(no subject)

[sebastienne]

Further to half_of_monty's posting of this link - I'm applying to do librarianship masters next year, because I am comfortable in this career direction for the next 5 or 10 years, unless something else throws itself into my path.

But I'm not comfortable with the fact that this means signing myself away to libraries for the next 40+ years, unless I can raise £15k!

My marvellous mum has talked me down from my panic, and made me realise that my job Right Now is just to make the best possible applications, and secure offers of places and scholarships and funding: that I don't really have to worry about these things until the summer.

But still - gah! Stupid fscking government! I am on a very short fuse at the moment anyway - don't seem to have energy to do anything that needs doing beyond work and sleep, and I'm using the little energy that's left over to stress about all the things I need to do rather than get them done - and have hurt sugar_and_space quite badly through inconsideration and irritability. I should not have to deal with this crap.

I'm aware that I'm being incredibly adolescent, pushing back at adult responsiblities with a cry of "don't wanna!". Humour me? Just a little?

Comments

[half-of-monty.livejournal.com]

But your first degree was a bachelor's degree, wasn't it? And you're applying to do a masters. So I don't think it applies to you. (It applies to me because I already have a PhD, which is `higher' than a masters, whereas your bachelor's degree is `lower').

However you may also want to reply to the inquiry from the Innovation, Universities and Skills Select Committee - see invisiblechoir's latest comment (http://half-of-monty.livejournal.com/35069.html?thread=168189#t168189) to my post.

[sebastienne.livejournal.com]

But am I right in thinking it will apply to any masters I take in the future, if I come to decide librarianship is not for me? That is the point at which I'm worried about the cost of a degree, not right now.

[sebastienne.livejournal.com]

(Having already taken a librarianship masters, I mean, as is my plan.)

[half-of-monty.livejournal.com]

Yes, it would, if they go ahead with it. Note as I said invisiblechoir's comment - it sounds like someone's kicking up a fuss and the plan won't go ahead as suggested for now anyway. Even if it does, here's a consultation document (http://www.bcs.org/upload/pdf/elq-consultation.pdf) on what the plans are looking like being. Note Annex C - lots of subjects are classified as useful and so excluded. (This may include Economics, so I may be fine - but even Economics graduate admissions tutors don't konw yet, hence the stress).

Finally (at least for Economics masters) the difference in fees between home and overseas students for a masters course is about 3,000. So yes, it is rude and a pain and possibly being implemented far too fast without enough consultation (or possibly they just should have run the consultation they're running now before making the annoucement, the muppets). But the price difference will be an amount which you, as a professional working in perfectly good jobs, will be able to afford.

[sebastiality.livejournal.com]

Hey. Don't be so hard on yourself. Are you on msn now? x

[sebastienne.livejournal.com]

Sadly I'm at work. Well, not sadly - I love it here, and I wouldn't signup for 13-hr days if I didn't - but still, no msn for emmas. x

[sccye.livejournal.com]

www.e-messenger.com works quite well for a browser-based alternative.

[sebastienne.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the reassurance & info. A proper look shall have to wait until I'm not at work, but the difference between costs for library schools courses I was looking at was in the region of £4-6k for british students and £10-12k for overseas. I was generalising from this to all masters-type degrees, which I get was a silly thing to do, but I was a bit frantic.

[sccye.livejournal.com]

I don't think venting stress and frustration is especially 'un-adult' of you. Everyone needs time to fix themselves, so don't beat yourself up for having to do it once in a while.

hugs.
x

[sebastienne.livejournal.com]

in the past i've used msn webmessenger (htpp://www.webmessenger.msn.com).. but the block to my msn-use isn't so much a technological one, as an ethical one. or, if you're more cynical, a fear-of-being-caught-using-msn one...

[sccye.livejournal.com]

Understandable. Ethics are good things to have, like chocolate.

[half-of-monty.livejournal.com]

Well, I've only looked at the costs for economics masters! But still, no need for you to fret for now, at least until they've actually decided what they're doing. (And hey, do make your views known to the consulting people!)

[steerpikelet.livejournal.com]

I was about to post the same as Elizabeth: what you need right now is funding for a Masters in library studies, which you can get from scholarships/grants/loans. What you can't get is specific government funding for second undergraduate degree - but that doesn't apply to you, and won't in the future.

Generally, there's no funding for Masters from the government - funding comes from private funding bodies. I have the same issue at the moment: if I apply for the MA in journalism (which I'm going to) next year and get it, I may have to give up Birkbeck. But you don't need a masters' for every career, anyway.

I'm actually writing an article about student loans, higher degrees and the state of meritocracy in Britain, due in a week and a half. If you feel better about the whole thing, or if it would help, would you be prepared to give me a couple of quotes? - 'i'm applying for a librarianship masters and these are the problems I'm facing' kinda thing. x

[scribeofnisaba.livejournal.com]

Don't worry about it, chuck. For the last few weeks I've been loaded down with work that my dept helpfully didn't spread out neatly enough, as well as two projects and a dissertation, and what have I been kicking off about? Having to clean the bathroom.

*hugs and calming pats on the head*

[deathbyshinies.livejournal.com]

A certain reasonable amount of "Don't wanna!" is an ingredient in everyone's life, adult or otherwise. And this is a particularly dicey time to be applying for postgraduate courses with the government carrying on like it is; there's nothing worse than that added uncertainty about the finances to go with all the other uncertainties that the application process brings in and of itself.

If absolute push comes to absolute shove, you certainly won't be the first person to self-fund a Masters' degree. And as people above have said, if you do it after a few years-odd of full-time work, the financial side of it won't be nearly so painful in any case.

Also, I think you are doing admirably. *hugs*

[half-of-monty.livejournal.com]

Actually, after further research today - the bit about 3,000 being the difference in fees was bollocks. More like 4-6.

Waah, when do I find out if it applies to me or not??