I can appreciate this interview with Sarah Kendzior, a fellow anthropologist and journalist

You should too. Her perspective is a good and healthy one to have, looking at your own course of study with a critical eye is a good thing to do.

Remembering that there are no guarantees in life, in school, is even better.

Finding something you are good at and love, in spite of your expectations or any one else's is staying true to you.

Check it out

Jobs are like people.

I went to school to study people/culture to observe to analyze to think, sometimes over think. And I have found out one thing about myself and my approach to 'working'. First of all I am not a tell me what to do and ask no questions kinda gal. I can't help it. I always seem to find what's wrong with a process, or a way of doing things, and obsess about how to fix it.

Often, when I first start a new job, I am a natural observer, I stand up top and watch the goings on. I study, I learn the people, the inner workings, the hierarchy/structure, the power struggles, the processes, and that takes about 3 months.

Within that 3 month time frame is when I begin to have trouble. Mainly because I have spent much of my time learning about the culture and not participating.

So at this point, I am either fired, or now on the outs and repairing relationships that I have not even fully formed.

3-6 months is when I really know if I will make it there fore much longer or not. usually this is the time period where I am fixing what I f-ed up, and creating more bonds with certain persons who will benefit me in the future, or at least make my life easier.