Adjusting my Sails

September 30, 2009 9:32 PM

Do I give in to wanderlust? Or go back to school for a grad degree in Comp. Engr with an eye to robotics?

I'm a graduate of Morehouse College with A Physics Degree. I'm kind of pigeonholed in the current economy and unsure of what the next step would be. I had a full scholarship when I went to school but since then I've under achieved to a 2.99 which would be a 3.25+ minus leadership and art classes. I like my job in customer service most of the time but its draining for the introvert. I don't want to be around people that bore me right now. My family is recomending me for grad school at this point and their right, if I'm going now is the time. But,should I. I'm not even sure what I would want to be a good outcome. I'm smart a problem solver and a fast worker who knows how to work with difficult situations. I want to be my own boss and I like designing things, thinking aobut what people need and occassionally being with people. Do you have any ideas for me? Any places I should look or go. I've been thinking military but I'm already chaffing at my jo,bs rules I think that would be worse. Half the time I feel like I should blow all my money and skip town

posted by Rubbstone to work & money (10 comments total)

Spend a month or a year backpacking around. Write a journal - either paper or online would be fine.

A physics major in customer service is kind of a red flag, as is the composition of your post. It isn't easy to get a physics degree, and everyone ends up flipping burgers or doing customer service. You probably need to take a step back and refocus on the bigger picture.

Also, blowing all your money is much smarter earlier in life than later. I did a little travel right out of college, but wish I had done a lot more.

The military could work out, but you need to think carefully before you go that route. Lots of different kinds of people, from Jimi Hendrix to Jim Clark to Craig Venter got something out of the military. Plenty of other people hated it, and you can certainly kill and get killed there.

I want to be my own boss and I like designing things, thinking aobut what people need and occassionally being with people.

Starting your own business is not an introvert's game. All the things that frustrate you about working for someone else will actually be much, much worse if you try to run your own business at this point. You need a safe place to grow and develop.

I'd suggest:
1. Take a month to a year traveling
2. Go back to school, but this time focus on really excelling. Try to get a PhD if you can, that should give you some time to figure things out. Take the most general major you can get into (a Physics major will get you into anything in the Sciences)
3. If money is a barrier to (1) and (2), consider the military, but only after you know how to get what YOU want out of the military. Otherwise the military will chew you up and spit you out.
posted by b1tr0t at 9:44 PM on September 30

Keep all your money and skip town. Go to Alaska. Explore Africa. Learn how to sail and do a solo-circumnavigation. Motorbike South America. Go now. Go while you can.
posted by allkindsoftime at 11:23 PM on September 30 [1 favorite has favorites]

Always travel before grad school. Because if you succeed in grad school, you will have no time. And if you fail in grad school and find yourself overqualified but unemployed, you will be old and have no money or time.
posted by jb at 11:28 PM on September 30 [3 favorites has favorites]

I'm 33 now. I regret not traveling more when I was younger on an almost daily basis. I've never once regretted not going to more college. And if you do, college will always be there.

ps Do not join the military.
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:40 PM on September 30 [3 favorites has favorites]

Traveltraveltraveltravel. You CAN travel now. In 5 years if you're a successful robotics dude and you're married and have a mortgage you CAN'T run away and go see Korea or Africa. Traveling will make you a better person, it'll help put your priorities in order and makes you a more successful grad student, if that's what you end up doing.

Don't join the military. Not right now.
posted by GilloD at 12:27 AM on October 1

If you are looking for a mental and intellectual challenge and in good physical condition then it sounds like you might have a head for the complexity & rigors of combat aircraft operation.

Fixed or Rotary Wing - B1 Weapon Officer - AZ1 Gunner - or UH60 Pilot.

See which service offers you the most benefits like continued education, commission bonus, flight training and security clearance. If you're far along in your education then an officer commitment for 6 years will pay huge dividends on your CV.

Or you could work in military intelligence analyzing & interpreting reports, solving complex tactical problems. You'd get to know some interesting secrets I'm sure.

Or if you like designing and building things then a commission in the NAVY with the Sea Bees. Does designing and building bridges in the south pacific interest you?
posted by Aegean at 12:45 AM on October 1

Travel when you can. Study when you're stuck.
posted by rokusan at 2:47 AM on October 1 [1 favorite has favorites]

For what it's worth, you can work with robots in the military without joining the military. You don't really expand upon why you're interested in robotics, but I'll go ahead and go down that route. Basically, every time the military awards a contract to a company (whether it's Boeing, iRobot, or Kongsberg) they have an entire project team made up of civilians working for the military research centers who oversee the design, build, and delivery process, and some of whom work on learning how to use the robots in order to train troops on them. Most of my experience is with people working at NSWC Panama City (in Florida) on autonomous underwater vehicles; of the 20-30 people I interacted with there on projects, I only ever met two military personnel, and the rest were civilian engineers and scientists.

I would, however, recommend you get some CS experience before doing that. Grad school couldn't hurt.

A lot of it is unromantic documentation and red tape approval processes, but at the end of the day you do still get to go out in the field and travel... even if "travel" isn't always to exotic locales.

By the way, if you are looking for a military/robotics intersection, refer to them as "unmanned systems", not "robots".
posted by olinerd at 4:38 AM on October 1

I'm 30 and regret not travelling more in my twenties. I'm making up for it now - but I'm lucky, not everyone can do that. So travel.

You could study abroad, maybe? One interesting country in particular is known for robotics...
posted by dickasso at 6:59 AM on October 1

Definitely travel. I dropped out of college the first time around to travel, and I have not regretted it. Ever. FWIW, I'm generally considered "successful" according to typical american norms in that I am a director at a company (tech), not in debt, pay my rent on time, have a long term boyfriend, a dog, etc. I'm 32.

I never want to stop traveling. I've learned some of the most important and interesting lessons through experiencing new places and cultures. Good and bad.

My dad was a career Navy man. He retired when I was pretty little (20+ years in the service, though). He is not the stereotypical military guy as seen on tv. He loved the service and got a great education in electronics out of it. You could go that way... but you don't honestly sound like you're too big on the regimented routine of the military.

Go your own way and travel. I want to nth the exploring Africa idea. I spent a month and a half in East Africa last summer and want to go back, for a longer period of time.
posted by jacquilinala at 9:09 AM on October 1