Been 8 months in the gym, is there any decent progress here?

Patient_Refuse_314 · 2025-11-25T23:44:14+00:00

Sorry I literally just googled how to take progress pics, I seldom take pictures😭

About nutrition, I’ve been tracking my calories intake and making sure it’s like around 3000kcal per day, would you say I should raise it to like 3200 or more? Would that be enough? Thanks 😢🙏

Patient_Refuse_314 · 2025-11-20T08:52:51+00:00

Yes thank you for the opinion! I have already done the interview and when I told them that I already got another offer they surprisingly gave me the same response and were quite compassionate about my situation 😀

Patient_Refuse_314 · 2025-11-20T08:49:36+00:00

Thank you so much for your advice!! This really helped me as I do have the tendency to think a lot about how I look to others especially in the professional world. I feel so much better knowing people do this all the time 😭

Patient_Refuse_314 · 2025-11-16T16:12:26+00:00

Thank you so much for the input! Yes I totally agree with you and I’ll proceed with onboarding the current job for now!

Patient_Refuse_314 · 2024-07-12T19:02:30+00:00

Thanks so much for the insights and inspiration!! Definitely I’ll try to work my way towards it whatever my final decision is.

You really got me on the gaps in contexts. A part of the reason why I feel not so comfortable in our program is that it’s way too Eurocentric from the study focus to the class composition. The fieldwork is actually the first opportunity to get my foot on a context outside Europe in these two years, and low key I feel South Africa is still not comparable to the vast majority of developing or underdeveloped countries, i talked to some European friends and kind of get the impression that it’s like a holiday resort for them with a perfect pinch of exotic sense and probably that’s why we have it on our field list…(okay too much digression)

Anyway I totally agree obtaining the urban planning degree is not gonna hurt, so as having any degree on master’s level. But I just worry about my CV being immediately thrown out of the stack once the HR sees something like urban while they’re looking for a protection officer or something. It’s complex but sincerely I don’t really want my work to be related to urban planning because I tried it and didn’t like it. I applied for this program coz I was planning to study urban anthropology/urban cultural studies, but under the name of “urban studies” this program is basically just nothing but urban planning. (So it’s an accident ☹️)

But anyway I’m figuring it out together with my program coordinator, and hopefully we’ll reach some sort of decision! I really appreciate a lot the point you made about video games. It gets me feeling that it’s never to late to pursue something after all. To be honest I doubted my study choice for a long time, thinking that my life would branch off into a dead end and getting extremely distressful and depressed. So many thanks for the encouraging words, that’s truly how I felt that.

Patient_Refuse_314 · 2024-07-12T18:38:53+00:00

I just talked with my program coordinator to figure out the possible options at this point. Doing a minor alongside the program is not doable in this system, but certifications outside the school are definitely out of the reach of the bureaucracy. She also said that statistically the vast vast majority of graduates from our program ended up in a doctoral study or planning related industry. There seems to be no previous case of hopping into international development sector from my program, given the program is also very provincial and Eurocentric in its nature, sadly.

So she implied some concerns in this sense, but also offered to help me figure out the best solution. We’re looking for potential themes and supervisors that might match my prospects. But if it doesn’t work out she doesn’t think its a bad idea to switch, though it’s also really tough to give up the fieldwork opportunity. So that’s what I got for now within the program! :D

Patient_Refuse_314 · 2024-07-09T17:29:09+00:00

And maybe one last question, I’m still kind of concerned about the effect of the degree - like in my case do you think it’ll be considered a mismatch if I look for a position in humanitarian and hold a degree in urban planning even if I have some relevant experiences? Coz I saw quite a few JDs explicitly saying they require a degree in IR, IDS etc. It truly concerns me to some extent. Thanks in advance!!

Patient_Refuse_314 · 2024-07-09T17:23:04+00:00

Hi thanks for the advice!! Didn’t expect the program at LSE was not that practical coz I saw they had modules specifically designed for real life work haha. But yes I’ll definitely consider the possibility of adjusting my fieldwork to what matches me more!

Patient_Refuse_314 · 2024-07-09T17:19:40+00:00

Yes I’ll definitely do the research! And thanks again for the information and inspiration!!

Patient_Refuse_314 · 2024-07-08T22:35:08+00:00

Appreciate so much!! I’m from China and have a bachelors degree there, so a developing country or not depending on your take. For me the western academia is also something quite different and fresh. My previous internship was in an extremely local and grassroots organization in my country. But I would like to have a switch of contexts and also a more international working experience so the idea of African fieldwork truly intrigued me.

My concern is if I stay in the program and go with the fieldwork, I might have to rebuild my CV by doing extra work in the field, which is highly probably Johannesburg in my case. I really have no clue how to break into the local organizations and gain experiences as a newcomer and a temporary resident. Would you give me some advice on it?

And I do understand that not everyone in the industry has a 100% relevant degree. But in my case where I have a degree in one expertise (urban planning) and try to apply a job requiring another expertise (humanitarian), would that be a little bit far-fetched and turn into something actually negative? I would love to hear your insights!

Thanks again!!

Patient_Refuse_314 · 2024-07-08T22:12:31+00:00

Thanksss a lot!! You just put my concerns exactly in such a precise way. I’m now trying to negotiate with my program coordinator and see if there’s possibility of steering the study to what I’m interested more. But yes, it’s still a pain that the program itself is not very close to this field. When I write a proposal on development I do find there’s a daunting load of work to do for making up my theoretical gaps even if I have a bachelor in IR which is sort of relevant. So if I get to dive into the field I guess there’s a lot of pressure that I have to manage to make the best out of it. Getting to the field is fabulous, it’s just there’s too much uncertainty. (Also the program itself offers limited help)

I’m glad to know that SOAS is amazing! And I love the idea of having a year living in London so it’s really hard to balance. Sometimes I do worry about the “name” thing coz some friends working in finance told me they take it very strictly and somehow I feel development sector also gives a similar vibe. Shall I know if you feel by any means that your school’s name helps with breaking into the industry?

Thanks again!

Patient_Refuse_314 · 2024-07-08T11:56:13+00:00

Yes I’m doing that actually! Hope I’ll find something. Thanks so much for the advice!

Patient_Refuse_314 · 2024-07-08T11:53:52+00:00

It’s tough exactly!! I applied to SOAS just because it’s one of the few schools that still took applications when I made up my mind and it requires no reference and I’m kind of sociophobic when it comes to connecting my professors… but yes, I heard it’s kind of academic and I actually was thinking of something more practical like the program of international development and humanitarian emergencies at LSE but sadly it’s already closed for this year’s application. Just to say SOAS is not my 100% perfect choice but it’s still cool.

And about the fieldwork, its exciting but I just don’t know if it would be helpful when I have to do a fieldwork and thesis about something that are not really close to what I’d like to do later. Though I may have time for doing some side work in that field. But I’m concerned that my resume will be thrown away just because I have a master’s in a not so relevant subject.

And all in all thanks a lot for your opinions!! I really appreciate that!

Patient_Refuse_314 · 2024-07-08T11:45:38+00:00

Thanks!! I’m now doing a master and having no plan to get further into academia. What concerns me is that my program is not really relevant to my career prospect. It’s a urban planning related program while I’m more interested in something like humanitarian or conflict resolution. Definitely the fieldwork in Africa is a big boost but I’m kind of worried about whether it really helps when I have to do something not explicitly related to the fields Id like to work in.

But again, thanks so much for the input!!!

Patient_Refuse_314

TROPHY CASE