Comments on: Q0: Vincent

By: Vincent Capone

Vincent Capone — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 15:33:00 +0000

Yet if you read the post you’d know that I have intended to go into teaching since entering college, and thought TFA would be able to give me the experience and a job out of graduation in that field.

By: BT

BT — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 16:53:00 +0000

Trying to do something like TFA in order to have a job out of the gate? It’s not a jobs program for college grads who don’t know what to do.

By: John S

John S — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 17:22:00 +0000

What are you talking about Jane? You mean the “GOOD” jobs like picking strawberries for hours at minimum wage? And how did this degenerate into a conversation about the president? The president has actually been much harsher on undocumented immigrants and deported many times more people than any of his predecessors. Not saying that this is a good thing. Just a fact.

By: Vincent Capone

Vincent Capone — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 02:15:00 +0000

Thank you.

By: Gee

Gee — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 18:40:00 +0000

You sure are getting a lot of advice, welcome or otherwise. I think people would sometimes rather find fault with the individual than consider the larger issues that affect all of us. There is a lot of received wisdom about young people feeling “entitled” or being “spoiled”, as though that’s the reason unemployment and underemployment are so high in this age range. I don’t think that line of reasoning adds much to the conversation, as young people today seem just as willing to work hard to improve their lot in life as have previous generations of human beings everywhere.

And it is not “complaining” to discuss the difficulties you’ve encountered in your education and career efforts, despite what some may say. You’re taking constructive action and doing your best, which doesn’t make you a “complainer” in my book.

By: CircusMcGurkus

CircusMcGurkus — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 21:18:00 +0000

I do not think any rational person has an ultimate goal at 25. Or, if s/he does the disappointment at 50 will hit like a rock.

I wish you well but I would suggest that you stop calling yourself a “scholar”; “scholar is a term others choose – or choose not – to bestow upon you. You have an interest and you are studying it. I think you said you are teaching at U-Mass Boston continuing ed which is great, but truthfully, no matter how much you know on your topic, there are true scholars from whom you could learn a great deal on the very same thing. Take baby steps.

It seems that you want so many things which is normal for youth – it is just where you should be; a bit frustrated, a bit full of yourself, a bit anxious and utterly unsure. You want money: research is not a money-driven field. You say several times that you want to teach but you then say that you do not want to teach. You want respect but this takes lots of time. You want to sound important and this is a tragedy of the modern age: children are told to “sell themselves”. Academia hates that because they have worked too long in their fields: there are no facebook-phenomena in academia. Study takes time. There does not have to be a stated purpose for research, but it helps if it is something fascinating enough to you that you can enthrall a group who never though they would care about it. Watch a lot of TED talks for guidance.

I hope you get that chance to go overseas on a fellowship. That could be very exciting. But, try not to think of it as your ticket to stardom.

My advice – and I imagine someone else as ancient as I has told you this – do what makes you happy. Life is too short. Money is not that big a deal OR if it is, make it your only deal and pursue only that. If you find joy in something do it without worrying if it will monetize. I realize money is important; we do not live on air. But lose the idea that money and value are the same thing. They are not. Lives worth living have value but there may not be much money involved.

By: Vincent Capone

Vincent Capone — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 12:01:00 +0000

Thank you for the advice. While teaching is the field I want to get into, it’s not the ultimate goal for myself. At present I have many doors often and my research is allowing me to create a name for myself within my field of history, and I’m contemplating an overseas fellowship to further this research – so all is not yet lost :) I agree that teaching history is difficult to find a way into at present and doesn’t have a huge payoff, but it’s something that would keep me going to work each day.

By: CircusMcGurkus

CircusMcGurkus — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 23:58:00 +0000

When you say you are not complaining, please re-read your initial statement where you were, ummm, complaining that you had a dead end job which was not taking you anywhere or using any of your skills. several people posted about the way the comments read as complaints about the TFA program, etc.
I could not agree more that education is far too costly in this country and it is tragic that the emphasis is on access to federal loans and NOT reduction in tuition and fees where it should be. This saddles even more people with exorbitant debt and often limits what people believe they can do workwise because they have this huge mortgage sized school loan debt over their heads. I am sympathetic to that – it is awful.
However, I still do not agree that education is a consumer based commodity (any more than medical care) and I do not believe that college is a trade school. It is unfortunate that TFA did not work out, but good that you voiced your concerns to try to help yourself and improve the program – it’s a shame that did not bear fruit.
Teaching history, sadly, is very difficult because – for policy reasons I imagine we would both agree are shortsighted – it is not a high demand job. History is not even part of the MCAS and people do not understand the value of learning history…although I would say that a good knowledge of the past could have prevented the financial collapse, misguided wars and many other world events more than a degree in math or business could have.
If you imagined teaching when you went to school, did you have a mentor – or could you access folks at your college – to help steer you in a good direction to teach? I think, unfortunately,in this environment (and I do not even mean economy), teaching history may require more school (which may or may not have benefits but certainly has costs) to obtain a PhD to enable you to compete with everyone else who wants to teach history. Again, education is different from schooling and schooling may not bear out the cost benefit analysis. But, charter schools and private schools (which pay less) may have opportunities as well.
At your age, with your interest in history, have you thought about working as a tour guide? This could be a lot of fun as well as allow you the opportunity to share your knowledge (which is really what teachers do) and continue your research in a meaningful way? There are private companies that do this and tourism is a huge business in Boston so there may be economic opportunity as well. Further, guiding is a big part of the National Park Rangers’ jobs. They are not paid well, I admit, but they offer tremendous opportunities to meet people and continue learning with later possibilities in federal work which might be very rewarding. Many of the park rangers here at Peacefield and the African American History Museum and the Harbor Islands are incredibly knowledgeable; many are working as they pursue a Masters degree or higher.
Creativity is just as important as pluck. So, if you think about other ways to use your skills (research and educating as you have explained) there may be less traditional teaching roles out there that could be very enjoyable. History teachers – with very few exceptions – are not wealthy people’ and many (from grade school through high school courses) feel that their jobs are a bit dead end as well. It is hard to be a history scholar (because it usually requires the backing of a university or college for the time to research and write) but it is not hard to be an historian and a researcher and a teacher if you think about it. You will find your way. Good luck!

By: Vincent Capone

Vincent Capone — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 15:05:00 +0000

I would argue (though not complaining) that the Chinese have a larger foot in the door than any “illegal Spanish-speaking immigrants.”

By: Vincent Capone

Vincent Capone — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 15:04:00 +0000

Great advice – I’ve never felt very interested in the business spectrum, but its definitely an option.