A Life in Line

I am having a blast deciding which schools to apply to, but I do believe it has become an obsession, as do most of my interests. However, this obsession is not a bad thing. I think it reinforces the fact that I am destined to be a researcher. I can research any topic into oblivion until I know more about it than most people. And I’m pretty sure this obsession has sticking power. Right now, my research is focused on finding the schools that will prepare me best for a career in research. Some schools do not focus on that, but rather focus on preparing you to be a good practitioner — something I am not interested in. We need both, but I have been in the private consulting world for long enough to know that I don’t want to do it any longer.

As I said in my previous grad school planning post, a career in teaching and research at the university level just seems to be the ideal mix of my interests, desires, and even my personality. I am a thinker; therefore, I would be so happy in a job that lets me think, I think. Plus, the autonomy that is allowed in a university professorship would allow me to work when I am sharpest according to my own biorhythms. Case in point: it’s currently about 1pm and I would give anything to be able to just close my office door and take a nap, because I am very tired. It always happens mid-afternoon. (Of course, it would probably help if I didn’t eat a huge lunch, but that’s not the point!) Unfortunately, I can not close my office door and take a nap for two reasons: 1. my company does not like people closing their door, because we have an “open office policy,” and 2. I have to remain billable 8 hours every day or the bosses aren’t happy. As a professor, I will be able to shut my door and focus on my work without anyone fussing at me, and I can come and go as I please all day, as long as I do what is expected of me. I would be able to only see visitors during set office hours if I wanted to. Now, let me make it clear…I believe I would be a much more friendly professor than that, but the point is that I could do it if I wanted to. If I sent out an email here at work saying, “I now have set office hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am to 12pm. Plan your meetings with me accordingly,” I would be laughed at, not to mention lightly scolded for it.

My list of schools that I will apply to has remained largely unchanged since the last post, although I may add additional schools to the list to increase my chances of being accepted. I would prefer to stay in the south, since I’ve always lived in the south, but I may have to suck it up and move out to California or New England. It wouldn’t be a terrible thing, and it would only be temporary. I am sure that once I finish the Ph.D. I will be moving wherever I can get a job, so I better get used to it.

I have been researching graduate schools extensively over the last few weeks trying to decide which ones I want to apply to. Thanks to the Planetizen 2009 Guide to Graduate Urban Planning Programs, I was able to narrow the search down considerably just by focusing on the list of the schools with strong transportation planning specializations, which is what I think I want to specialize in. Those schools are the following:

1. Georgia Institute of Technology
2. Harvard University
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
4. Portland State University
5. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
6. Texas A & M University
7. University of California, Berkeley
8. University of California, Irvine
9. University of California, Los Angeles
10. University of Maryland
11. University of Michigan
12. University of North Carolina
13. University of Southern California
14. University of Texas
15. University of Washington

I have narrowed this list down even further by eliminating schools in places I would not want to live, such as California. I’ve basically narrowed it down to seven schools:

1. Georgia Institute of Technology
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3. Rutgers
4. University of Texas
5. Texas A & M University
6. University of Washington
7. University of North Carolina

I may add others to the list as I do more research, but those are the ones I will start with. It’s not going to be cheap applying to all these schools. Every school has an application fee of at least $50. In addition to that fee, I have to pay $10 per transcript request to send each school my transcript from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Reformed Theological Seminary, even though I took only one class each at those schools. Thankfully, Georgia Tech, where I did my undergraduate studies, does not charge for transcript requests.

I’ve always had an interest in research, so I’ve been leaning heavily towards pursuing a career in teaching and research at a university. It seems to be the ideal mix of my interests and desires:

- Teaching
- Researching topics that interest me
- A level of autonomy
- Interaction with some of the brightest minds in their field, and
- Interaction with students, which I think I would really enjoy.

This would mean that not only would I need to get a Ph.D., but I would also need to go to a school that is a strong research university. I discovered an organization that offers classifications of universities according to several criteria — one being its level of research activity. The organization is called The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The highest level for a doctorate-granting university is “Very High Research Activity.” All fifteen schools on the list above are universities with “Very High Research Activity,” so that is good.

I have to be patient, because it’s going to be a long process. First, I have to take the GRE this May, and then I have to get all my information together. I will have to get three references for each application. I’m thinking I will use Dr. Nelson Baker, my supervisor at Georgia Tech when I taught the engineering graphics lab, and at least one of my former work supervisors. I may need one more. I will then submit my applications late this year for Fall 2010 admission. Most of the schools have deadlines of early January for Fall admission if you are applying for a research assistantship position. That’s something I really need to get, because I do not want to take out more loans for graduate school. I have a feeling my final decision about which school to attend will come down to who offers me the best financial aid package.

Overall, I’m pretty excited about the prospects — moreso than about anything I’ve planned in my life up to now. I think I may have finally discovered what I am supposed to do for the rest of my life.

During 2009, I will be preparing for graduate school applications. My copy of Kaplan GRE Exam 2009 Premier Program arrived the day before Christmas. And thanks to a Barnes and Noble gift card that I received for Christmas from my brother, I purchased the Kaplan GRE Exam Vocabulary In A Box flashcard set. I plan to schedule an appointment to take the GRE in June. According to the Kaplan book, you should take a diagnostic test and then focus on improving on your weaknesses for the first half of your study time. Then, for the second half, focus on improving on your strengths. I am sure my weakness will be on the verbal side, so that’s why I purchased the vocabulary flashcards.

