Phd or Holywood

I am at a cross-roads about whether to pursue a Phd or to instead continue developing my film making skills as a career. I have to make a choice by October.

Based on my chart would I be better + happier with one or the other?
Naturally, both have their pros and cons.

I love research and learning but it lacks people and "action" which my Pluto really enjoys. On the other hand a Phd can take years and be very taxing.

On the other hand, I've already put a lot of my life into education and it seems natural to continue.

Phd means relocation and being far away from any support system.
Film means staying with my support system but never seeing more of the world.

Any thoughts insights based on astrology deeply appreciated.

Why does film mean never seeing more of the world?

Is there any reason you can't work on a Phd in the background while pursuing another career?

Your ninth house sun is apt to want both seeing the world and as much education as you can get. Either of those would be a manifestation of the ninth house.

With your Saturn return coming along, due to be exact next year, it's no accident that you're faced with a choice that means cutting off something you want. Saturn is like that: hard, final, making you put something behind you.

The trick to getting through that intact is to identify your touchstones and make sure you take those with you. What is it about filmmaking that keeps you engaged? And what is it about getting a Phd that draws you?

If you really can't have both a film career and a Phd, then whichever one you give up, you'll need to not give up the part of it that really drew you. If you can't have a Phd but you can have whatever it was you really wanted that you expected to get by pursuing a Phd, that accomplishes the goal. Same if you decide not to stick with filmmaking but you continue doing something that lets you have what you really liked about filmmaking.

Osamenor said:

Why does film mean never seeing more of the world?

Is there any reason you can't work on a Phd in the background while pursuing another career?

Your ninth house sun is apt to want both seeing the world and as much education as you can get. Either of those would be a manifestation of the ninth house.

With your Saturn return coming along, due to be exact next year, it's no accident that you're faced with a choice that means cutting off something you want. Saturn is like that: hard, final, making you put something behind you.

The trick to getting through that intact is to identify your touchstones and make sure you take those with you. What is it about filmmaking that keeps you engaged? And what is it about getting a Phd that draws you?

If you really can't have both a film career and a Phd, then whichever one you give up, you'll need to not give up the part of it that really drew you. If you can't have a Phd but you can have whatever it was you really wanted that you expected to get by pursuing a Phd, that accomplishes the goal. Same if you decide not to stick with filmmaking but you continue doing something that lets you have what you really liked about filmmaking.

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Thank you for taking the time to reply
I like this idea- not to give up the part that draws me no matter the choice. However, I guess yes, it is a Saturn return crossroads.

I suppose my reasoning is somewhat Pluto related (as always). Pluto of course likes research and digging deep but it also likes power=impact. I think it is really important to channel my Pluto needs into a career so personal life, health and relationships are more balanced.

The Pluto/Mars energy is there no matter what- it just needs to go somewhere useful .

It just seems that with higher education my Mars and Pluto are not getting activated- it is too **** peaceful and people free!

Meanwhile, the second I get ANY job where I "boss people around" I get to come home and be nice and sweet. It seems that being inc control of people/projects allows me to use Mars/Pluto better.

My question is if based on my chart it is possible to say what will I be better at?
A filmmaker or a researcher/teacher?

PlutorisingLee said:

My question is if based on my chart it is possible to say what will I be better at?
A filmmaker or a researcher/teacher?

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Based on your chart, you could be good at either of those. The real question is how well each path fulfills your needs.

You've identified those needs:

PlutorisingLee said:

It just seems that with higher education my Mars and Pluto are not getting activated- it is too **** peaceful and people free!

Meanwhile, the second I get ANY job where I "boss people around" I get to come home and be nice and sweet. It seems that being inc control of people/projects allows me to use Mars/Pluto better.

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Clearly, you need day to day action and interaction. You don't find that happening in education. So, there is a crucial need you have that pursuing higher education does not meet.

It sounds like education is the path you could more easily give up and still fulfill your needs. What is it that really draws you to pursuing a Phd? When you envision yourself doing that, what part of it do you focus on? What's the real need you see it meeting for you?

Whatever that real need is, it's almost definitely a need you could get met some other way.

Osamenor said:

Based on your chart, you could be good at either of those. The real question is how well each path fulfills your needs.

Click to expand...

You've identified those needs:
Clearly, you need day to day action and interaction. You don't find that happening in education. So, there is a crucial need you have that pursuing higher education does not meet.

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I guess...Although I've been wrong before because time apart from people and action is needed- I'm not the strongest human mentally and can overestimate myself before turning into a messy pile of over stimulated nerves (embarrassing as that is).

It sounds like education is the path you could more easily give up and still fulfill your needs. What is it that really draws you to pursuing a Phd? When you envision yourself doing that, what part of it do you focus on? What's the real need you see it meeting for you?

Whatever that real need is, it's almost definitely a need you could get met some other way.

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Phd means having no boss, freedom to travel and a general sense of not having to answer to anyone while still learning esoteric topics and growing.

I also like being around smart but strange people. However, I've already pursued a Masters and kinda experienced some of that while still feeling like I'm missing out on my life. Also travel with current and upcoming world events might not be an option anyhow.

Filmmaking might mean complete failure for all I know. Although I try and not think in such black and white terms.
I'm almost 30 and still with no set career path. A Phd seems like the secure option that would give me a stability of sorts.

What indicators in the chart are filming ones? Do you mean Venus trine Neptune/Uranus?

PlutorisingLee said:

A Phd seems like the secure option that would give me a stability of sorts.

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The only real stability that would give you is having a focus while you're working on it. Once you have the Phd, you'll be over qualified and likely unemployable as anything but a professor or researcher, and those jobs are extremely scarce. Most Phd's get nothing more than low paid, short term adjunct positions. That's the opposite of stability.

PlutorisingLee said:

Phd means having no boss, freedom to travel and a general sense of not having to answer to anyone while still learning esoteric topics and growing.

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And where would your income come from? How would your travel be financed?

To do that with a Phd, you would have to have a university financing your travel and research. They would be your boss. You would be required to do the kind of research they want, which might clash with what you really want. And having a Phd is no guarantee that you would even be able to get that. Financing for Phd's to research what they like is in extremely short supply for the demand.

PlutorisingLee said:

What indicators in the chart are filming ones? Do you mean Venus trine Neptune/Uranus?

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That could contribute, but really, the chart indicators are very general. They don't say you should be a filmmaker. They do say you could be a filmmaker, and give some clue as to what kind of filmmaker you would be.

Aquarius sixth house could indicate work in film - that's a very Aquarian field. Gemini midheaven says your career and your potential for earning a reputation come from speaking, literally or metaphorically. Filmmaking is a form of speech. With a Libra second house, you get Venus spelling your earning potential, so that trine with Neptune/Uranus could mean you make money in an artistic, out of the box way, and/or through mass electronic communication. Film delivers on all those counts.

But so could other kinds of careers. You could use all those placements for something else. Because filmmaking is a direction you've already explored, I'm reading the indicators for that. If you told me you were interested in something else entirely, I'd be looking at how the something else fits your chart.

What would be your doctorate field?

Both of your choices would take a lot of effort, concentration, and ability to face rejection.

Which choice would normally offer you more job security and income?