I coasted through high school without so much as cracking a book. I then went to the Universtiy, where I majored in Health Services Administration (I was going to be an HMO Executive). Then I decided that my smarts would be better put to use if I went into the ministry.
So, I transferred to a little seminary in the Ozarks and got a Bachelor’s degree in Biblical Literature. Then I went into the mission field and served there for six months. However, when my funding was cut off due to a misunderstanding, my career in the ministry was over in a matter of weeks.
Now, 3 years later, I have $17,000+ dollars in student loans, six years of college, and a degree that I can’t use. My résumé gets thrown into the trash (or I get laughed out of the interview) every time the potential boss sees the words “Bachelor of Biblical Literature” on the page.
So what am I doing? I’m working the night shift at Pizza Hut and living in a trailer. Of course, I’m not complaining. It’s just that if I’d gone into medicine or law or business I’d be rolling in it right now.
What I really enjoy doing is writing, but there’s not much money to be made by writing if you don’t have a degree in journalism (and not much to be made if you do, either). I’m too old (29) and too deep in debt to try to get another degree. All I can really do now is hope that there is a boss out there, somewhere, who will give ol’ rastahomie a chance.
Thanks for letting me vent. The pity party is now closed.
gunes - I don’t know if you’re belittling me or offering empathy. Either way, since you asked: I haven’t written any books. I’m currently writing one, and if it gets published I’ll be sure to announce it in MPSIMS. I have written a couple of articles; one will be published soon. Go to http://www.islandnet.com/~believer and look for an article entitled “A Creed for Parents, Coaches, Players and Officials in Children’s Sports.” It should be up within about six weeks or so.
And Bourbon, MO is an OK town. Actually, I think I’m starting to like living in a small town in the Ozarks. Sure beats where I grew up (Springfield, IL).
i am not belittling you, as i don’t even know you. it just seems to me that if indeed writing is what you have chosen and say you love to do, and if you are as intelligent as you claim, then i would like to check out your book. however, i cannot say that i am offering sympathy to you either, since i know of artists/musicians/scientists who are damn smart but make about as much as you (not all in this country) and would also most likely get rejected by some companies if it came down to the resume. however, the ones who love what they do are not bitter.
please don’t take it badly that i say “i am not offering my sympathy either”. i am just being honest, but it isn’t personal. and, again, i don’t know you so i can’t say too much “about you”.
on a more direct note, i honestly think that you can maybe consider getting another degree (even a masters degree in another subject).
p.s.: i lived in rolla, so no matter what you say, i do offer you my sypathy for living in bourbon! but, please don’t take this more than lightly!
“I play the fool, Pyotr Alexandrovitch, to make myself agreeable.”
–Fyodor Pavlovitch, Brothers Karamazov
Hey rasta, don’t think it’s too late to get another degree. There are lots and lots and lots of people who go (back) to school when they’re in their thirties. Visit almost any urban college campus and you’ll find plenty of adults enrolled who are looking for a second start.
Rastahomie, a similar thing happened to me (and in fact I was just moaning about it to a pal this weekend). I was always bright in school, breezed through without studying, then went to a small Baptist school and studied Literature, although not just of the Biblical sort. Now out here in the Real World, I find myself with a mediocre job that has nothing to do with my field of expertise, does not give me any emotional satisfaction (I’m not sure whether it should or not), and that I feel is not in line with my Potential. Therefore I must be wasting myself, and what a travesty the whole thing is. It is truly sad that the things people love and excel at are sometimes impractical for paying mortgages. If someone had told me in college that I couldn’t get a job in my field, I would have gone into medicine or something, just so I could pay the bills. At least I did find something I love, even if only for a hobby. And there is still the option of going back to school to get a further degree - either one that involves a “useful” skill, or one that will enable me to lead others down my own path to ruin (as a college professor, of course). Best of luck to you with your book, and do let us all know when you’re published.
