Lately I’ve been considering what to do for further education. I finished my Bachelor’s of Arts, English major from Athabasca University (with Great Distinction, if you’ll allow me a moment to boast) a couple years ago, and I’ve been floundering back and forth with what to do next. I’ve got a couple of years into a computer science degree (although it was long enough ago that the courses have probably expired) and am a few courses into an accounting degree, but while both of those are very salable in the job market, neither really holds my interest. And, as I was recently reminded, if you don’t like what you do, then no matter how good you are at doing it, You’re going to spend a good portion of your day unhappy.
Fortunately, for me, I do enjoy working with The Voice Magazine. While copy-editing isn’t a highlight of the day, seeing writers take my advice on board and responding with better-written articles in the future provides a sense of fulfillment. Encoding articles for publication on the website is a chore, but I’ve come up with some tricks that help to speed it along, and arranging the layout of the PDF is akin to a weekly crossword puzzle. It taxes the brain lightly, but is enjoyable for that none-the-less.
Still, I should not get complacent, so I’ve started looking once again into furthering my education. The legislative drafting program at AU has caught my interest recently, and while I’m sure to some of you the idea of writing up bills and policies comes somewhere below watching paint dry on the list of things you want to spend time on, the concept merges my interest in language with my interest in establishing coherent rules and systems. (Did I mention I’m a riot at parties? No? Now you know why.)
So what does any of this have to do with you or The Voice Magazine? Just that, if You’re pursuing your degree but You’re not sure why or where you’ll end up, don’t fret too much. Had you asked me what one might do with a B.A. Eng. (with Great Distinction) before I started working with The Voice Magazine, I would have been hard pressed to tell you. I just knew that our language was something I enjoyed working with, and was reasonably competent at writing. Do I know where I might end up with a legislative drafting credential? No. But I can tell you where I won’t end up?in an office poring over columns of numbers. That has to be worth something right there.
This ties in both with our Minds We Meet feature article, where we interview Kiran Soahib, a fellow student hailing from Pakistan, and with the article “Success Secrets” by Deanna Roney explores some ideas of how we can improve our results in our AU courses.
Our second feature this week, by Barb Lehtiniemi, takes a look at what it means to be a tutor, from the point of view of the student. It’s somewhere we’ve all been, and I’m hoping it might spark some stories from you as well. We also have our regular features, reviews, human interest stories to keep you amused, plus an extra book review supplement from The Travelling Student, teaching him how to eat cheap while on the go.
Enjoy the read!
