As you have no doubt noticed, dear reader, my posts have become a rarity these days. That is due primarily to the stack of books and papers that demand to be read, dissected, and commented upon for all of my classes this semester. I am definitely back in school mode, which has its good points and its bad points as well. Overall things are going great thus far. I'm on schedule in all of my classes and keeping up with the mounds of homework. I am starting to sweat a few papers that are coming up in the not too distant future, but they somehow always come together.
Since I might not post for another week or more after this one, I thought I might spell out with greater detail what it is that I am wanting to "do with my life" at this point. It is a question that almost always comes up, especially after telling someone that you are in seminary. Here's how that conversation usually begins: "Oh, you are in seminary. That's great. Do you want to be a pastor?" The fact that my response starts with "Well..." and an elongated pause indicates that they are in for a much longer answer than they anticipated. So here for you is my long answer, numbered and condensed (sort of) for easy digestion.
1. Graduate from Beeson with an MTS
This is important, seeing as I've spent the last two years sweating blood in order to get a degree from Beeson. However, this does require some explanation. The MTS (Master of Theological Studies) is not the MDiv (Master of Divinity) that I started out getting. Last semester, I transferred into the MTS program after I realized that I did not want to work in a church. I interned at my own church and realized that I did not want that for the rest of my life. I love the church and want to always be involved in discipleship, but that will be as a layman, not as clergy. So the MTS is a degree that is for laymen who want to be better equipped to serve the church in their respective roles and to reach the world with the Gospel.
2. Take the GRE and apply for an MEd in higher education administration and student affairs
"Whoa, Ryan. Pump your brakes here. I thought you were just now graduating from a master's program. Why start a new master's?" Well, being drawn to education is the positive condition that prompted me to change to an MTS from an MDiv. It wasn't that I simply did not want to work for a local church, but I wanted to work for a school. So I've toyed back and forth with two areas of education. For awhile, I was leaning heavily toward getting a math degree and teaching high school math. I'm good at math and that holds some appeal. More recently though, I've been leaning toward higher education. I love the atmosphere of a college or university; while there are plenty of people there who are simply there for the experience, there are also a lot of people there who place a high value on their education and want to learn. That is a great environment. So to break into that field and be able to have some upward mobility when it comes to careers, it is beneficial to have a MEd. I will be writing applications this fall and hopefully know by this spring where I will attend.
3. Work in Birmingham until Laura graduates
Laura does not graduate until the spring of 2012, so I can't very well start school in Nashville or Auburn or Bloomington until then. I'm looking into a job opportunity right now that I hope pans out and would be a great job to keep until we were ready to move. If I decide to go to Alabama, then I could commute to Tuscaloosa for classes, but I'm hoping to get into Vanderbilt or Indiana, in which case we would definitely move.
4. Go to school and work
The MEd program is anywhere from 1-2 years. I would probably intern the whole time as well, which would be great experience. After that, I think that I will most likely find a job and work for a few years.
5. Get a terminal degree
Eventually, I do think that I would like to get either a PhD or an EdD. Both are doctorate degrees, but the first is focused on research and is appropriate if you want to be on faculty at a university, where the second one is primarily a practitioners degree appropriate for people who want to work at some of the highest levels in a university. I'm not sure which one I will want, but after the MEd I should have a good idea of if I want to teach or not.
That's it in a really large nutshell. Sorry to be so heavy in a rare post, but maybe I'll find a funny video and post later to balance out the blog universe.
