Goin' Out Wherever

After 6 years of university education, I’ve realized that most people only read the abstracts. So here’s one for this post (read on for more detail):

Having completed my Masters degree in planning, I have decided not to pursue jobs in the field immediately and instead to resume my pattern of traveling and working in various places that interest me. In the words of Tom Waits, “I’m gonna do what I want and I’m gonna get paid.” In September, I will begin an ESL teaching position just outside Quebec City.

As my previous post indicated, the completion of my Masters degree has put me in a rather contemplative mood. For months now, I’ve been debating the merits of the various options available to me and deciding that they were all roughly equal, like the roads leading to the Arc de Triomphe.

An obvious choice would be to pursue a job in planning, as that is what I have just spent two years studying. Although many of these jobs would have competitive hiring processes, graduates of my program do tend to get hired somewhere eventually. I could make more money starting out in planning than I ever have before. But in all honesty, although the idea of being qualified for a specific job was something that attracted me to the program, I never thought about going straight into a career-track job right after graduating. I guess I just thought it would be nice to be qualified in a field that I thought was interesting. And now I am, somewhat. Mission accomplished.

Of course, I considered looking for a planning job, but a number of concerns led me elsewhere. Discussions about these concerns turned into fairly long-winded rants several times in the past few months, so I’ll try to spare the internet what I couldn’t hold back in conversation (and to all those who listened, thanks). In a nutshell: I’m not eager to work a desk job; I’m not sure I even want a career in planning; and I am sure that there are still places I want to explore. It makes no sense to me to put off those travel ideas to pursue something I’m not sure I want.

My reasoning was not only negative. I have always felt a sense of accomplishment and personal growth from my experiences overseas. Some people, I think, are happy because of the familiarity of their surroundings; I certainly was when I was growing up. But the experiences I’ve had in my 20s (and late teens) have made me genuinely happy, diverse and disconnected as they have been. And the mental checklist of places I want to go has only expanded as I’ve spent the last two years at the same address.

My immediate plan is to spend this summer living with my parents in North Bay, ON. I owe them more than I’ll ever realize, and I figure the best way I can show my appreciation is by spending some time with them before I run off again. The gorgeous location with free room and board is a pretty great enticement too.

Summer in North Bay ain't bad.

My next adventure will not take me far away, either. Through the Odyssey program, I have accepted a job as an ESL teaching assistant at a CEGEP in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, just outside Quebec City. The Odyssey program is fairly similar to the one I did in Spain, with part-time teaching hours and enough pay to comfortably break even. This position will give me the chance to experience working with older students while becoming acquainted with life in la belle province (it’s on that mental checklist I mentioned).      

And after that, we'll see.

"And what do you do?"
"We're adventurers, sir, currently pursuing a certain opportunity but open to others as well."