tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4472889370304077924.post6879671759507823074..comments2024-03-27T07:02:30.838+00:00Comments on A Wargaming Odyssey: The Trials and Tribulations of the Unemployed WargamerDavid Crookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02497436789811496047noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4472889370304077924.post-30806246031690898352009-08-05T21:58:52.893+01:002009-08-05T21:58:52.893+01:00Many thanks for the kind words and support and res...Many thanks for the kind words and support and rest assured, if an alternate history of the 19th century needs writing and offering as a course I will not fail to ensure that mention is made of the strident advances and endeavours on the part of our antipodean cousins receives due credit! Thanks also for the spares offer - you may be surpised at what I can find a use for.....;-)David Crookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02497436789811496047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4472889370304077924.post-30896100612388210702009-08-05T11:47:50.015+01:002009-08-05T11:47:50.015+01:00Well Bravo Sir, cheers to your new direction and t...Well Bravo Sir, cheers to your new direction and the courage to pursue it. A difficult choice with dependants I know. Offset of course by your passion to be successful and knowing you I think you would be an engaging educator. I also wish to nominate now for the first "Alternate History of the 19th Century" course which you will ultimately deliver :-)<br /><br />Seriously though, should the need arise I would be willing to donate from the spares box towards future projects. Just let me know mate.Paul O'Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08611720164170399684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4472889370304077924.post-34901894653669251062009-08-05T08:52:35.636+01:002009-08-05T08:52:35.636+01:00Many thanks for the kind words and offer of suppor...Many thanks for the kind words and offer of support Bob - it means a lot. The funny thing is that my early days seem to follow a similar line - I drifted into financial services and partially because of the overinflated salary levels stuck with it. Funny thing is I am now not concerned about such things to anything like the same degree - I want satisfaction for my labours and my experience of training and teaching thus far, although limited, has been amongst the most rewarding I have had in my years at work and for the same reasons you indicated. I will have much work to do in the short term (by that I means the next 18 months to 2 years) but I am sure the game will be worth the candle.<br /><br />On the gaming side, the pursuit of the credit crunch wargame will now assume significant status within the beleagured budget!!David Crookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02497436789811496047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4472889370304077924.post-36050508412058515122009-08-05T08:40:11.905+01:002009-08-05T08:40:11.905+01:00It most certainly is not but I am looking upon thi...It most certainly is not but I am looking upon this as an opportunity to change my career for the better and so will give it my absolute best shot! Many thanks for the kind words though.David Crookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02497436789811496047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4472889370304077924.post-39863416316987703692009-08-05T08:37:47.321+01:002009-08-05T08:37:47.321+01:00Ogrefencer,
It will be a long, hard slog ... but ...Ogrefencer,<br /><br />It will be a long, hard slog ... but in the end you will find doing what you have decided to do very rewarding.<br /><br />Despite what Shaw said, those that can do teach, and your life experiences will make you a better lecturer than someone who has only every 'done it' by reading. It makes a whole lot of difference to students if you can talk about ';when I did this, this happened ...' rather than 'if you do this, I think that this might happen'.<br /><br />I began my working life in the 'soft' end of banking, working for Coutts. The pay was very good, as were the perks ... but I found the work unfulfilling. After a few diversions along the way I ended up in education ... and love it! The pay is not good, but it is not too bad either. The conditions can sometimes be difficult as can the management, but that seems to be the same whatever job you are in! The human rewards are magnificent, and sometimes forgotten by teachers who get too involved in what is going wrong rather than what is going right (a result - I suspect - of the 'target driven' system that education works under in the UK). The 'buzz' you will get from the sudden look of enlightenment that comes over a student's face when the 'get it' cannot be measured. It will make your day, week, or even month.<br /><br />You have had plenty of practice of late on wargaming on a budget as I did some years ago when money became tight after I was made redundant. I ended up be 'de-cluttering' (i.e. selling on ebay) a lot of stuff that i was never, ever going to use. I used the money to pay for things that I needed, and spent money only on wargaming stuff that I was going to use. I still try to do the same now, and it is a good thing to ask yourself every time you go to buy something 'Do I NEED it, or do I just WANT it?'<br /><br />Good luck with your return to education. You will be surprised how much your working life has prepared you for 'school work'. For one thing, you will know about time-management, which is something my less mature students have no idea about!<br /><br />Bob Cordery<br /><br />PS. If there is anything that I can help with – except money – let me know.<br /><br />PPS. If you do become a lecturer and are offered the chance to join the pension scheme, look very seriously at it. The Teachers’ Pension scheme was a final salary scheme when I joined (where have they all gone to now?) and increases are tied to the cost of living. I don’t know if the lecturers enjoy the same level of benefits BUT if they do it will be worth your while joining it if the opportunity arises.Robert (Bob) Corderyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13109130990434792266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4472889370304077924.post-79912708602954697042009-08-05T01:05:48.149+01:002009-08-05T01:05:48.149+01:00Good luck to you sir - such a drastic change in ca...Good luck to you sir - such a drastic change in career course is not an easy decision.El Gregohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15255734917358886698noreply@blogger.com