Thesis Shmesis: A Rant About Grad School

This post is for venting purposes. If I couldn't type this out right now, I would scream and screaming in the library is frowned upon. I want to scream, though. I really do. This post is the quiet, passive version of screaming. Though, I am typing forcefully to relieve some of my tension. It's kind of helping, but not really. I'd much rather scream.

Okay. So. Here it goes.

As part of our thesis proposal, I am required to investigate the field in which I hope to obtain employment. This, for me, means the field of Science Writing/Communication/Journalism.

The results are not totally disheartening, in that there are actually jobs - and seemingly quite a few of them, especially in Maryland which I haven't yet figured out. Anyway, the problem becomes this: The majority of the jobs want writers with science backgrounds, not writers with writing backgrounds and an interest in writing about science. They want hardcore freakin' scientists who used to stand around in lab coats but because they're so well versed in the way of the sciences, they've decided to impart some of their genius on the rest of the world in the form of written communication.

I am not good at science.

I am good at understanding science, but not because I am a scientist, it is because I am a problem solver. I like to find reasons and solutions for things.

I like to write about science because I like to take something confusing and break it down, I love to find a metaphorical way of showing/telling what the hell it means to me, you, and everyone we know.

Yes. I love it. This probably makes me a giant geek but I don't care. I like being a geek.

I love metaphor. I love metaphor and analogy and I love using words to make things happen, make things change, make ideas more accessible and make concepts more clear. I love explaining something difficult in a way that makes the person's face go "ohh" when they finally get it. See how cool this crazy science is? See why this completely ridiculous discovery is important and fascinating? I love turning on the light bulb.

But I am not a scientist.

So. Now what?

Eff. Eff. Eff.