I forgot to make my point. It is this: Sidis, and others as well, showed early potential to grow up and do extraordinary things with their special gifts of intellegence. The fact that extremely intellegent people frequently find themselves in jobs that are “unworthy of their talents” is seen as a failure by society.
To me, this indicates that in general, people have a pretty low opinion of themselves but are also quick to point out the mediocrity of everyone else as some sort of failure. “It’s okay for me to be an accounting clerk because I only have a 74 IQ. What’s your excuse, Sidis?”
I think it was a Dilbert cartoon that brought the point home - Intellegence doesn’t count as a Marketable Skill.
I think Dilbert got it right. The whole point of my OP was that raw intelligence doesn’t necessarily translate to big bucks. It also takes the timely application of a little common sense.
I seldom agree with Thomas Sowell, but he recently wrote a column in which he claims that extremely intelligent children are being mis-diagnosed as autistic:
Sounds like Sidis. If he lived today, he’d probably be mis-diagnosed as autistic.
Can you see how such traits can make a very intelligent person unsuited for most jobs? The repetition of most jobs causes such people to be bored easily, which leads to frustration and anger and hostility. The key is finding a job that does engage their interests and which allows them a degree of independence and even solitude.
The reason they crave solitude, IMHO, is because there are fewer interruptions to their thinking. Such people must be very sensitive, highly aware and thus easily disturbed. Solitude decreases the possible number of disturbances.
Cecil noted that Sidis seldom bathed. Well, bathing takes time and time not spent thinking is time wasted, according to folks like Sidis.
Here’s what I think is going on: The thinking process gives them pleasure. They’re addicted to it. And you know how addicts will do anything to get a fix. And it does not matter if the thinking process is spent on minutiae, because the goal is to simply feel good, and not necessarily be productive. If the individual does produce something useful (a practical light bulb, the Theory of Relativity, computer software), it’s only because his interests coincided with that of society’s needs.
Those whose interests are on trivial matters end up like Sidis.
There was a very famous study done - unfortunately my brain has rotted sufficiently that I no longer remember the psychologist’s name. Basically he picked out about 100 geniuses and followed them for their whole lives (research assistants took over the project after the lead’s death). Compared to a control group, they were more successful, were less likely to be divorced, had fewer health problems (including mental health) and reported being happier.
Jab1,
Yeah, I think you’ve got something there about thinking addiction.
Heck, that’s why I come here regularly I think! It engages my brain in a way I don’t get to use in my job and rest of my life. Not that I’m a genius, but, I do like to think hard about abstract stuff and how often do you get to REALLY do that in life?
Now, if I WERE a super-genius, perhaps I would get a Jones for a thinking-type problem that might not be in the normal vein of society (like Streetcar transfers).
I agree that there could be something to your addiction theory and ADD/autism. My wife’s a HS teacher and we both think that the hardest kids to teach are either those who are too dense to focus or so bright they’re bored. It’s hard to teach to either end of the bell curve without losing the middle masses.
However, I do think that Autism and ADD really do exist but are frequently misdiagnosed by docs since they are ‘popular’ choices. When all you’ve got is a hammer everything looks like a nail, right?
I also think that some kids are just crappy humans regardless of their brightness. Judge me if you want but you haven’t seen what I’ve seen.
Cooper-I am a former “gifted education” teacher(meaning I worked with students in grades K-12 who were found to be intellectually gifted). I remember reading about the study you mentioned. (It would take me a couple of days to find the textbook it was in). Anyway, I remember the researchers found that most of the geniuses did not do anything that society would consider spectacular. But they had found happiness and solace in what they were doing. I think most highly intelligent people receive a great deal of attention as children from adults. When they try to fit in with their peers, however, they are often treated (and sometimes behave) like freaks. I think many of these individuals seek solitude and quiet anonymity because they have been so ridiculed during their formative years.
