Wednesday

[qos]

I'll be spending all day today at the 2006 Planning offsite, with the leadership of my division. I won't be there as admin support (that's Miss V's job, since her boss is the senior leader), I'll be there as a member of the senior team. I hasten to add that Miss V also has that status, but her primary role today will be as the administrative organizer and support. In most departments, I would not be there at all since a second admin would be redundant. I certainly would not be entitled to voice any opinions, as I am in my own division.


I am very interested in what Jeannie and her peers will present today, especially the Director of Finance, since her presentation will be based on what my partner and I did for our metrics project. I know I keep talking about this, but I am deeply satisfied by this project and the significance of it. Being an Executive Assistant is not what I want to do. I like my boss. I like my work environment. The job itself is not a bad job. But it is not what I want to be doing with the many, many hours of my work life.

People around me tell me how "important" my job is. Okay, there does need to be someone to grease the wheels of the operation, to guide people through the corporate beauracracy, to keep office supplies on hand, to know where to go and who to talk to to get lightbulbs changed or a new computer ordered or reserve time in the cafe, to arrange travel, and help people navigate the expense reports system. But I don't have my own work. I don't own anything. I support, I respond, I make it possible for other people to do their jobs. This is satisfying work for many, I know. Not for me.

Ack, I don't mean to whine. But -- on reflection -- I do mean to allow my discontent to bubble up so that I can face it and allow myself to be discontented so I continue to move forward toward the work I really want to do. It would be very easy to simply coast along where I am. My boss likes me. My team likes me. The pay is good. The environment is pleasant. It's low risk, with moderate reward. But I don't want to simply drift along until retirement in this place, drawing my comfy (but not wonderful) paycheck and living a life of quiet desperation.


After my conversation with the pendulum on Sunday night, I looked again at my plans to leave SU for a certificate program that would take less time, cost less money, and be geared toward distance students with jobs. There was strong advice to stay at SU. But I knew there were problems with that, despite my love of the community. What I found on the website yesterday was something I had seen but not really looked at before: a post-Masters certificate program in Transforming Spirituality, designed for those who already have a graduate degree in theology or religion (which I have: a MA in Comparative Religion). Right now, I am enrolled in the MA in Transforming Spirituality program, which is 72 credits.

The certificate requires only 27 credits: 9 electives (which I have -- and more), and five core classes, one of which I've already taken. No practicum, which means no trying to work an internship around my day job and home responsibilities. I could finish within a year if the classes are offered in close sequence, two years at the most. It's still pricier than the other school, but I could handle adding four more classes to my loan balance.

I need to email my advisor and inquire about the possibilities. . . . I feel weird about changing my program yet again (from M.Div. to MATS to the certificate) -- but I believe I am spiraling closer and closer to what is right for me.

Comments

[toesontheground.livejournal.com]

Hope your planning day goes well - the new course option sounds interesting too!

[blessed-harlot.livejournal.com]

I don't know about your circle from your MA work, but I knew very few people from my days at seminary that finished the program they originally started without significant changes. There's something about the transformative work of studying religion that finds and hones the core of our studies, and switches us to another track if needs be. I think the certificate program sounds great for you.