My job search is over!
On monday this week I got a phone call from the HR person in charge of the Accelerated Economist Training Program (AETP) and an offer of a position in the program. Of course, I was very excited, especially because I had just gone for the interview a bit over a week before. Two days later, I made up my mind and decided to take the offer. What this means is that in June, I will move to Ottawa and start training. After a few weeks of that I will rotate through the Privy Counsel, the Treasury Board, the Finance Department, and another government department of my choosing all in a two year period. At the end of that, I am free to find my own position in the government at an ES-4 level.
Of course, this is very good news, however this offer does put an end to, or at least a delay on, my other dreams. I had been thinking quite seriously about applying for the foreign service, I had also thought about getting a job on Bay st or possibly looking in Hong Kong. I know that any of these options would be mutually exclusive of the other ones, but there is something exciting about having options. Of course I could still get back to any of these things in a few years, but I feel now that my life has already been decided. There is now, in some sense, a straight line between me and my retirement and I don't know if that is entirely a good thing. Perhaps this is just me using my blog to find the cloud attached to any silver lining as I usually do...
One of the first things I did after getting the offer was start looking for condos in Ottawa. It seems like the market there is acutally quite small and somewhat more expensive than I was hoping. There is nothing listed on MLS for less than 165, and most places are in the 180+ range, and that is for one bedrooms. I think it would be a bit of stretch on my initial salary so maybe I should wait a while until I am in a better position.
After putting the condo idea on the back burner, Evan, who will also be going to Ottawa, and I started looking at cottages in Quebec. The idea would be to get a condo on a lake and share it between five or so people so that we could all have cottage access and also have a place for QED parties. It seems like there are lakefront places available for about 130 within an hour's drive of Ottawa. I like this idea, but we will have to find some more people who are willing. I have very fond memories of the times spent up in our cottage on lake Maglashen in Quebec. We would take the boat out in the summer, skate in the winter, and go up there on weekends to be in nature. It would be nice to have something like that again.
School has been off to a slow start. I am enjoying most of my classes, but after the grades I got last semester, and the knowledge that I have a job already, it has been hard to find my motivation. Luckily, two of my classes have only required readings so far and I will only have two midterms this year. Naturally, the new job has made me more interested in my policy class... and the panel data class is interesting because we get to play around with data. Thankfully, even macro has shown signs of improvement.
Reading week is coming up and I am trying to figure out whether I can afford to go to NY. Ever since I left there 11 years ago, I have always gone at least once a year, but now that my parents no longer live there it becomes much more of a money issue because of hotels and restaurant meals must be taken into account. Looking at the numbers, based on double occupancy it would be impossible to do it for less than $1000, and the real number would more likely be significantly more. What I would really want to find is an inexpensive hotel in the lower east side or something like that... if such a place exists. It will also be nice to see Jesse and Will and perhaps the UNIS people, like a regular NY trip.
Winter is definately here. Snow started falling about two weeks ago and has not melted since. Infact, it has been so cold that I am wondering whether the whole global warming thing is just a joke... or if it has not gone far enough... While there is a novelty value for being in a real Canadian winter, it is quite boring in that it limits me from taking walks for pleasure and genereally disuades me from going outside. Perhaps worst, there is no snowboarding around here... I eagerly await the spring.
On monday this week I got a phone call from the HR person in charge of the Accelerated Economist Training Program (AETP) and an offer of a position in the program. Of course, I was very excited, especially because I had just gone for the interview a bit over a week before. Two days later, I made up my mind and decided to take the offer. What this means is that in June, I will move to Ottawa and start training. After a few weeks of that I will rotate through the Privy Counsel, the Treasury Board, the Finance Department, and another government department of my choosing all in a two year period. At the end of that, I am free to find my own position in the government at an ES-4 level.
Of course, this is very good news, however this offer does put an end to, or at least a delay on, my other dreams. I had been thinking quite seriously about applying for the foreign service, I had also thought about getting a job on Bay st or possibly looking in Hong Kong. I know that any of these options would be mutually exclusive of the other ones, but there is something exciting about having options. Of course I could still get back to any of these things in a few years, but I feel now that my life has already been decided. There is now, in some sense, a straight line between me and my retirement and I don't know if that is entirely a good thing. Perhaps this is just me using my blog to find the cloud attached to any silver lining as I usually do...
One of the first things I did after getting the offer was start looking for condos in Ottawa. It seems like the market there is acutally quite small and somewhat more expensive than I was hoping. There is nothing listed on MLS for less than 165, and most places are in the 180+ range, and that is for one bedrooms. I think it would be a bit of stretch on my initial salary so maybe I should wait a while until I am in a better position.
After putting the condo idea on the back burner, Evan, who will also be going to Ottawa, and I started looking at cottages in Quebec. The idea would be to get a condo on a lake and share it between five or so people so that we could all have cottage access and also have a place for QED parties. It seems like there are lakefront places available for about 130 within an hour's drive of Ottawa. I like this idea, but we will have to find some more people who are willing. I have very fond memories of the times spent up in our cottage on lake Maglashen in Quebec. We would take the boat out in the summer, skate in the winter, and go up there on weekends to be in nature. It would be nice to have something like that again.
School has been off to a slow start. I am enjoying most of my classes, but after the grades I got last semester, and the knowledge that I have a job already, it has been hard to find my motivation. Luckily, two of my classes have only required readings so far and I will only have two midterms this year. Naturally, the new job has made me more interested in my policy class... and the panel data class is interesting because we get to play around with data. Thankfully, even macro has shown signs of improvement.
Reading week is coming up and I am trying to figure out whether I can afford to go to NY. Ever since I left there 11 years ago, I have always gone at least once a year, but now that my parents no longer live there it becomes much more of a money issue because of hotels and restaurant meals must be taken into account. Looking at the numbers, based on double occupancy it would be impossible to do it for less than $1000, and the real number would more likely be significantly more. What I would really want to find is an inexpensive hotel in the lower east side or something like that... if such a place exists. It will also be nice to see Jesse and Will and perhaps the UNIS people, like a regular NY trip.
Winter is definately here. Snow started falling about two weeks ago and has not melted since. Infact, it has been so cold that I am wondering whether the whole global warming thing is just a joke... or if it has not gone far enough... While there is a novelty value for being in a real Canadian winter, it is quite boring in that it limits me from taking walks for pleasure and genereally disuades me from going outside. Perhaps worst, there is no snowboarding around here... I eagerly await the spring.
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