What are you going to do with that?
At this moment, the boy is asleep and I am sitting at the computer making final changes on my Master's thesis. Well, technically I am taking a break from working on the thesis or I wouldn't be typing this...
Needless to say, I am very excited to be completing this phase of my schooling and proud of the work it represents. I tried very hard to finish my thesis before the baby came and I got this close. I turned it in to my committee for final review 4 days before Kiddo's birth and defended it 2 weeks after (which is a story for another day!). Now I am completing revisions and will graduate (if all goes well) this spring.
One side benefit of working on this degree has been as a conversation piece. People often asked what I was doing and I could tell them about my thesis, schooling, etc. And then came the inevitable question: What are you going to do with it?
Well, before I was obviously pregnant, I would usually answer with some general career choices available to someone with my degree. Since the arrival of our son, the answer has become much shorter: I am going to stay home and be a mom.
I always wonder what people think of this answer.
Hypothetical Response #1:
What a waste of a degree! What is the point of spending the money, putting in the effort, etc. if you aren't going to be in the work force.
Hypothetical Response #2:
How sad that someone with your education, ability and drive is going to stay home. The field could really benefit from your contributions.
Hypothetical Response #3:
That's nice. (I wonder how that hockey game ended...)
I'm sure #3 is probably the most common response, despite the scintillating description of my thesis topic!
Let it be known that I have no qualms about telling people my plans. But I am unsure enough to be caught asking myself what people think every time I answer the question: So what are you going to do with that?
4 comments:
Congratulations! That's awesome for you and your family!
Whoa! Inexperience MOM! I just caught that- I thought this post was written by Paul until I read the rest!
Still, Super Yay for you... and who really cares what people think- you finished a goal, and if you want to work when your kids are older (or sooner) you'll be ready.
Again, congratulations!
Thanks, tracy m.
I am a pretty self-confident person and am ok, regardless of what other people think. I am, however, dimmly aware that they think... ;)
I hope you don't mind me commenting on such an old (relatively) post, but I really couldn't help it. As you know, I'm not yet married and have no children, but sometimes when people ask me what I plan to do when I finish my doctorate, I tell them, "The plan is to never have to use the degree." That always catches them off-guard, so I have to explain that I want to be a wife and mother, and they're not so sure what to do with that. Especially when they're the people I know from school.
Keep up the good work with your thesis -- I'm sure it's amazing! As are you. :)
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