Bill continued to help my exploration by asking Gabor – can you say a little more about your career goals – what eventual degree are you seeking and what career to you intend to follow when you are done? My reply follows: Bill, I am aware that these are the right and most important questions for the long term. Right now I don’t have exact answers. As a matter of fact that’s why I am going to school. To help me to figure out what is that I am really interested in. The only thing I do know that it will be at the intersection of Sociology, Religion, and Technology. This is the order I am interested in them the most.I am hoping that during my studies I will be exposed to new areas, thoughts, directions I didn’t even know about. But I do not entirely expect that to come from the outside. I want to go after them consciously. I can envision a number of scenarios regarding my degree and career choices form the place where I am at now :
1. Staying in Academia. Once I am in graduate school and get a taste of teaching I may find that I enjoy it. I can imagine my life as a college professor.
2. Working in the Jewish world. As part of an organization that works from within a Jewish framework for religious peace and understanding with other traditions.
3. Working with a non-profit or with a UN like organization on large scale conflict resolution, that has a religious aspect.
4. Doing research. This may or may not be within the framework of #1 above. Or it can be at a Gallup type organization. Disclaimer: I worked for Gallup in the past.
5. Facilitating online conversations such as the ones at belief.net. Enabling religious people with technology to be more creative, open, and free. Thus I believe that my primary degree should be in Sociology. I have a deep interest in religion. Thus my second major. The more I know about it the deeper my understanding is, the better I can be at any of the career choices mentioned above. Thank you for focusing me on the right direction. It’s just that right now I don’t think is best time for me to think about it, when I am immersed in a whole new environment. Maybe in a few weeks I will have more mindspace.