Work?

[philmajor]

The rejections have all come in, actually only one since I only applied to 1 school. I know it was stupid and I knew my odds weren't very good but next cycle I'll have more time to pull things together and apply to more schools. Anyway, the question now is what type of job do I apply for? I have my MA in Religion and I live in Chicago. I've

Comments

[pancetta]

Do you like helping others? What about applying to work at a non-profit, charitable organization? You could help find employment for others, place them in housing, work with refugees etc etc.

[wannaxdisco]

could you teach at a city college? I'm in Chicago and some people from my MA program got teaching gigs just by sending in a cv after finishing. there are also museums, and some publishing jobs in Chicago - both things that I considered. I have no idea what you focused on within religion, but there's the Spertus Museum, which deals with Jewish history. I took a year off after my MA and thought I would intern part time and work a boring job to pay the bills. after a few months of an internship that I loved, I ended up getting hired and it worked out really well, so maybe internships are something to consider too.

[rjade829]

Idealist.org is a great website for non-profit jobs, internships, or volunteer opportunities.

[cosmicwonder]

You could work at an administrative position at a university. It helped me gain connections with profs, take more courses, and also attend various conferences and colloquia. Not to mention that the pay is usually good and the benefits are awesome!

[rjade829]

I've been interested in doing this...what's the best way to find out about these jobs? Who should I contact at the school?

[cosmicwonder]

From my experience, the best way is to contact the Human Resources department at the school. Usually the larger universities have a link called "employment" or something similar on their home page.

[rjade829]

Thanks. :)

[holdup123]

The job market sucks right now, so honestly you should probably take whatever you can get. While I heavily suggest working as an admin at a university, those jobs are very hard to come by and they usually hire from within.
I'm sounding really pessimistic, but seriously sales aren't that bad it's little to no responsibility and you don't have to even think about your job once you walk out that door. Spend your free time volunteering in your field, maybe shadow a religion prof. at a local college, tutor undergrads, etc.
I actually have a friend who graduated top in her major in undergrad, took the year off and is living in Chicago right now and working at Express. She recently got into I think Stanford for her PhD. So those jobs that seem "beneath" you, are surely not. A paycheck is a paycheck.

[philmajor]

Honestly, I don't think any job is "beneath" me. I will have student loans coming due, rent, med insurance, etc. so a job that pays $10/hr probably won't cut it. As for not wanting to be in sales, to put it bluntly, I think it'd suck at it. I'm not looking for a life-long position just something that pays decent and isn't SO boring that I'd rather claw my eyes out.