Categories: random
Tags: job, punctuation, random
Date: 01 December 2005 10:08:26
Except that this one might, one day ....
Due to negotiations with surveyors and plumbers and whatnot regarding the damp work needed at the Stately Pile (I get the keys tomorrow, all being well - woo hoo!), I'm suffering the common homebuyers' problem of having to shell out shedloads of money at regular intervals. Whilst on the bus yesterday I was thinking about this, and about how the career choices I've made mean that I could never be accused of being in it for the money, and it occurred to me - I'm not sure, once the PhD is done, that I want to stay in academia, and it may well be that I go straight back into health visiting once I've finished it. That's not a bad thing, by the way, just how it is and what I like doing. But then I started feeling that familiar "itchy feet" feeling - health visiting so far is the longest I've ever stayed in one job, and I've had regular career changes which has kept life interesting and meant that I don't usually regret career choices because I haven't stayed long enough to get bored or too cynical about it. And it strikes me that doing a more manual job may actually be a good thing for a while - I have a friend who has a degree, worked in IT (including being a web manager with tons of responsibility), but who is now training to be a train driver, and I have to say I have never seen him so relaxed, happy and chilled out. So if in a few years* time you hear me talking about training to be a plumber, remember you heard it here first. I have to say, it sounds like it could be fun - I'd still get to meet people, I'd still get the satisfaction of helping people out (what with the damp work at the SP and here we have an almost-blocked sink, having someone around who knows what they're doing is a very good thing), I could have the intellectual satisfaction of running a business, I'd have a skill that would be dead useful for home (and mean that I wouldn't have to shell out shedloads of money for callout charges for something which is often quite simple), and it would be a good change for a few years. Yeah yeah I know it's hard work and it takes a long time to build up a business and apprentices are paid crap and I look like a sack of potatoes in overalls and all the rest of it, and so ultimately I'm sure it wouldn't happen, but I must say I'm quite enjoying the idea of raising a few eyebrows!
* aargh I can't figure out where the apostrophe should be! How embarrassing.