random stuff for students

Stuff for the future
The Chronicle of Higher Education has some sobering thoughts for anyone considering a life in academia, especially for you humanities students out there (my kindred spirits though you may be).

Most undergraduates don’t realize that there is a shrinking percentage of positions in the humanities that offer job security, benefits, and a livable salary (though it is generally much lower than salaries in other fields requiring as many years of training). They don’t know that you probably will have to accept living almost anywhere, and that you must also go through a six-year probationary period at the end of which you may be fired for any number of reasons and find yourself exiled from the profession. They seem to think becoming a humanities professor is a reliable prospect — a more responsible and secure choice than, say, attempting to make it as a freelance writer, or an actor, or a professional athlete — and, as a result, they don’t make any fallback plans until it is too late. From Thomas H. Benton | Graduate School in the Humanities

Much of what Benton says is true for ministers as well. Seminaries continue to crank out qualified and certified potential ministers into a field with less and less career track jobs. This doesn’t mean that these degrees aren’t worth pursuing; in many cases they very much are. I studied literature before seminary, and I don’t regret either degree. Nevertheless, realistic expectations can only help.

Stuff for the present
No matter how long you plan to stay in school, it’s a good idea to pinch your pennies and minimize debt. If you’re a Canadian student with only a mobile phone to connect you to the world off campus, check out Mobivox for those occasional calls home to Mom. Long distance from any phone for $0.021 per minute, no connection fee, and it’ll even call you back before it connects you if, like mine, your plan includes free incoming calls. I’ve been using it for a year now, and it works well.