The Quest for Bliss in Academia but Also Not Financial Ruin

Joseph Campbell formulated what became his most quoted dictum, "Follow your bliss" in the decade before his death. Join this conversation to explore this idea and share stories.

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danielngullotta
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Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2014 11:04 am
Location: Kansas, USA
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The Quest for Bliss in Academia but Also Not Financial Ruin

Post by danielngullotta »

Greetings friends!
This is my first post on the JCF, so hello one and all! My name is Daniel and am wrapping up my Masters of Theological Studies at the moment. I recently moved to the United States to marry my darling fiance and from there, we will begin our new life together. Years ago, I envisioned myself as a priest, so I began the long journey as a seminarian but after falling in love with religious studies (and out of love with God as it were), I wanted to become a scholar and an educator. I took some time off and recently reinvested my studies at the Masters level at a good school in Australia. So now I have a Bachelors of Theology and a Masters of Theological Studies, all of which have focused on the New Testament and Christian Origins. I still love that area, Jesus and Paul will always be my first loves, but over the years I have become more interested in more broad and deeper questions, more looking in the direction of world religions and comparative mythology. I love the inter-disciplinary skills that are required in religious studies, how one minute I could be reading Focault and the next I could be reading archaeological reports!

I have been looking around at various PhDs and nothing has really caught my attention with the exception of the Pacifica Graduate Institute. It really seems to be one of the few Mythological problems in the country, and none that deals with all of the areas I am interested in. I have seen a few other places, but one of them focus on one religious tradition or another. The reason why I am not considering chasing the PhD in Biblical Studies is because not being a Christian, really limits my options or at least my comfort level. Not only that but in terms of my future employment, more and more divinity schools are hiring basically their own 'kind' so that leaves me out. I have seen a few MA programs that look good, but no MA/PhD or just PhD programs. So Pacifica looks pretty darn cool to me, plus I have an idea for a Joseph Campbell thesis that might striking some people interested. However the cost of Pacifica astounds me! My wife and I are currently debt free and by the end of it, we would be over 100K in the hole... and for what, a PhD in Mythological Studies? Not only that, I have rang a people who did get their PhDs from there and while they loved the program and the people, they have said people from more traditional universities and colleges have called their credentials "pseudo-PhDs". So the cost concerns me, and with how little scholarships and grants there are, that is concerning. Not only that but we would have to move, which isn't a bad thing, but Cali is not cheap as well!

Yet regardless of where I went and what I did, the Humanities Departments are in the toilet right now. No one is hiring, not even community colleges seem to be hiring, not in World Religions or Mythology or Classics or Biblical Studies anyway. So a huge debt with no jobs. Now, I am considering just going the "independent route" but I still desire the PhD, perhaps foolishly, but it a goal I have set more my life and a dragon I feel I must face. So following my bliss to higher education may inspire me and enrich my life, I don't want to do so if it will kill my family and drown us in debt...

I feel a lose and no matter what I do, I am going to be stuck. Life's age old problem: Option 1: PARENT: "Do whatever you want kid! Follow your bliss, do what makes you happy and study whatever you want!" KID enrolls into something in the humanities or liberal arts only to discover there are no jobs, and they are now burdened with debt and regret not doing something more practical.

Option 2: PARENT: "Study something that will be really useful and practical. Something that will get you a decent job and a good salary." KID does so, and does get a job eventually, only to hate it and regret not studying what they really wanted.

literaryogini
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Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2016 4:33 pm

You are not alone

Post by literaryogini »

I wish I were posting with some encouragement or guidance but I'm really just writing to commiserate, as it were. I'm here in almost the exact same boat. I majored in English and would LOVE to study at Pacifica, but as you said, the cost, and then someone calling my degree a PhD with an asterisk beside it...no, thank you. I can say, however, there are a couple of other schools that you may want to look into, while not as fascinating as Pacifica, but more accredited and possibly better scholarship programs. Consider looking at Naropa, Sophia, or Antioch. Best of luck to you.

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