Sunday, September 8, 2013

Employed at Last


For the last six months, I've been looking for work. I wasn't having a lot of success so I took an unpaid internship doing grant writing and blogging for a nonprofit. As luck would have it, the week I finished the internship, I got a job offer. One of my coworkers at the framing store had left for our parent company, Michaels, and once a full-time position opened up, she recommended me. I went in yesterday to fill out the paperwork and I start the job Wednesday.

On one hand, I'm real glad to have this job. All my credit cards are maxed and even though I'm getting unemployment, I'm barely making my student loan payments. I'm just keeping my head above the water, so a 40 hour job with $11 an hour (hey, that's the most I've ever got!) is going to be a real lifesaver. Hell, maybe I can save up some money and even buy my family some decent Christmas presents. I'll be doing work I'm familiar with so all I really have to learn is their computer system and whatever minor changes they have in ordering. I get to work with a former coworker, so she can explain how things differ and give me some pointers. I'll even get health insurance.

On the other hand. I feel like I'm back at square-one. I wanted a job and now I have a job, but somehow I feel like I've settled. When I got out of college, I took this framing job telling myself I would only be there for a little while and soon find a job in my field and be able to move out of my mom's and start a life of my own. Well, three years passed and it didn't happen. Getting laid off was a bit of a wake-up call. I researched grant writing, freelance, and technical writing jobs and got an internship that gave me some much-needed experience. Now I'm back at retail once again. I know I should be happy, but it feels like I didn't get anywhere.

I suppose I can always work this job and keep applying for better jobs, but a little voice in my head tells me I'm going to be doing retail for the rest of my life. My life is passing me by and I'm not making any progress. I haven't got a job in my field, I'm not putting my degree to use, I haven't even written that damn book or gotten more than one or two paintings in a gallery much less sold one.

I shouldn't complain so much. Some of my friends have graduated with master's degrees in the sciences and have only done seasonal work and internships thus far. I just hate having to put my ambitions on hold so I can pay the bills.

Updates coming. I promise.