economy ramblings

The economy is on everyone's mind, all the time, every day. What shall we do?

It's interesting and a little depressing to be in the art field at this time, or about to dive into the art field, or whatever. As countless museums seem to be on a hiring freeze, and may be for several months, or even years, what are we, the future Art Historians, or recently graduated Masters of Art History, to do? There are several options: 1. apply to hundreds of jobs and hope that you are brilliant enough to get one over someone who many have their PhD already. 2. start your own gallery or non profit (which seems like a wretched and horrible idea given the state of investors, including art dealers, collectors and the like. 3. continue going to school, racking up more student loans, and somehow hope that the federal financial aid will implode and forget that you owe them tons of money. 4. teach at a community college (not secure, not tenured, and spotty from one semester to another as you are paid by number of classes you teach), but it would be fun. 5. teach public elementary or high school through Teach For America (very selective program that I've heard is hard to get into), and it may be dangerous to teach at inner city high schools. 6. Screw all those ideas and go to nursing school, live with your parents for 1.5 years while you finish that, and then work 3-4 days per week, 10-12 hour shifts and make $25/hour starting, which doesn't include all the overtime you can get.

Hmmmmmmmmm. This is all very compelling. I emailed Metropolitan Community Colleges to find out the "deal" and asked them a bunch of questions. This is what I wrote:

To Whom It May Concern:

I'm very interested in the nursing program. I have a Bachelors of Art in Fine Art from Knox College and I'm finishing my Masters in Art History from UMKC. I have a lot of questions. I also started a program at CMSU in Speech Pathology and did that for 3 semesters. With my Masters in Art History, I will not receive the kind of job security that I desire (especially in this economy) and I have always been interested in the health industry as my mom is disabled with an autoimmune disease and I have spent a great deal of time taking care of her.

Do I need to complete the prerequisites before I apply in January, or could I complete those during the summer semester (I took Psychology as an Undergraduate Student, so I would only need Cell Bio and Anatomy/Physiology)? Is there a payment program for tuition and the program costs? Are there various start semesters for the program, or do all incoming students begin in the summer or fall? Is this a highly competitive program/how likely is a perspective student to be accepted/are there a limited number of open positions in the program?

Thank you so much for your time.
Sincerely,
Sarah Bopp

So, maybe I'll be a nurse? I think I'd make a great nurse! I don't mind being on my feet, and I already wear Danskos. Duh, I'm perfect for it. PLUS, I love the flexibility. I could work 3 days per week, which I would LOVE. I wouldn't want to work with older people, they sort of freak me out. I like kids though, and would love to work at a Children's Hospital, or in Pediatrics. I don't think I'd ever want to work at a Doctor's Office; Hospitals seem more my style. AND, I could live wherever I wanted to. AND, I could move to Scotland someday, they need nurses. Sigh, is this a great idea or what? I hope no one reading this thinks it's a horrible idea.

The other thing, more school = more money. But, I've found that if I were to go to Penn Valley/Longview or one of the Metropolitan Community Colleges, the cost of the prerequisites and the courses plus the program fees is 12,277. I could pay most of my school fees while taking classes. I would have to live for free, or have a roommate. I would have to pay off all of my extraneous debt, which I could definitely pay off by May. I also may have to cut the only luxury I endulge in, cable; and I would have to work my butt off studying. Too bad I don't have some long lost great great aunt that needs me to watch her home for a couple years. Maybe I can find someone that needs me to look over their estate, and my payment of living there would be living there for free. I do NOT want to hold my parents back from moving to Michigan; and Maebe has to come with me wherever I go. Those are my two requirements. I would love to become an RN and move up there to be near them after I'm done or at some point in the future. I do have a feeling that doing this in the state that I'm a resident would be the best and most logical financial decision.

My mind is reeling and I can't wait to hear back from the nursing program to find out more. I will keep you all updated. I do still plan on applying for Teach for America, and seeing how that all pans out. The difference with that option is that I would begin being paid next August, wouldn't have to put off paying off my student loans, and I would have 2 months off every summer. Teachers get worn out, worn down, and my mom/bob keep mentioning how dangerous teaching in inner city schools would be. I refuse to succomb to that paranoia, but I will admit that nursing seems very appealing too. Also, with Teach for America, there is no art teaching program, so I would have to wait two years to do what I really want in that arena.

I'm exausted and have written a ton of rambling information here. Night!