First fork in the road.

11 days on and the enthusiasm has waned slightly. Not from reality biting hard, nor a lack of interest. This is all about L.I.F.E rearing its often ironic head.

In the past 2 weeks I have returned to work with my broken ankle and had a harsh reality check the day I returned to sign my new contract. I have been put on a fixed term 6 month contract with zero chance of continuation at this point in time. To top it off, I have suffered another harsh salary cut to add insult to injury. Finances being the single biggest constraint holding me back from leaping headlong into property, it really hits home how immensely arduous our task will be to raise enough capital to garner our 15% deposit for the first (of many - yes please!!) investment properties.

A chance encounter with a colleague of mine revealed a number of glaring oversights in our grand plan - permanent full time employment with decent rewards. In the past 18 months since graduation from my undergraduate degree I have struggled through months of job seeking and have come to the inevitable conclusion that in the field of Environmental (albeit any) Science - you simply can not demand respect and attention without either A) being a genius and B) biting the bullet and going the whole hog and completing a PHD. Both seem fairly insurmountable as I type this.

However, knowing zilch regarding postgraduate training and qualifications, the more I explore the option, the more I come to enjoy entertaining the idea. What could be so bad about spending 3~4 years working on an entirely selfless project that furthers the field I enjoy... well slipping back into the cruisy university student lifestyle does seem attractive at this point. But 4 years... that's a long time. The market waits for no man. PHD certified or not.

I have 6 months to weigh up my options as I continue my employment with UTS. I only pray that's enough time. I will let you know I guess. However the potential rewards are undeniable. The salary I can command with a PHD will definitely assist when it comes to acquiring the funds needed for the deposit and associated costs. But by then the ebb in the market will have passed and prices will be rocketing once again and we will most likely have missed the boat for this decade cycle. If only I had started down this path a few years ago. It would have made all the difference. The burden of hindsight I suppose.