Choose Your Own Adventure
Something about Columbus never felt right and you’ve wanted to move out of the city for several years. A good job, no job or a girl - there was always something or another that kept you here. But not this year. This is the year that things change. You’ve already given your place of employment notice that you’ll be leaving at the end of July, after your apartment lease is up. You now have a choice to make.
University College London (yes, that London) has offered you a place in the 2003/2004 session to study towards a master’s degree in human computer interaction. This choice sounds wonderful except for the large amount of debt it will incur and the relative usefulness of a master’s degree in human computer interaction. (Update: By “large amount of debt” you mean $40,000+ although you’re not sure how much that is in the long run. This debt would be in addition to your current educational debt of about $15,000.)
Another option is to move home (yes, your parent’s home) and work for your dad who owns a business selling water treatment chemicals and chemical pumps, not exactly your cup of tea. This choice will allow you to save money and give you time to figure out the next step, including if grad school is right for you or if you should instead attend in the United States next year. The downside of this choice is that your parents live approximately five miles from The Middle of Nowhere. The closest city is Pittsburgh, which is about seventy miles away.
Alternatively, you could move to a city of your liking and hope to peanuts that you can find another web job. Grad school will still be a possibility next year, but it will be just as unaffordable as it is now and who’s to say if you’ll meet the girl of your dreams and buy a house in the meantime?
The final choice is to simply stay in Columbus yet another year and hope to peanuts that you can find another web job here. Grad school will still be a possibility next year, but god help you if you meet the girl of your dreams in Columbus and have to consider staying here long term.
You flashback to that scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when that old guy tells Indiana that he has to choose a grail: “You must choose, but choose wisely.”
Educational debt is the best kind of debt! Attend University College London and study towards a master’s in human computer interaction. Turn to page 35.
Hola padres! Move in with your parents, work for your dad, save money and take a year to figure out the next step. Turn to page 15.
Pull up stumps! Move to another city and find another web job. Turn to page 52.
Bite the bullet! Stay in Columbus yet another year and find another web job. Turn to page 8.
Yes, I’m asking for your advice. Please dispense it freely in the comments. Your regularly scheduled weblog will resume next week.
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Comments
You turn to page 35 and…
Please, please, please, don’t pass up a chance to hang out in London for a couple years. Go for it!
Brad Lauster on 25 Mar 03
Given those options, bank on the tangible only and none of this intangible nonesense no matter how good or appealing it might be.
There’s absolutely nothing to say that you won’t meet the girl of your dreams while at grad school (engineering ratios ignored). Theres a fairly high chance that moving in with your parents will kill this option though too.
Typically I’d suggest grad school and take it for all you can. Nothing is holding you there if you are not enjoying it. Given the world political situation right now though, being an American expat might not be the best idea.
The reality on the other hand is that the economy still is not in the clear, and as such finding new jobs isn’t the easiest thing to do.
Which of these two problems is less of a gamble to you? That should be your real decision.
dk on 26 Mar 03
You may want to talk to your collage counsler about your descison. Although I’ve never found them too helpful myself. Also have you talked to your family about your choices? They may just be able to help you.
If all else fails you can always throw darts at dart board!
Good luck!
Blaine on 26 Mar 03
Life is short! Time is ticking. Run don’t walk to page 35.
Nate on 26 Mar 03
Keep your head clear. You only get to live once, make it a life worth living. Go to london, you’ve been batting around the idea long enough. I know you will go, what am I saying?
Just don’t forget, *your girl* is in California. :)
Kara on 26 Mar 03
I’m with Brad here. Your other options seem just… well… depressing. Of course, as we’ve discussed before, I may not be the best person to be dispensing advice about whether one should take out mo’ money to go to school.
Sincerely,
your well meaning sister who owes a lot of dough to the U.S. government right now
Jul on 26 Mar 03
Sorry, I came across this from textpattern > usability > personal weblog (thinking I might have found an old friend by the same name).
I think you would nuts not to go. Go this summer. London is great town and everyone should live there at least once in their life. The program would be a definite move forward and you are more likely to regret not going, than going.
Just freelance when you can and don’t worry about the money.
jason hoffman on 26 Mar 03
Can you defer enrollment to page 35 for a while so you can figure out if that is what you want to do?
Grad school in another country while racking up debt is no place to be if you aren’t sure you want to be there.
But grad school in another country (with some saved money?) when you are sure it is what you want sounds incredible!
Josh on 26 Mar 03
So I had/have a simliar situation when I graduated college in 2001. After working full-time with the college for the summer (until my contract and their funding dried up), I had to move back with the fam, working in the family biz (mom & pop hardware store). After a year of sending out resumes (for web positions) and getting nothing, I decided I’d follow my long-time girlfriend to Boston, who was in the middle grad school (tell us about debt!). I had no job waiting for me, and I spent the first three months jobless, but getting many more leads. I’m still w/o full-time work (this industry [here] is still really sluggish right now), 7 months in. I did get a 30/hr a week job with a major computer maker’s upstart retail division which is a ton of fun and actually covers the rent (but not much else). My points are a) you probably will have much better luck finding a job where you want to work vs. trying from a far (networking is the most important thing, ever). b) you may stumble upon something fun to do until something more appropriate happens by. Lastly, London is very cool. Masters work in your favorite field can be a lot of fun, and the academic atmosphere is awesome. That said, if your heart isn’t in it 100%, then it may not be cool to be stuck across a very large pond… hope some of my experience helps.
~bc on 26 Mar 03
As a current grad student, I have to agree that it’s terribly expensive, and while I stagger under the thought of that much debt, for me it’s been worth it. London would be a wonderful place to spend a couple of years, and you could do much worse for cities to meet interesting women.
My only caution would be to make sure that an HCI program (more specifically, this program) is what’s right for you. Find out what their approach is to user-centered/user experience/interaction design, and make sure that it’s something you really believe in.
chad on 27 Mar 03
I complain about the debt grad school put me in and I don’t directly use the degree today, but it was the best investment. You have a better option grad school in something you know you will enjoy and will most likely use for a long time. London is a great city and the circle of people will expand greatly which always points to more opportunities.
I spent my last semester of undergrad in the England and had a fantastic time. I learned even more by being abroad and learning not only more academically, but more culturally and socially. Living abroad will give you a much better understanding of who you are and the world around you.
On the other hand you could get the same from moving back in with your parents. Right!
vanderwal on 27 Mar 03
Go to London as fast as you can! Twenty-some years ago, I chose to stay in Boston (a rather nice city), rather than bite the bullet and do the apres-college “I can get a work visa” right after school and go abroad and I *still* regret taking the safe route. BTW, I was born in Pittsburgh, and while it’s a great place to visit, you really don’t want to be living 70 miles away…god, I thought Bellevue was too far from the urban scene and it was in the city limits! It’s your choice, and you shouldn’t do something that doesn’t fit, but if it were me (in hindsight), I’d go for something that has a good chance of being life changing. Not only are you studying in London (I wish!), but imagine what your weekend and vacation opportunities are?!? Sh*t. The way the world is, why put off something that might really change your life?
Beth on 29 Mar 03