thinking outside the box

[mellowtigger]

I am applying for tech support jobs that seem to me like really good fits, but I decided I should also be more creative and try to imagine a life-changing alternative. What if I went back to school and got a degree, so I could become an astronomer? That has always been an interest of mine. I "did" the computer world in this first career already, so now I should try something else entirely different for the next stage.

I called the realtor who helped get me into this house in 2015. He says (without having seen the place yet) that I should probably list this house at $110K and see if bidding pushes the price upwards from there. The house doesn't even need to be perfect in this hot market, because buyers will accept the small problems just to get the property. That incoming light rail project is really affecting the interest here.

I think it's conceivable that this house could be my scholarship for going back to college in the fall season. :)

I checked my mortgage online. It says I owe just under $39K on it now. I wonder if I could actually pocket a difference close to $70K, or how much in taxes/fees would disappear?

• That amount alone would be sufficient to pay for several years of studio apartment rent and tuition in Moorhead MN without needing to work-and-study at the same time. I tried that dual life long ago, and it was very bad for my mental health. I should focus just on studies.
   
• If a bidding war provides a little more money, it would be enough to buy a condo in a nearby town (4.7km / 2.9mi) and afford a few years of association fees there.  It would keep some of that wealth intact, to help when it's time to graduate.
   
• If a bidding war provides a lot more money, it would be worthwhile to investigate buying a lot near-ish (3.9km / 2.4mi) to campus and build a new "tiny house" on it. Hard to imagine that much money for this century old house, though. I'll try to remain a little more reasonable in my expectations during this brainstorm.

It sounds reasonable, though, doesn't it?  Start a second life?  I haven't flitted off into escapist fantasies, have I?

Comments

[zipperbear]

I'm just not sure that schooling will be worth the cost (in money, time, and disruption). Undergrad degrees aren't very valuable in astronomy, which is also a very small job market. Graduate degrees are significant, especially for academia (which is a big chunk of the astronomy jobs), but there are technicians, programmers, and tech support staff with work experience rather than degrees, who are making valuable contributions. Conversely, there are glass ceilings between faculty, tenured faculty, and everyone else, which complicates the budgeting and funding for collaborations (mostly under research grants).

In every field, it's hard to find good workers who are productive, pleasant to work with, enthusiastic, etc., but those are hard traits to measure. Instead, a college degree shows that you're smart enough to pass exams and navigate some bureaucracy.

If you can get a start somewhere that's a good fit for your talents, then (unless it's a toxic or dysfunctional workplace) you'd be valued and encouraged to grow into more advanced roles. Getting your foot in the door somewhere to get on-the-job experience is often better than book-learning. In some sense, that's also the whole point of grad school assistantships, to get practice with teaching, research, and paperwork, which are all skills useful in academia, industry, or government.

In an interview, maybe emphasize that you want out of a dull job with no advancement room, and that you want something productive, interesting, and good for humanity. They say you should focus on the positive, not bad-mouthing a job you hate. (Disclaimer: I've never actually gotten a job that I've interviewed for. As a temp, I got several offers to stay on. The one where I agreed to try it, for at least a year, turned into 28 years.)