Job
It seems like I only update this blog three times a year but I have not found writing to be very therapeutic for a long time. I like to keep this log of events in my life because I forget things so quickly these days. I was just writing a birthday card for my twin cousins and I couldn't, for the life of me, remember how old they are. Luckily, I was able to look at my LJ archive and I easily found the post I wrote on the day they were born. Anyway, I like having a log like that, now I just have to remember to use it.
I have been working at Malcolm X College for a month already. It is my first "real" job ever. I actually get to do something relevant to what I went to school for, I get to work with amazing people, I get a lot of freedom and respect and I get paid better than I ever have before. Of course there is always a catch: the job is temporary and in August I will have to find something else. The program that I work for is called the Educational Opportunity Center and it is part of the TRIO program which is funded by the Dept. of Education. I share my office with Upward Bound and Educational Talent Search which is really cool because I get to hang out with teenagers and I love that!
Most of what I do at this job is research community organizations that work in the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago, develop relationships with those orgs, do presentations, workshops or teach classes to groups of people who utilize those organizations and then recruit them into our program. All TRIO programs work with people who are low income and the first generation in their family to attend college. Once we accept them into our program I work one on one with our clients as a career counselor, I help them find jobs, update resumes, serve as a reference if they need one, I help them become college ready with ESL or GED courses, I help them choose a college and program, apply, enroll in classes and then fill out their FAFSA, grant applications and scholarship applications. Once they start college, I follow up to see if they need tutoring, childcare or anything else that might help them be successful in college or trade school.
Mostly, what I love is that my boss really gave me free reign to do this job however I see fit. He does not tell me what to do or hover over me to see that I am being productive. I have never had a job like that. I love that he hired me because he wanted more women in the program so I took it upon myself to learn all of the organizations that serve women exclusively (there are not nearly enough and EOC had never done that before, which is probably why they recruited 75% men) and so far I have had a lot of success. I also get to work with the public libraries in our target areas which is really cool. Next month I am getting paid to go to knitting club at a library every Wednesday afternoon. I can't wait!
Right now life is really great. It would be perfect if I wasn't drowning in completely unmanageable student loan debt. There is no way I can pay $800+ a month just for loans even with this new job. Especially since I have no job security and could be completely unemployed in August. I am scared of the next move but I feel really positive that this job is going to be a stepping stone to something even better (hopefully something with insurance, oy). Malcolm X College really likes to promote from within, they refer to themselves as a family and I really like that atmosphere. And even if I can't find something at Malcolm X, there are 7 other City Colleges in the same system that will be easy to transfer to. If all else fails there are close to 30 TRIO programs at colleges and universities all over this city and I would be an excellent candidate to do something over there.
I am also re-thinking my educational goals right now. I definitely want to obtain my PhD someday but maybe it won't be as soon as I thought and maybe it won't be in the field I imagined. Right now I am just going to see what life has in store for me past August and maybe that will make the next step more clear.
I have been working at Malcolm X College for a month already. It is my first "real" job ever. I actually get to do something relevant to what I went to school for, I get to work with amazing people, I get a lot of freedom and respect and I get paid better than I ever have before. Of course there is always a catch: the job is temporary and in August I will have to find something else. The program that I work for is called the Educational Opportunity Center and it is part of the TRIO program which is funded by the Dept. of Education. I share my office with Upward Bound and Educational Talent Search which is really cool because I get to hang out with teenagers and I love that!
Most of what I do at this job is research community organizations that work in the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago, develop relationships with those orgs, do presentations, workshops or teach classes to groups of people who utilize those organizations and then recruit them into our program. All TRIO programs work with people who are low income and the first generation in their family to attend college. Once we accept them into our program I work one on one with our clients as a career counselor, I help them find jobs, update resumes, serve as a reference if they need one, I help them become college ready with ESL or GED courses, I help them choose a college and program, apply, enroll in classes and then fill out their FAFSA, grant applications and scholarship applications. Once they start college, I follow up to see if they need tutoring, childcare or anything else that might help them be successful in college or trade school.
Mostly, what I love is that my boss really gave me free reign to do this job however I see fit. He does not tell me what to do or hover over me to see that I am being productive. I have never had a job like that. I love that he hired me because he wanted more women in the program so I took it upon myself to learn all of the organizations that serve women exclusively (there are not nearly enough and EOC had never done that before, which is probably why they recruited 75% men) and so far I have had a lot of success. I also get to work with the public libraries in our target areas which is really cool. Next month I am getting paid to go to knitting club at a library every Wednesday afternoon. I can't wait!
Right now life is really great. It would be perfect if I wasn't drowning in completely unmanageable student loan debt. There is no way I can pay $800+ a month just for loans even with this new job. Especially since I have no job security and could be completely unemployed in August. I am scared of the next move but I feel really positive that this job is going to be a stepping stone to something even better (hopefully something with insurance, oy). Malcolm X College really likes to promote from within, they refer to themselves as a family and I really like that atmosphere. And even if I can't find something at Malcolm X, there are 7 other City Colleges in the same system that will be easy to transfer to. If all else fails there are close to 30 TRIO programs at colleges and universities all over this city and I would be an excellent candidate to do something over there.
I am also re-thinking my educational goals right now. I definitely want to obtain my PhD someday but maybe it won't be as soon as I thought and maybe it won't be in the field I imagined. Right now I am just going to see what life has in store for me past August and maybe that will make the next step more clear.