TL; DR: There aren't any, unless you do military history. Which I don't. *Sigh*
Under the current administration, all the money is going into the Department of Defense, so that's where the jobs are. Meanwhile, the State Department, which is where I want to be, is going through a period of "restructuring," which is a nice way of saying "down-sizing" and "hiring freeze." I do believe that there are excessive federal jobs that can be "streamlined," but that makes it hard for graduates like me who are coming into the job market at this time.
The good news is that I spoke to the historian in charge of making hires in the State Department, and he said that I had good qualifications. The bad news is that his hands are tied, and he told me that these things are "cyclical" i.e. try again in a few years, maybe after we change presidents.
What am I going to do?
On a more positive note, I was able to visit the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, and the National Botanical Garden. The museum on Native American history is really cool, and I encourage people to check it out. It's also one of the newer museums, so the interior is nicer than some older ones (looking at you Natural History museum and American History museum).
The National Botanical Garden is supposed to be 😍😍😍, and it was when I visited six years ago (has it been that long?!). Unfortunately, this visit wasn't a good one because Spring came early, so the Spring flowers have gone already, but the Summer blooms haven't arrived. Hence, the very bare exhibits. I still managed to see some very pretty blooms though.
It was also lovely to meet up with an old friend, Miss B, whom you may recall from THIS POST back in 2012 when I first moved to Columbus. She had moved to D.C. in 2013, and this visit was the first time I saw her since her move. Time flies! She was gracious enough to let me stay at her apartment, and Saturday night, we went to eat El Salvadorian pupusas, and then went to the town of Alexandria for some delish ice cream at Pops.
Some pictures from my trip. I took the bottom right picture because do you see the "hipster"-people riding Segways across the street, in front of the Capitol? Such a D.C. thing!
I loved being back in D.C., but hearing how dysfunctional the federal government is (even if Trump is not president) makes me disheartened. Am I trading the dysfunctional system of academia for the dysfunctional system of the federal government? I don't know.
At this point, I'm just trying to get my writing done. It hit my a week ago that I have to submit my completed dissertation by June 30, which is two months away. TWO MONTHS. I'm not even done writing my last two chapters, and I still have an introduction and conclusion! That's how screwed I am, and so I don't have the time to apply for jobs, and yet I need to do that, if not I'm going to be screwed come September. Ha, last year was a fantastic year for me, and this year, it's payback time.
All I can do at this point is take it one day at a time, and pray HARD!
Good luck, my dear Keshia! We've been to the Native American museum. The only nod to the Oneida trip (my husband's) was a wall in between the men's and women's restrooms! No joke. It said the wall was dedicated to the Oneida tribe. That's it. No info or photos or even a better wall choice.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, I didn't realize how bare the museum is because I'm so ignorant of Native American history. Thanks for letting me know areas that it can improve on! I found what they had on display already very informative, but there is always room for improvement!
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