Selling Out?

[Nathanael Snow]

I live in Northern Virginia, and I study economics.
I didn't do quite as well as I had hoped this last semester, and I might lose funding for next year.
so I have to get a job. (Grad student's worst nightmare!)
Small problem:
Most economist jobs in NOVA are government-related. Many are directly related to military operations.
Where is the conscientious believer to draw the line? At what point are we selling out for the sake of income?
I discourage others from joining the military. Shall I then work in a private-sector role on military based contracts? It seems a bit of a conundrum.
Any wisdom is appreciated.

[dlw]

It's either get a job or get student loans (and gov't assistance for your kids) and you're pretty much going against your beliefs either way.

I'd say, no "real" economist job is going to go to a 2nd yr econ grad student so find youth-groupish work and ways to spin it as enhancing your teaching skill-set. But, bear in mind, that the economics profession, like most of academia tends to be snobbish towards teaching, as opposed to research. So, ask yourself, do I really want a PhD in Econ? What's my expected completion time, conditional on starting age, marital status and performance on the first prelim.

Oh and if you do stop, you gotta let go of posting about stuff at Common Root or what-not. I didn't do any of that until I was outta grad school and yeah, it probably took a toll on my research, but I had other stuff to deal with at the same time, such as the difficulties of being a gringo evangelical in Mexico and an out-of-the-box Christian thinker in culturally Christian Idaho.

dlw

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[dlw]

If you did work for the gov't, I'd say suspend your libertarian views and be pragmatic for a spell. At any rate, the best thing to do in grad school is keep your mouth shut most of the time and only repeat things you hear others saying already. You want to avoid controversy if possible while a peon, because inner-dept politics can be brutal on peons.

dlw

[Nathanael Snow]

Thanks dlw,
I'll let you know how things turn out.
Nathan

dlw said:

If you did work for the gov't, I'd say suspend your libertarian views and be pragmatic for a spell. At any rate, the best thing to do in grad school is keep your mouth shut most of the time and only repeat things you hear others saying already. You want to avoid controversy if possible while a peon, because inner-dept politics can be brutal on peons.

dlw

[Jordan Peacock]

I don't have any mystical, perfect answer for you, Nathan. I wish you the best whatever route you take.

I can, however, speak for myself. There is always another answer, and one is never so trapped as to be 'forced' to compromise their beliefs. The question becomes - what is the rigidity of my belief, and to what degree does that dictate my actions?

I've been graced with work in Minnesota, and with a green card to work. I have worked illegally in other countries before, and have nothing against the concept but for the sake of my wife promised to go through all the appropriate channels here.

As I result, I have had to pay taxes to an empire I deem irredeemable, and become registered and 'draft-able'. I'm still wrestling with the mechanics of how what exactly I believe regarding taxes, and what to do about it, but regarding the latter I was blunt: I told my wife that being drafted goes very much against my beliefs, but it is a pre-condition for me getting a green card.

The solution in my case was a firm commitment between us - should anyone come knocking, I *will* leave the country, no argument. We will pack up and move back to Canada. But lacking that, no harm, no foul. My name can reside in their databases, and as long as that's all it does, I'll deign to ignore it.

So, I'm sorry that I don't have a clear-cut answer. If I were in your shoes, I would lean away from the military economist positions, but I'm not and I don't have the information on these or other options that you do. You have my advice, and you have my prayers - I wish you the best.