Back in November, I emailed the director of the Georgia Tech City Planning program, Dr. Bruce Stiftel, to get information on their admittance standards. I asked how competitive it is to get admitted and how much weight is placed on undergraduate GPA vs. the other non-quantitative criteria. This is his reply:

Mr. Eaker: In the Fall 07 cycle we had 149 applications, accepted 86 and enrolled 46. I don’t have final numbers for Fall 08 easy to hand, but they were in the same general ballpark.

We use nominal minima of 3.0 undergrad GPA; 550 V, 550 Q and 4.5 AW GRE scores; but we consider a wide variety of factors in our decisions, including the content of your personal statement, the letters of reference, past work experience, and any portfolio materials or writing sample you send us.

The effects of the non-quantitative factors cut both ways. So, it is not unusual for the committee to recommend admission for an applicant whose scores fall below one or more of our minima if they have outstanding promise as suggested by the non-quantitative portions of the application. It is also not unusual for the committee to recommend denial of someone whose scores are above the nominal minima if the non-quantitative factors are weak.

I should add it is quite rare for the committee to recommend admission if both the GPA is below 3.0 AND the V+Q GRE is below 1000.

I hope this information is helpful. Please let Ms. Blackwell or me know if we can help in any way as you move toward your graduate studies.

Since my undergraduate GPA was below 3.0 (2.57), then I am going to put alot of effort into acing the GRE. Plus, my work experience, the fact that I am a registered professional engineer in Georgia and Tennessee, and my personal statement should help. I hope that they are enough to compensate for the low GPA. However, I’ve been told that undergraduate GPA is not as important for those of us who have been out in the working world for several years. It’s more important for someone who is applying for graduate school right out of undergraduate school, since that is the only piece of information the admittance committee has to evaluate the applicant’s potential.

I have started a new blog. Whereas this blog is about my personal life, the new blog is about my interest in livable cities. The address is placemaking.wordpress.com. Please check it out when you have the chance.

I just finished my first week of work at my new job. The company is called McGill Associates, P.A., and it’s based in Asheville, NC. There are offices in Pinehurst and Hickory, NC; Greenville, SC; and Sevierville, TN, in addition to the Knoxville office I work in. The office has around 15 people in it in three departments: water/wastewater, civil/site, and surveying. I work in the water/wastewater group. My boss is very nice. My coworkers are also very nice. They were all very welcoming to me. The greatest thing is that I have an office. This is the first time I’ve ever had an office, so I am very excited. It’s also an office on the perimeter of the building, so I have windows. There are offices without windows, so I’m thankful to be able to see outside. I didn’t do much billable work this week, but my boss said that was typical. He called it the calm before the storm. They have alot of backlog work, so I expect that I will be pretty busy soon.

This blog is called “A Life in Line.” It’s a reference to getting my life in line with the life I want. This will take many forms: my career, my relationships, my spiritual life, my finances, and my health. This is a wide-ranging blog, but I anticipate that certain principals that I learn in one area of my life will be applicable to other areas, so it may not be so broad after all. You may be asking yourself, “Self, what exactly is he shooting for in these areas of his life?” That would be a good question, and that’s what this series of posts is about. In this series, I will attempt to outline the vision I have for the various areas of my life. Today’s topic is my career.

I have been a civil engineer for going on 6-1/2 years. There was a time earlier in my career when I really hated it. In fact, I despised it. I didn’t care what I did, as long as it wasn’t engineering. Lately, however, I have become more content with my career. I still have a desire to do other things, but I am not at all dissatisfied with engineering.

Generally (not specifically to engineering) there are a few things, that I would like to work on.

1. Increase Competency in Engineering
I would like to learn more. This may take the form of reading on my own, attending seminars, or classes, or it may take the form of attending graduate school. My new company does not currently have a tuition reimbursement program, but I’m told they are working on implementing it. Once it is in place, I intend to enroll in graduate school in the environmental engineering program at the University of Tennessee.

2. Get Organized
I would like to become more organized at work. There are a few ways that I intend to do this. I need to learn how to become more focused at work. There are courses that help you learn to be more focused on the task at hand. There are also little things one can do to be more organized and focused. For example, only check email twice a day. This will allow you to no be so distracted constantly during the day when emails are coming in. If you can manage to do this, it will greatly increase your focused time at work.

3. Pursue Other Interests
I would also like to take classes at UT in their Urban Design program. This is an area that I have become very interested in. I doubt it would qualify for my company’s tuition reimbursement program, but I can still take classes. I am most interested in learning how to make cities more pedestrian and bicycle friendly. The term for this in urban design lingo is to make a city “livable.” One of the most livable cities in America is Portland, OR. It is full of bicycle lanes, commuter rail lines, and pedestrian friendly features throughout the downtown area. Knoxville is lacking on its livability rating. I have a far-fetched dream that I might one day have a consulting firm that would help make Knoxville more livable.

4. Seminary
Lastly, I would like to take seminary classes in marriage and family counseling. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has an extension campus at Broadway Baptist Church in Maryville, TN, which is only about 15 minutes from my house and my workplace. I will probably enroll in classes there next Fall.

By implementing these items above in my career, I will become more focused and efficient. I will also be able to follow other interests I have right alongside my engineering career.