Thirty years ago, I was preparing to move to Los Angeles to attend USC. If I could tell myself what I know now\u2026<\/p>\n
1) Do not drop the physical sciences degree four units short! The English and journalism degrees won’t get you far.<\/p>\n
2) Do not drop the computer science degree, either. Sure, the courses are boring and you will do more interesting stuff at work in the computing center, but darn it\u2026 uhg!<\/p>\n
3) Do not pursue the teaching credential. It isn’t going to happen, so stop it. Now! (And you’ll keep repeating this teaching career mistake. Get over it.)<\/p>\n
4) Do more than work and study. Two years at the Daily Trojan<\/em> and nobody will remember you<\/strong>\u00a0because you didn’t hang out or attend any events. That’s not how to network. Clips alone aren’t the ticket.<\/p>\n 5) Enjoy LA more. You’ll miss it later. Riots, earthquakes, and all, you’ll always consider LA “home” in some way.<\/p>\n I graduated in 1990, after three years, with the fall 1990 semester for my preliminary teaching credential. The school of education ended up in a debate with my potential employer over how to verify completion of my teaching assignment and things went off the rails. There was a “disagreement” between my mentors. Never quite bounced back.<\/p>\n I could have skipped returning to teach in the Central Valley and completed student teaching in Los Angeles. I felt too obligated to returning home. That was a mistake.<\/p>\n The USC School of Education at the time was inflexible and old-fashioned. A solution should have been possible. Oh, well. I made other mistakes trying to clear the credential once I was teaching. (I should have used Fresno State’s program for the clear credential.)<\/p>\n Over-educated, under-employed, and painfully aware that I made some poor choices along the way.<\/p>\n The notion I would still teach led to the MA, Ph.D, and MFA degrees. Ha! How is that for the definition of insanity?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Thirty years ago, I was preparing to move to Los Angeles to attend USC. If I could tell myself what I know now\u2026 1) Do not drop the physical sciences degree four units short! The English and journalism degrees won’t get you far. 2) Do not drop the computer science…<\/p>\n