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So, I've got a dilemma.
I finished a Masters in computational fluid dynamics not so recently. Nearly all of the real work was done (i.e. the defense) a year ago. I was originally planning on getting the PhD, but I couldn't work out the motivation for studying pattern formation in the Earth's mantle. I don't give a **** about what the mantle does, fundamentally. I couldn't make an academic career out of this. And I realized that I do give a **** about what people do, so I decided to switch fields. I would get my Masters, work for a year saving up money, and get the PhD in the new field.
I made this decision in the Fall of 2008, right before the bottom dropped out in the economy. I made a number of mistakes in grad school, but the biggest one is that I avoided internships when industry was giving them out like candy, because supposedly I wanted to be an academic. And the field my degree is associated with (Geophysics) implies a set of skills (tomography) that I don't have any research experience in, and doesn't imply the set of skills that I do (fluid dynamics, pattern formation in nonlinear systems); also because of academia - faculty in a physics dept would be a lot harder to get than geophysics. Finding a job was a lot more difficult than I expected it to be.
I've been tutoring and part time teaching to survive. Finances have deteriorated quite a bit. Borrowed some money from the sister. My car engine died, then I wasted money on a lemon after that, so I could really use a new one (given that I live in Houston). I need to see a dentist badly, etc.
I got a good job offer today. It's the only company I interviewed with over the past year that I feel remotely qualified for. I'm not going to say any more about it since I really don't know how specialized what this company does, actually is. However, I already signed a paper saying I'm starting a physics PhD in the Fall, in a group ("Econophysics") that's exactly what I've been wanting to do. Using stochastic models to study economic systems, basically. And I'm pretty sure that I want to do that long term. Dream job is the federal reserve, not that I'd get something like that. But I have experience with CFD, I know I can do it, even if I'm not terribly excited about this business.
I also told my teaching job that I'd be available (and for more hours) for the Summer. I don't feel too badly about dropping them, since the management of the program is ****ed.
My question is basically, how unethical is it to take the money for the Summer, without being upfront about my intentions? Keeping in mind that training would probably last from now till school starts (meaning productive work would be minimal). But in the interview I never said that (and was never asked if) I'd be able to commit for any amount of time. And I'd be in a probationary period for the first three months (which I guess implies less security, as well as slightly docked salary), so it's not as if they would be committing to me.
I finished a Masters in computational fluid dynamics not so recently. Nearly all of the real work was done (i.e. the defense) a year ago. I was originally planning on getting the PhD, but I couldn't work out the motivation for studying pattern formation in the Earth's mantle. I don't give a **** about what the mantle does, fundamentally. I couldn't make an academic career out of this. And I realized that I do give a **** about what people do, so I decided to switch fields. I would get my Masters, work for a year saving up money, and get the PhD in the new field.
I made this decision in the Fall of 2008, right before the bottom dropped out in the economy. I made a number of mistakes in grad school, but the biggest one is that I avoided internships when industry was giving them out like candy, because supposedly I wanted to be an academic. And the field my degree is associated with (Geophysics) implies a set of skills (tomography) that I don't have any research experience in, and doesn't imply the set of skills that I do (fluid dynamics, pattern formation in nonlinear systems); also because of academia - faculty in a physics dept would be a lot harder to get than geophysics. Finding a job was a lot more difficult than I expected it to be.
I've been tutoring and part time teaching to survive. Finances have deteriorated quite a bit. Borrowed some money from the sister. My car engine died, then I wasted money on a lemon after that, so I could really use a new one (given that I live in Houston). I need to see a dentist badly, etc.
I got a good job offer today. It's the only company I interviewed with over the past year that I feel remotely qualified for. I'm not going to say any more about it since I really don't know how specialized what this company does, actually is. However, I already signed a paper saying I'm starting a physics PhD in the Fall, in a group ("Econophysics") that's exactly what I've been wanting to do. Using stochastic models to study economic systems, basically. And I'm pretty sure that I want to do that long term. Dream job is the federal reserve, not that I'd get something like that. But I have experience with CFD, I know I can do it, even if I'm not terribly excited about this business.
I also told my teaching job that I'd be available (and for more hours) for the Summer. I don't feel too badly about dropping them, since the management of the program is ****ed.
My question is basically, how unethical is it to take the money for the Summer, without being upfront about my intentions? Keeping in mind that training would probably last from now till school starts (meaning productive work would be minimal). But in the interview I never said that (and was never asked if) I'd be able to commit for any amount of time. And I'd be in a probationary period for the first three months (which I guess implies less security, as well as slightly docked salary), so it's not as if they would be committing to me.
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