I have taken this quiz before, and it said I should take an advanced degree in science or engineering. I could do that, but the quiz has now changed its mind. It says I should get a Ph.D. in the humanities or social sciences.
I am “a great thinker and a true philosopher,” says the quiz, rather grandly. I would “make a talented professor or writer.” But I already have a Ph.D. in the humanities.
My work already leans into the social sciences, and academic jobs unless you have exactly the right one are entirely too limiting for a restless intellect like mine, I have always found. I am not circumspect enough to live in the suburbs, as professors tend to do, and I have far too much energy to sit at a desk so much – I prefer to be at a drawing board.
Since I intend to live almost forever, I have several courses of study planned. The first of these is a J.D. Thus armed I will engage in activist work as I edge slowly toward a new, triple undergraduate degree: the B.F.A. in Ceramics, the B.S. in Economics, and the B.A. in Arabic.
After graduation I will find work as a journalist and take the M.F.A. in Creative Writing. My works of literature will be serious, but they will look like toys.
When I retire, I will do the Ph.D. in Scandinavian. I will write famous articles and translate them into runes. And when I am old, I will study Sanskrit and ancient Greek.
Ah, you must choose, you must choose! Maturity is concentration! I can hear your voices calling. But I am only four years old, and I intend to live almost forever.
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 
I’m so happy someone else has Sanskrit on their retirement to-do list!
When people ask me if I have a ten-year plan (or even a five-year plan), I laugh. So far, I like the way things keep unfolding without planning. I couldn’t possibly have conceived of a better evolution of wild and fascinating developments than I have experienced to date. “Bring it on!” I say.
CS – yes but when I was younger I did not allow myself to dream of what I would like in this way. I learned it from the students – they give their minds a free rein to think of their actual tastes and interests, not of what these “should” be, and so on. It is fun!
And then also – on plans – someone told me half a lifetime ago that my genre was narrative and I should take a year off and write. I thought it was a nice compliment but didn’t move into action on it. I think I finally see what this person meant and I should do it … it’s what I’d love to do now, in fact. So I am adding that to the list!
This list eases your mind? I am tired reading it. I like the thought of a B.A. in Arabic and I would add French in there as well. I wish something would make me write more. I have it all in my head but just cannot find the key to put it in print.
Oh yes it does, because I have large appetites. I get more tired saying I cannot do things than saying that I will … tired from having to choose, narrow down, limit, it is easier to have a lot of plans and do a lot, as opposed to say “this is it.”
But what I would really love to do also is write more, and I’d like to do drench myself in creative writing. I like literary research and all perfectly well enough, but I feel very hampered and restrained by the amount of time it takes away from other things, and the amount of time it takes to deal with all of this teaching / service which supposedly puts me in a position to do that research. My fantasy right now is J.D. + writing, like W. C. Williams (M.D. + writing) or W. Stevens (insurance business + writing).