affguy

Yes, I'm necro-posting, such is (un)life. I've just submitted my application for a masters program in critical infrastructure planning and management. It's part of an urban planning department that looks at building enough resilience into water, healthcare, power, and similar systems that they can withstand natural disasters, terrorist attacks, climate change, etc. When people ask what I'll be studying (obviously everyone assumes I'll be accepted, even though it's a stretch for a mid-life career change), I simply say "apocalypse management". They laugh and seem to appreciate the absence of any further explanation.

chocolate sauce

I'm submitting an application today, at age 43, for a field that would entail a substantial career shift. I figure such a transition will be a lot easier now than in another decade.

I thought it was a little odd that we had multiple people taking different tests, but it got weirder when they all finished up, leaving me alone in that room. The proctors still walked in every 3-5 minutes and would just walk behind me to a wall, pretend like they were doing something other than checking up on me, and walk back out. The had windows through which the could see me from the side and from behind, and there was nobody else in there to talk to, so the charade of "how's this thermostat doing?" was somewhat annoying.

I took the test a couple of weeks ago and both of my topics are on that list. Having been out of school for decades, I was nervous about the quantitative part and subscribed to a prep service to bone up on rusty skills. I write a lot for work, so I wasn't too worried about the analytical portion. Still, I figured it wouldn't hurt to work through a couple, just to make sure my responses are of the nature they'll be looking for; however the prep evaluators never responded. On test day I got 82nd percentile math, 96th verbal, and just found out I got 48th percentile (4.5) writing. I'm pretty disappointed with that, as it was the section I was most comfortable with. I guess I should have prepared more carefully after all. Anyhow, I believe my problem was likely a failure to stick very specifically to the instructions. Still, my app goes in tomorrow, I'm just going to cross my fingers that my resume and SoP will speak more loudly than my GRE.

I'm bored and looking to shift careers. Transcripts uploaded and GRE scores that should be fine, I'm Ieft with a SoP that needs to be good enough to fill some gaps. Undergrad included great grades at poor schools too long ago to make a big deal of, and work experience has been marginally relevent (thus the career shift), so the SoP has proven to be a somewhat challenging sale. Still, I'm one full re-write, one partial, and one friendly proofread in, and I'm looking for one or two more critical reviews before submittal in the next day or two.