Back in the saddle again
My internship is pretty much over. This unfortunately means that I have to hit the ground running in the job market. And as we all know, it’s a wreck of a market, especially in Michigan where I live. Michigan’s unemployment rate was at 14 percent last I heard. 14 percent! It’s the highest in the nation and is a record, I believe, for the state.
I don’t want to move too far away from home but I’m left without much of a choice. This economy is just wreaking havoc on my ability to find a career. I’m sure everyone out there can say the same thing to one extent or another. The major majority of my family is here in Michigan. I love my family. I don’t want to have to travel several hours just to come home but it’s looking like there’s no other way.
Tyler is also in the same boat. He has something good going now with Chrysler, but it’s only temporary. There’s a tiny chance they could hire him on permanently, but it certainly can’t be counted on. And as both of our careers are up in the air, we can’t plan for anything. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I hate not being able to have a plan. I absolutely despise the fact that our plans for getting married and finally living a life tied together are almost entirely dependant on the job market. One word – UNSTABLE. I hate it.
But I’m spending the day researching jobs and sending in applications. It’s nearly all I can do at this point and time. I hope and pray every day and night that something will turn aroud for us. Soon.
I do exist!
It’s been so long since my last post. First off, I apologize to my few regular readers. I have been returning to a normal life after graduating (YAY!) and moving back home (read: mooch off my parents while I still can). I had boxes and laundry baskets full of God knows what crammed into my room for three days while I tried to sort things out. It’s been kind of crazy and I’m sure you understand.
Graduation went really well. The speaker turned out to be Richard Smith, a top dog from Newsweek and someone in my field. Oh, how I wish I could have talked to him instead of immediately being shuffled outside. I would have done pretty much anything (within reason) for a chance to talk with him, even for a few minutes. It also turns out that I graduated summa cum laude and my senior thesis was accepted by the Honors College. It was a GREAT day.
And now I turn to more serious matters. It’s just more bad news bears for the automotive industry as Chrysler declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday morning. When are the automotive people going to get around and come up with a solution that works? Clearly something needs to be done toward alternative fuels in addition to changing operations. I’m sorry, but CEOs need to take a pay-cut too – and a big one at that. Continuing to earn $3 million plus is NOT okay when the average joe is getting his measly salary cut in half. It seems like the economy needs a hero of epic proportions.
But I am also pleasantly surprised that I have been able to apply for several print media positions across the state of Michigan. I wasn’t expected to see the number of open positions as I have seen, albeit not many. My field seems to be just as bad if not worse than the automotive industry in terms of the job market and funding. I haven’t gotten any good news on that front yet, but hopefully someone will see my talent and give me a shot. Lord knows I DO NOT want to keep working at a smoke-filled bar for long. At least I’m able to freelance.
Well, this post has been a huge jumble of thoughts and probably none of it too interesting. But it’s past my bedtime and I’m tired. At least I stayed up to update. Aren’t you glad you have a dedicated blogger to read?
My first job fair
I woke up early this morning and headed out to Livonia for the Michigan Collegiate Job Fair. I’m a little bummed to report that it wasn’t as big as I was expecting, but it was still very much worthwhile to attend. There were a few media-related companies in attendance including Thomson Reuters. If you media people haven’t heard of Reuters News, get out of the business because you don’t belong.
I was particularly interested in a company called Team Detroit. It’s actually a combination of five companies that have come together to better serve their clients, which include Ford, United Way and even White Castle. It’s an innovative way to get business done and seems quite effective. Team Detroit is always moving forward from what I can tell, and that’s always a huge plus in today’s fast-paced world. Their media division, Mindshare, looks like a pretty good match for me and the way I work.
While at the fair, I was surprised to notice that at least half of the attendees were middle-aged or over. As a collegiate job fair, I had assumed that the majority of the attendees would be soon-to-be or recent college grads. Sure, some of those folks had certainly come from a college and bravo for them. But I got the feeling that a lot of them were out of a job due to the economy and looking for another position. (Well, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.) That means that I’m up against a lot of people with far more experience. The only advantage I really have is that I’m educated in the most recent technologies and practices and having grown up with computers and the Internet, I can adapt to pretty much anything.
It’s going to be quite a battle. Epic? No. But certainly incredibly challenging.
Pondering the job-related future
With the economy the way it is, I can’t help but worry what will become of me after I graduate college in April. I know people that have been searching for jobs for months, years even and still haven’t had any luck besides the occasional temporary job. And my field is yet another one of those that has been consistently cutting back.
I want to find a place as a staff writer at a local newspaper that prints anywhere from one to three times a week. I had an internship at my small-town newspaper and I loved it. Because it was small, I got to do a variety of things and cover all kinds of stories. I know it won’t pay much. Journalism is one of the lowest paying fields just out of school.
Since I’ve kept in touch with my internship editor, the chain that paper is affiliated with has cut back two or three times now. Everything is going digital in this day and age, but even those jobs are cutting back because of the economy. It’s beginning to get me quite worried about what I’ll be able to do with myself to even get into the field.
I know that it’s been all about networking and finding someone who can get you a place in the field for quite some time. But that weight seems to be getting heavier and heavier lately. Without a network, I think I may be pretty much completely out of luck.
I’m hoping that the MPA conference I’m headed to tomorrow will provide me with some more networking opportunities. Lord knows that at this rate, I’m going to need to know everyone I can get the least bit acquainted with.
