Jobless Recoveries (part 1,000,000)

[joannemerriam]

For years I've been saying that when Alan gets out of school, I want to switch to working part-time and have that much more time for writing. I discovered when I was writing full-time that I can only be productive for about five hours max, and then my brain melts, so writing full-time isn't really an option, for me. Also, I think it's good for me

Comments

[blackturtleneck]

This is an interesting topic - one close to many things I've been mulling over for a while in my own little world.

My first question would be, what sort of activities or interactions "keep the mind alive" for you the most? Is it the social aspect of working with others, an intellectual or skills related challenge, something else?

[joannemerriam]

Intellectual or skills related challenge.

[big_paul]

Tutoring, one-on-one.

I used to do it, money's good, rewarding work, only down side is it's very difficult to do full-time. For you, "that's a feature, not a bug".

I don't know if that makes it under the radar of your aversion to teaching or not though.

[bronze_ribbons]

Many churches need only a part-time office manager, business manager, or accountant. If you're the one in charge (as opposed to reporting to someone, which I'm assuming is the current situation?) methinks you might find it more stimulating/challenging.

Then again, I'm also guessing you're looking for suggestions outside of admin (and/or event management), so, brainstorming here:

- archiving/curating/conservation/preservation
- accounting would definitely keep your mind as active as much as your heart could desire, if only because the !@#@!# laws keep changing every year (though I shouldn't complain, as they're often to my benefit), and the existing code is so !@#!@# complex that any CPA willing to go beyond basic tax returns is worth their weight in guilders
- take your web design experience up a notch and become a Flash maven? (hm, that sounds vaguely filthy, but maybe I've just been awake too many hours in a row)

Good luck...

[joannemerriam]

Good point about changes in accounting law, I hadn't thought of that. Archiving/curating/conservation/preservation - all sound interesting and I will have to look into what's involved and whether or not I think it'd work for me. Thanks for the suggestions!

[joannemerriam]

I'm willing to go back to school for a masters or something.

I'd love to be a philanthropist, but that doesn't really help me because you need money to do that. The lottery question is how I figured out I should just write, though.

[joannemerriam]

Oh, nothing can happen until Alan graduates (May 09) since we flat-out can't afford for both of us to be in school at the same time. (It's probably too late to apply for this September to anyplace that I would want to go, anyway.) The earliest I could start a program would be August/September 2009.

Once we know for sure where we'll be living, you're right, it's easier to firm things up. We certainly will not be in New Hampshire. We're likely to be in Nashville but no guarantees. There are some very good schools there - Vanderbilt and Belmont leap to mind.

Alan has suggested that I could go to law school and do either family law (and then be involved with organizations that help battered women), or constitutional law (and then be involved with organizations which defend civil rights) both of which I am really interested in.

I think librarianship might be too close to books and writing. I'd probably enjoy it, but the more I think about it, the more I think I'd want this second job to be pretty far removed from the writing world.