Crossroads

And no, I don't mean the movie.

I am standing at a parting of the ways. From this point, I can see two promising avenues for myself. They are almost totally incompatible with each other, and so I must choose one. So, should I:

A) read my PhD at Berkeley with the view to emigrating permanently as a university lecturer, spending the rest of my life trying to teach literature or writing about it in an overstuffed office (in California!); or

B) enlist in the RAF as a linguist and spend 12-25 years jetting around the world, always being bossed about by someone else but at least doing something engaging (and if I picked up Iraq or Afghan languages I would be eligible to emigrate anyway).

Of course there's no guarantee I could succeed at either, nevermind personal job satisfaction. Obtaining a visa, acceptance to Berkeley, and full research funding is a bit of a tall order. Getting fit for the RAF probably isn't as hard, but my residency history works against me.

Either way, I'll read the MA at Durham. At least then I'll have it, whether I go on to academia or the military.

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