Begin Again

Last Friday was the final day of my job and of the organisation that I worked for. The last few of us recycled, donated, tidied, or claimed whatever was left in the office, had a final lunch, switched off the lights, locked up and left. It was a very emotional moment. Although all of us have found new occupations of one sort or another, we are conscious of losing a team that worked incredibly well. From my experience and others, that seems all too rare. It is also dispiriting that our projects will either cease or be transferred to another organisation with considerably less resources to devote to them. I hope to find an equally rewarding job with equally excellent colleagues one day. At the moment it seems like a long shot.

This was my desk at the end:



I now officially a redundant public servant and MPhil student. The transition from employment to studenthood was of necessity very quick, as I was made redundant on Friday and inducted into my course on Monday. Student life is different to working in local government in a number of notable ways. Most strikingly, I not only can think for myself but am strongly encouraged to. Since the Coalition government arrived on the scene, local government has been forced to bite its tongue about the cavalcade of admonishments, changes, and cuts that have been rapidly dished out. I have written briefing notes summarising new policies, without the freedom to point out their immense drawbacks (other than here, naturally). In some ways more significantly, as a student I no longer have to censor myself to avoid offending the sensibilities of local councillors. I quite understand why local government employees must do this to some extent, but after a while it rankles. Moreover, I got tired of having to dumb explanations down, reduce reports to three bullet points, and take out long words that councillors might not understand. I no longer need be entirely neutral about local issues on this blog and intend to take advantage of it.

The other graduate students I've encountered so far have gone straight from undergraduate to postgraduate study. I am apparently somewhat exotic by virtue of having real-world experience of a full time job. That makes me greatly appreciate something they take for granted - intellectual freedom. My MPhil work is largely independent and self-taught, my thesis topic entirely my own choice. Although I will doubtless become accustomed to this and somewhat blasé in time, at the moment it's intoxicating. However, the five year gap between degrees does leave me in the somewhat peculiar situation of being eight years older than the undergraduate first-years, and yet frequently mistaken for one.