Sunday, June 5, 2011

Finish the damn B.A.

I've been away for a while.

My career as a "non-traditional" student ground to a halt after the Fall 2009 semester, when I seemed to be out of viable options.  Back in September, I blogged at the OAC about abandoning my goal of a Ph.D. and instead finding other ways to work as an anthropologist/archaeologist (I included links to some excellent Applied Masters programs in the U.S.).

Even though I have not taken a course for some time, I have involved myself by attending a conference and a few lectures, continuing to read papers that interest me, and staying in touch with a couple of my professors.

I had the great fortune to observe my 50th birthday last month.  The approach and arrival of this dubious celebration triggered a "last chance" attitude for me with regard to my continued involvement in anthropology, and I decided that any action was better than no action.  Here are my current plans and options:

  1. Finish the damn B.A.  No matter what I do, holding the degree is way better than trying to explain to a potential employer or graduate program that I have 30 or so credits hours in anthropology.  My academic advisor at ASU informed me that I could take SPA 201 and 202 at the community college and then simply apply for graduation.  I managed to find two four-week Spanish courses at Phoenix College that are completely online via Blackboard, and I'm already two weeks into the first one.  I should be able to graduate in August.
Hmm... so what is number 2?  Pursue a  Masters of some sort?  Get my hands dirty working for a local CRM firm part time, or volunteering with a group like SWAT?  Ok, it turns out I don't have a plan yet beyond #1.  No matter, finishing my first degree in Anthropology is a start.  I have a couple of ideas cooking that may be options, but I'll address those in a later post.

1 comment:

  1. I read your whole blog and I enjoyed it very much. Since I'm starting out on my archaeological college-adventure soon, I gleaned quite a lot of valuable info reading about you and your travels in academia. My direction may be B.A. in Archaeology and Public Policy. Then possibly move onto Cultural Resource Management and work for the U.S. Forest Service. Or not. I've been spending eight hours a day researching what I can do with this degree, in this economy, and it's not an easy decision to conclude. Good job with this blog and read you later.

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