I am a Sybil and a Serial Master

[elarue]

Hello!

I am new to this forum, as I just read Refuse to Choose. When identifying the scanner types, I identified with both the Sybil type and the Serial Master type. I have certain interests that I want to pursue to their ultimate logical conclusion, while others I just want to do because they seem fun. . I got my first degree in music at Berklee where I majored in Professional Music (Berklee-Speak for design your own major) and I still want to go back and do some of their online certification programs. But after not being able to make a living with music (and TBH, not really trying because I was just busy trying to survive), I went back and got another degree in computer science. I enjoyed it because my brain was finding ways to apply the knowledge to another one of my loves - video games. But now I'm in a job that I don't really enjoy much, but I'm glad I have it because it pays really well, and if I do it well enough, I can get my masters paid for. The problem is that I'm on the verge of losing that job because of performance issues, and I'm wondering if part of that is my scanner nature and being unsatisfied with the job at hand.

I find that I do want more education. I think to be satisfied, I would need to actually get three masters degrees - an MS in computer science, an MFA in story writing, and an MBA in either project management or entrepreneurship. I also want to get a couple PhDs - one in computer science and artificial intelligence, and the other in a more humanities based field, and then combine the knowledge of the two into making some kick-ass games. See? Serial master.

I could write a lot more about all the things I want to do, but then this would be a post so long that it would stretch beyond the size of your monitor window, so I'll just throw this intro out there and add more as I get feedback. I'm looking for some support and encouragement, as well as some suggestions as to how to make this all happen.

-Eric

[SquarePeg]

Welcome, Eric.

I was looking at music degree programs when I was in high school. But I was raised to be pragmatic and highly motivated to become self-sufficient, so that morphed into a search for a music instrument physics and repair program, and then electronic technician, which I ultimately got a certificate and job in. All the while I had a few other interests, too. Fast forward 35 years and I'm in a somewhat autonomous job. If it's slow, I can briefly go chase butterflies while getting paid (and health insurance coverage).

I've built up a fair amount of institutional knowledge, so even though my employers need more managerial help than I'm willing to give they're willing to put up with me, I guess.

So if you can find a way to become indispensable or very hard to replace, maybe you won't lose the job. Also, if your indispensability falls in line a bit with your interests, maybe you'll enjoy the job a bit more.

I wish you luck!

[elarue]

Thanks for the response! What do you play? Do you still play when you have time? What did you want to do musically if you had gotten a music degree?

[SquarePeg]

I played electric bass guitar, mostly. And I also I played tuba & Sousaphone in band and orchestra. And I sang in chorus. I really enjoyed Music Theory, which I was lucky to take in high school. And I was interested in composing.

It wasn't that I wanted the degree in order to do anything. But it was what I was most interested in at the time, so studying music was a convenient way of not studying, say, accounting. LOL

I do not play an instrument, but I can fake a simple bass part. I also do weird ambiguous stuff on a piano that sounds New Age like. And I can sight-sing simple melodies based on I-IV-V chord progressions.

[elarue]

Gotcha. I know plenty of people who played instruments in high school but didn't keep it up afterwards. As for musical instrument repair, I would assume there's a program out there somewhere. I know the first school I went to had a "Physics of Music" course that covered acoustics and musical instruments, but I think most schools, if they have such a course, it's towards a music production program to become recording engineers, but still, repairing instruments is something that's learnable and doable. Is that something you're still interested in?

[elarue]

I've been browsing the boards here, and I think I've finally found the place where I can put all my different interests out there, and it's the "Wishes and Obstacles" section. I could post dozens of threads out there, but I'm afraid to do so for fear of being seen as a spammer. Which I don't want to be, but let's face it - I'm a scanner, so I have dozens of wishes! And they all have obstacles!

[SquarePeg]

Well, my interest in repair of musical instruments has morphed into an interest in repairing whatever I can. It's most rewarding if I can use a piece of "junk" to make the repair.

For example, I once fixed a loose door hinge with a stick. The problem was that the screws that held the hinge against the door frame were loose because the screw holes had gotten too large. So I found a stick on the ground (from an oak tree) with the same diameter as the holes and pounded pieces of it into the holes. Then when I screwed in the screws, they held tight.

Besides, I've learned a lot more about human nature, and I'd be hesitant to attempt to repair another person's musical instrument just in case I end up with The Client From Hell.

[SquarePeg]

Too many threads all at once in W & O .... You might not be considered a spammer. But speaking for myself, I'd worry about revealing what scatterbrain I am!

[elarue]

Yes, I suspect scanners can be seen as scatterbrained.