has it finally come to this?
and the answer is, yes, i think it has...
i've been mulling over a conflict concerning my job for as long as it's taken me to realize that, at least in my situation, a non-profit salary isn't enough for me to live on. i left the last non-profit i worked at for an opportunity i immediately recognized to be rare and valuable: working in the actual field i studied in school and remain fascinated with (political economy and development). i could hardly contain the excitement when i was hired, as this was the very first time i would have direct access to people who are considered by their peers to be experts in their fields, who not only design interesting development projects in asia, but help to shape the recovery of corrupted goverments, advocate and help to implement policy that allows for transparency of national budgets, as well as different ways of getting citizens to participate in the political process... like, wow.
after i started and was shocked to find out they were sending me to bangkok within one month of working here to coordinate a regional conference, such things became reinforcements that i'd made the right decision not to go corporate and take an executive assistant position where my experience otherwise more than qualifies me and make double what i'm making now.
trouble is, in between those exhilerating moments of putting what i learned to use and hanging out with really interesting and smart people, i realized that financially, i'm *just barely* getting by. it's true that i am the ONLY person among my peers with a car payment, but also considering that i live in an expensive city and my needs for basic survival are not that different from the average single gal, i waffled over leaving here many times to make more money and afford the occasional luxury item. and, by luxury item, i mean being able to buy maybe a single person in my family a christmas or birthday gift. or getting my car tuned up. or a non-beauty school-student hair cut. etcetera etcetera.
after an excellent review with my boss, resulting in his endorsement of a title change (some weird version of a promotion here) and a raise above and beyond the annual cost of living increase, i was sorely disappointed to learn no one (after a rather dramatic organizational restructuring) got above the 3% that i got - OUCH.
at the same time, i realized that this is the best chance i really have at building a career, and a late one at that. the connections i'm making are solid, my boss' letter of recommendation alone could probably get me into some of my top choices for grad school, AND he's pledged to send me on assignment somewhere cool by the end of the first quarter if no other tdy's come up from the field (i'd been forced to turn down an AWESOME research assistant gig for three weeks in cambodia cos my former boss had just gotten laid off - bad timing)...
so, at long last, i've decided to stay, based on one condition - that i supplement my measly income with a second job. it's been a while since i worked in food service, but damnit, i'm willing to do it again... just can't decide if it's gonna be catering or something else. i hesitate to say retail, but fuck it, if that's what it takes... *sigh*
so, i've just updated my resume. ideas and feedback welcome :)
i've been mulling over a conflict concerning my job for as long as it's taken me to realize that, at least in my situation, a non-profit salary isn't enough for me to live on. i left the last non-profit i worked at for an opportunity i immediately recognized to be rare and valuable: working in the actual field i studied in school and remain fascinated with (political economy and development). i could hardly contain the excitement when i was hired, as this was the very first time i would have direct access to people who are considered by their peers to be experts in their fields, who not only design interesting development projects in asia, but help to shape the recovery of corrupted goverments, advocate and help to implement policy that allows for transparency of national budgets, as well as different ways of getting citizens to participate in the political process... like, wow.
after i started and was shocked to find out they were sending me to bangkok within one month of working here to coordinate a regional conference, such things became reinforcements that i'd made the right decision not to go corporate and take an executive assistant position where my experience otherwise more than qualifies me and make double what i'm making now.
trouble is, in between those exhilerating moments of putting what i learned to use and hanging out with really interesting and smart people, i realized that financially, i'm *just barely* getting by. it's true that i am the ONLY person among my peers with a car payment, but also considering that i live in an expensive city and my needs for basic survival are not that different from the average single gal, i waffled over leaving here many times to make more money and afford the occasional luxury item. and, by luxury item, i mean being able to buy maybe a single person in my family a christmas or birthday gift. or getting my car tuned up. or a non-beauty school-student hair cut. etcetera etcetera.
after an excellent review with my boss, resulting in his endorsement of a title change (some weird version of a promotion here) and a raise above and beyond the annual cost of living increase, i was sorely disappointed to learn no one (after a rather dramatic organizational restructuring) got above the 3% that i got - OUCH.
at the same time, i realized that this is the best chance i really have at building a career, and a late one at that. the connections i'm making are solid, my boss' letter of recommendation alone could probably get me into some of my top choices for grad school, AND he's pledged to send me on assignment somewhere cool by the end of the first quarter if no other tdy's come up from the field (i'd been forced to turn down an AWESOME research assistant gig for three weeks in cambodia cos my former boss had just gotten laid off - bad timing)...
so, at long last, i've decided to stay, based on one condition - that i supplement my measly income with a second job. it's been a while since i worked in food service, but damnit, i'm willing to do it again... just can't decide if it's gonna be catering or something else. i hesitate to say retail, but fuck it, if that's what it takes... *sigh*
so, i've just updated my resume. ideas and feedback welcome :)