[pct-l] affording a thru-hike

[CWillett at pierce.ctc.edu (Chris Willett)]

Note that if you have an MA, you can teach at a community college. Unless you really want to do research (in which case you'll spend your summers doing it so that you can get tenure), teaching at a university (with the need for a PhD) doesn't make much sense. I made the switch and am very happy that I did so, although I am still glad I got a PhD first.

Suge

---------------------------
Christopher Willett
cwillett@pierce.ctc.edu
www.pierce.ctc.edu/faculty/cwillett
Pierce College
9401 Farwest Drive SW.
Lakewood, WA. 98498-1999

> ----------
> From: 	Dan and Nina Rogers
> Sent: 	Thursday, November 18, 2004 6:30 AM
> To: 	Chris Willett; pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
> Subject: 	RE: [pct-l] affording a thru-hike
> 
> I have been giving the academic life a lot of thought
> these days! I have an M.A. and recently sent out for
> information on PhD programs from several schools, with
> the possible intention of starting on my doctorate
> after our PCT thru-hike.
> 
> It's a tough decision, though. Right now I have a
> cushy professional 9-to-5 job where I'm bored out of
> my mind but get a nice paycheck and benefits.
> Sheltowee and I are putting away $$$ every paycheck to
> save for a 2006 thru-hike (and time afterward to look
> for jobs), so the cushy, boring job is affording me
> both (1) the funds to save, and (2) an increased
> desire to escape Cubicle Land and hit the trail for a
> good five months. Whenever Dan or I get frustrated
> with work and certain aspects the non-hiking life
> (including being broke all the time because we're
> putting so much away each month), we just remind
> ourselves that we're paying our dues and will be in
> the PCT before long. I guess it is all about balance.
> 
> In addition to driving old cars, we rarely buy new
> clothes and rarely eat out or go to movies. Every
> little bit counts.
> 
> Luckily, Dan's job is a three-year commitment, and
> it'll end in March of '06. I guess we'll figure out
> what else we'll do for a living when we get back from
> hiking. :-)
> 
> --- Chris Willett <CWillett@pierce.ctc.edu> wrote:
> 
> > You don't have to live in a shack without
> > electricity oreat canned pasta every night to go
> > thruhiking every summer.  Academics get most of the
> > summer and a month of the winter off.  At the
> > university, I had nearly 4 months off during the
> > summer (3.5 months spent thruhiking the PCT).  
> > Now, at the college level, I've got a few days less.
> >  This winter will be spent on a 250 mile trek in
> > Death Valley.  Next summer, well, who knows?  Of
> > course, you need to go to school for a while, and
> > you need to like what you do.  But, to suggest that
> > a certain life style is closed off to those who have
> > a stable job is, I suggest, untrue.
> > 
> > Suge
> > 
> > ---------------------------
> > Christopher Willett
> > cwillett@pierce.ctc.edu
> > www.pierce.ctc.edu/faculty/cwillett
> > Pierce College
> > 9401 Farwest Drive SW.
> > Lakewood, WA. 98498-1999
> > 
> > > ----------
> > > From: 	pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net on
> > behalf of David Dalbey
> > > Sent: 	Monday, November 15, 2004 6:47 PM
> > > To: 	Pct-L@Backcountry. Net; Jeffrey J. Olson
> > > Subject: 	RE: [pct-l] affording a thru-hike
> > > 
> > > Also around that same area are some really amazing
> > sea kayakers doing
> > > the sea-kayak equivilent of thru-hikes, (actually
> > on a grander scale).
> > > Chris Duff has paddled around Ireland, Iceland,
> > and New Zealand's south
> > > Island.  He supported himself as a carpenter and
> > lives in a straw bale
> > > cabin.  Leon Somme and Shawna Franklin, with whom
> > Chris did the Iceland
> > > expedition, live in a 12' x 12' cabin with no
> > electricity on Orcas
> > > Island.  During a presentation on their Iceland
> > trip they explained that
> > > what they do, not what they own is what makes
> > their life rich!  That's a
> > > gem of advise!
> > > 
> > > David
> > > david@dalbey.org
> > > 
> > > 
> > > :A short story...  In the pacific northwest, on
> > the olympic
> > > :peninsula, around
> > > :Port Townsend, live a breed of men in their 40s
> > and 50s the locals call
> > > :"Shed Boys."  Shed boys essentially tuned in,
> > turned on, and
> > > :dropped out in
> > > :the late 60s and early 70s.  Rather than get
> > straight jobs, they find
> > > :seasonal work, enough for beans and rice and
> > getting high.
> > > :They found old
> > > :sheds in the forest and converted them into small
> > living
> > > :spaces, running
> > > :electric cords through the trees, etc.  Shed boys
> > apparently
> > > :don't last long
> > > :in relationships - too much commitment.
> > > :
> > > :There are lifestyles that support whatever you
> > want to do.
> > > :You just have to
> > > :choose to live them and have the self-discipline
> > to live
> > > :within your means.
> > > :Self-discipline is the key.  I think it's harder
> > to live on
> > > :the margins than
> > > : it is to get a straight job and do the nine to
> > five thing.
> > > :
> > > :Jeff Olson
> > > :Laramie WY
> > > :
> > > :_______________________________________________
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> 
> =====
> My Book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0881505986/qid=1085490127/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-4279170-1300733?v=glance&s=books
> 
> Sheltowee's Book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0972903801/qid=1085490159/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-4279170-1300733?v=glance&s=books
> 
> Sheltowee's Web Site: http://www.sheltoweehikes.com
> 
> 
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