counter on my portfolio site instead, but web publishing ain't my thing, and I didn't feel like figuring out how to do that.

Always good to have a plan, but I think your Plan B might be a little dated. Wasn't the entire crack industry made obsolete by the meth industry?

Went backwards. Worked first, then school.

Heh, funny. I said exactly the opposite, "I love the feeling of NOT having a car!" as soon as I got rid of mine. After 15 years in L.A., I was ecstatic to be car-less when I moved to New York.

It was also pretty weird being the same as the faculty in my master's program. I imagine if I get into any of these PhD programs, I'll be dealing with that again.

Thanks, this is reassuring to hear, especially with regard to your department chair. I guess the sheer numbers freak me out a little. Probably 90% of the students in my master's program are in their 20s (or early 30s at the latest,) so I don't really know what happens to the rare ones who are a bit older. But I guess on the other hand, I've never heard anyone respond with, "wow, that's a terrible idea at your age! You're wasting your time." Best of luck with your application.

I guess I can reply to this with "I HAD jobs for 18 years. It wasn't all it's cracked up to be."

Yipes. I didn't either.

I realized that I had mentioned I was a member of the "Illunimating Engineers Society" on mine after I had submitted it. Great.