Wednesday, 3 December 1986: Enjoying My Job while Facing an Uncertain Future

Gaborone, Botswana

Today I went on another Environmental Science class field trip.  We drove about 30 km west of Gaborone to the Kolobeng River, the only perennial stream in this part of Botswana.  It wasn’t much of a stream and the flow was minimal given the recent drought.  We saw a useless dam on the river that hasn’t been maintained and was silted up from past flood events.



Kolobeng River, west of Gaborone.  Top:  While taking a short hike along the river we encountered this pool with little through flow.  Bottom:  Flood debris and silt deposits at a non-functional dam. 

 

Last month, I posed a hypothetical question to John Cooke, the department chair:  “Assuming I do a good job this year, what are the chances of my getting a contract for next year?”  Answer:  “Almost nil.”  They have two locals who will be coming back from Master’s programs overseas next year.  And they also plan to hire a Ph.D. physical geographer.  John said it was nothing against me of the job I’ve been doing.  He offered to write me a good letter of recommendation. 

I would have been nice to have the option to stay on here.  At the same time, knowing that there is little chance I’ll be able to stay on after this coming June 10 gets the uncertainty out of the way.  This job and location could be a lot worse but I’m not in love with them and certainly not with any of the women I’ve met here so far, so it’s no tragedy. 

Maybe it’s time to start thinking about what I want to do six months from now.  Perhaps I will still want to do another month or two of southern Africa travels but then what?  I probably can’t find another university teaching like this one.  I wouldn’t want a high school teaching job.  I don’t have any great ideas for making a bundle as an entrepreneur.  I’ve thought about getting into a Ph.D. program, but I’m not confident that all the work and money involved would be worth it in terms of opening up interesting job opportunities.  Perhaps I could get a job as an environmental scientist or resource planner with some developing world organization like CARE (I’ve seen a few job listings).  No doubt the competition is stiff and probably ex-Peace Corps volunteers and people with international development experience have an edge.  If I keep working on my French (I’m currently taking a class), I might have a shot a jobs in more than 20 French-speaking Africa countries and Haiti.  

I really think I’d like to keep working overseas, but what if no one thinks I’m qualified?  I dread the thought of going back to a “straight” job in the U.S. and getting back into a yuppie rut.   

Tomorrow night I have a third date with a woman I met at a U.S. Embassy T.G.I.F. last month.  The following day, I leave for four weeks PAID vacation in Cape Town and the surrounding area.   


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