"And it came to pass that in that time the Great God Om spake unto Brutha, the Chosen One: “Psst!” - Pratchett
Rastahomie-Many colleges and universities will defer your loan payments while you are working toward a graduate degree. I am currently working on my master’s in ed, and my loans are deferred until I’m finished. Tip for you and anyone else out there: If stability in your career means more to you than the amount you make–try Special Education, it doesn’t pay a whole lot, but I have not met an unemployed special ed teacher. Think about it!
Brangwyn hit on the other reason very intelligent people crave solitude: Refuge from the jealous and insecure. I should have mentioned it in my post above, but I didn’t think of it at the time.
So solitude is craved by thinkers because a) it gives them time to think and b) it offers refuge from the ignorant and intolerant.
Sounds like a great place for a slam.
(1) What were you thinking?
(2) They could use all the help they can get.
(3) And you said you were bright.
That sounds like an interesting omitted detail.
That’s gotta be hard. Some jobs have specific requirements, but I’m taking it you haven’t been applying to be a neurosurgeon. It can be rough getting potential bosses to get over preconceived notions. I’ve got a cousin in a similar boat. Went off to get a degree in divinity (specifics I’m not sure on) and now he’s a truck driver. His folks wonder why he won’t go use that degree. Wanna be a pastor?
That’s really the challenge. You have to convince the interveiwer why you are qualified to do the job, and why they should hire you even though on paper you seem a strange choice. Show them some experience that may be unrelated but explain how it can be applicable in the right light. From what I hear (and I’m making this up) interviews are really important. You have to show your ability and how your background actually will be beneficial. Lots of luck.
You did mention writing. Not that I know anything about it, but I read in a magazine somewhere about a writer who was discussing how to get in the business. She commented that most of the people working in her field had unrelated degrees, and journalism wasn’t one of them. Of course this was in a woman’s fashion magazine writing tips for teenage girls to put on their makeup, so that may not apply for you. (I was bored and it was the only thing to read! Really. No, really.)
from Brangwyn:
He’s right. Often college loans will be deferred as long as you are enrolled. Of course that means racking up even more debt, but you can at least not face paying debt at the same time you’re creating more.
from jab1:
This is an interesting phenomenon that deserves investigation. How come some really bright people ignore hygiene? I heard about a guy at JPL that was similar. He was brilliant on all the technical stuff, but stank to high heaven. They gave him a private office in an out of the way location, and had a designated interface that would go in and get the needed information. A similar situation occurs with programmers. They get so wrapped up in the challenge that they skip sleep, eat junk food, and ignore hygiene.
Interesting. I find myself thinking all the time about everything - it’s a challenge to keep from thinking. I’ll be in the bathroom and my mind will wander through a barrage of incoherent nonsense just because. Sometimes I can’t go to sleep at night because my mind is too active, and not even working on a particular thought, just rambling around. I sometimes give it games just to have something to concentrate on. Like trying to remember the names of all my jr. high teachers, the classes they taught, and put them in order. Did that one night.
Could it be, perhaps, that the really bright are trapped by a mind that won’t stop thinking?
from Brangwyn:
That would definitely fit the pattern of my life. I was very much a social outcast all through school, from elementary through high school, and even to an extent in college. (Hell, I still feel that way now.) I got along pretty well with my teachers (and other adults), but dealing with peers was never easy. Still not the most socially comfortable. I don’t share the common interest of getting drunk, and thus become uncomfortable after extended periods with those that are. On the other hand, I crave attention and enjoy converstation, so solitude is not really a refuge either.
I can get that Sidis might have been happy in a quiet unassuming job that left him at peace and let him spend his mental energies thinking all the things he wanted to think on his own. If someone would ever invent a thought recorder, maybe one day I could sell off some stories that never make it from my head to paper.
If someone had told me in college that I couldn’t get a job in my field, I would have gone into medicine or something, just so I could pay the bills.
Are you nuts?! Did someone lead you to believe you could get a job with your Biblical Literature degree!? I can’t believe you could be that naive, even with all your smarts. Did you ever step foot into the Career Services office?
By the way, it’s not necessary to put what you degree was in, specifically. You can just put Bachelor of Arts and let them ask you if they want to know.
