Beyond a ‘boring’ degree

Curiosity is the key to an exciting career, irrespective of what course you have studied.

August 06, 2017 05:00 pm | Updated 05:00 pm IST

Somewhere deep in the forests of France lies an abandoned stone quarry with a half-finished medieval castle ensconced within its boundaries. On its own, this would be interesting enough. However, this was not a structure that was made a 1,000 years ago; this is an ongoing example of experimental archaeology , a process by which historians test a variety of theories, not by poring over dusty records and scientific data, but by replicating methods used in the past to gain more information about certain time periods.

The construction on the castle in France, known as Guedelon Castle, began in 1997, and is likely to be completed in 2020. This is because, none of the workers and historians in the project are using modern tools or methods. As part of their Ph.D theses and research, every year, dozens of professional historians make a beeline for the Castle, to learn firsthand, how people from a vastly different time period lived and worked. It is a pioneering and robust tool for the validation of a vast body of theories and concepts about the bygone era in the French civilisation with enormous potential for replication in different locations across the world.

Taking a chance

Such information is not merely to extol the virtues of this particular experiment in history. Rather, it is to point out the interesting paths that a degree can take you, if only you are curious and brave enough to follow them. Often, students coming out of high school and university are desperate for degree and career choices that will take them down an exciting and dramatic path, full of money and adventure. This is a short-sighted view.

The better option is to find interesting, dramatic and financially fulfilling opportunities within your own preferred career and degree, regardless of how ‘traditionally’ boring those may be. It is hard to get truly excited by the prospect of a life in researching and writing about the past, as historians do. But imagine getting the opportunity to work on Guedelon Castle! Imagine the many different experiments in archaeology there are to be done, and secrets left to be uncovered. And don’t think for a second that these adventures are not duly compensated. Over the last few decades, many big money grants have been awarded by some of the largest universities to support such ventures.

This is not an isolated phenomenon within history either. Over the past few years, I have noticed advanced mathematics being used in the development of cryptocurrency, music theory being utilised in building artificial intelligence, philosophy degrees used to develop and study martial arts theory, geography in the fields of espionage and signals intelligence, and many more. These are the truly great adventures that can be had, but they require a mind that is constantly searching for new vistas, and a spirit willing to face the potential of failure boldly. It is one thing to dream about earning lots of money by working on a castle, but it is another to actually go through the process in the sticky French summer!

So, if you are someone who yearns for an interesting and adventurous opportunity to knock at your door, stop waiting and open it yourself. Talk to other experts in your field, do your own independent research, or get an internship at an organisation whose work you respect. These are all ways that you can put yourself in a position to stumble upon the overlooked and underrated applications of your area of expertise. And who knows, if you have the right set of skills and desires, maybe you will be onsite for the day Guedelon Castle is finally complete.

The writer is academic director (SEP) Iowa Schools Board, lead editor of Educational Research Journal, teacher/educator and senior counsellor. syam.chandra@transwebglobal.com

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