WWMD: Cool job/semester off from school

So I've got 38 hrs left for my BS in biology. The other day I got a call from a friend in San Francisco with a really cool and well paying 4 month job opportunity and a free place to stay. The job would be doing bird abatement on landfills, farms, airfields and whatnot using large falcons to chase the gulls off. I've been a falconer for a few years now and it's that experience that got me the invite.

I spoke to my academic advisor this morning and taking the job won't hurt me academically other than tacking on an extra semester for the one I would be skipping. I'm thinking this is a cool opportunity to make some money (free place to live) to pay for the rest of school and gain some good experience in a field thats tough to break into.

What say the maggots? Good idea? Bad idea?

Go for it. School will be there when you get back, and it's not like it'll start the clock on student loans or anything.

Please explain what your concerns are, ie why you think it might be a bad idea?

I'm with danno on this one. Not sure I see a downside....

Edit- I'll also add that I took a spring semester off to do a work assignment. It was a hood experience and at least part of the reason I graduated in December with a job.

I guess I've always heard that stereotype (mainly from the parental units) of the guy that takes a semester off and never comes back and finishes. I'm not going to be that guy - my education is very important to me, but my old man disagreeing with the idea has made me stop and think.

On the other hand I would be getting paid pretty good money to do something I love the shit out of, living in a new place for a little while and just generally getting a different experience than I've had so far.

I took a semester off and got some great work experience and traveling in. Not going back to school was never an option, I went back and finished.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by flyandski365

So I've got 38 hrs left for my BS in biology. The other day I got a call from a friend in San Francisco with a really cool and well paying 4 month job opportunity and a free place to stay. The job would be doing bird abatement on landfills, farms, airfields and whatnot using large falcons to chase the gulls off. I've been a falconer for a few years now and it's that experience that got me the invite.

I spoke to my academic advisor this morning and taking the job won't hurt me academically other than tacking on an extra semester for the one I would be skipping. I'm thinking this is a cool opportunity to make some money (free place to live) to pay for the rest of school and gain some good experience in a field thats tough to break into.

What say the maggots? Good idea? Bad idea?

---

why do you even have to ask?

I did a similar thing during my undergrad. Twice. Both experiences were amazing and ended up being more valuable in the long run than than any semester of Uni.

In short, go!!!

Re. parents: explain it to them in a calm thought out civil manner that this would be a great opportunity to gain valuable real-world experience in a field you're passionate about, and you 100% expect to return to school to finish up when it's over. If they threaten to stop paying for your school or whatever, then congratulations! You've just become financially independent!

Pack your bags fool and be gone!

go for it...any experience is good experience and graduating a semester later (given that you've got a good excuse) only increases the chances that the job market will be better when you finish.

PS You know how many research dollars go into bird strike prevention at airports? This could lead great places!

do it. now.

If it would be any experience in your field (Biology) that you could maybe approach a school Professor about options for doing this and getting it approved for a credit or 2 also it could be a real win. May take you some extra work (write a paper about what you did, how it may apply to your major, etc.) - possibly a diary or log about the work and types of things you did that would be real world application of some of the classwork you have done.

You still would have the return to school for finishing, but you also technically would not be "a semester taking off school" as you would then be a part time student out on an internship of sorts. You have an answer for your parents too.

I took a semester off for an internship- got paid - and something like 3 credits for the work experience, took a few extra credits in the summer, and still graduated the same time I was scheduled to finish. You may not be able to do that since the offer is so late- but could be worth a discussion for some type of credit if the school would approve.

Go get em kid.

Did someone mention Oil Boy for the Miss Hawaiian Tropic Tour?