Three years

It's been almost three years since Jeannette and I moved to Regina (one month shy of three years if you want to be precise).  Of course, we moved to Regina because I accepted a job that was based here.  Fortunately, since we moved here Jeannette, who was originally working from home for her Ottawa-based employer, has also found a great job in her preferred field.

Now, almost three years later, I've accepted another job.  The new job, which I start on Thursday, is also in Regina.  This time, though rather than being in a library, it is a policy analysis position.

Because when I accepted my first job in Regina I expected to be with that employer for the foreseeable future I have had to come to terms with that reality not really coming to pass.  Instead, I'm leaving the position less than three years after arriving (and it feels as though I just arrived).  Though the change is happening in just a few days it still feels a little unreal.

Maybe more significant change than simply changing employers is that the nature of my work is about to change rather dramatically.  Perhaps not surprisingly, I expect that in this policy analysis role I'll have to do a fair bit more analytical writing than I do than in my current position.  Of course, this feature of the job is something that attracted me to the position in the first place.

I heard you were looking for a job

Maybe being a meat wrapper won't be the most fulfilling job in the world, but at least you will know that you aren't a night baker.

Or is this ad actually just for one job, that of a 'meat wrapper and night baker'?

Oh yeah, I guess I should mention this

Yesterday (or the day before that, depending on how you count) I mentioned a new scheme by the Nova Scotia government to attract young adult immigrants to the province. I made fun of this scheme as it appeared that the government had overlooked the, at least as far as I am concerned, more important problem of current residents leaving.

Anyway, it seems that today they announced a new program to try to encourage young'uns to stick around Nova Scotia. Though the details in the CBC story are somewhat sparse, I get the sense that this may be directed towards the math and science types instead of the social science or humanities types.

I would suggest that the major flaw in the program relates to whether these 'interns' will be able to get jobs when they have finished their degree program or not. If jobs are available in Nova Scotia many graduates would be willing to stay even without this program, and if there aren't jobs even this program isn't likely to keep them. I worry that the likely overall effectiveness of the program may be approaching nothing.

Furthermore, at $25 000 a pop, these are not cheap four-month internship spots. I wonder if Nova Scotia might be better off just annually offering 20 $25 000 fellowships for grad students. If these were open to out of province students they might even get a few people to move here.

Oh yeah, presumably this means a four month delay in finishing one's degree, just what everybody wants.

I guess my overall assessment, based on a single news story, is that the goal and program seem muddled. I am not sure that they are going to accomplish what is they want to with this program. Additionally, it seems likely that there may be better ways of keeping youth here with $500 000 a year than what seems to have been planned with this program.

I am quite curious if they actually talked to any students about launching such a program.

Edit: I just read the news release and the program doesn't sound all that much better or different.