Job Search
So the past week or so I've been hitting job search engines. I started with government - state, federal, county, I even looked at township websites but didn't see any listings there.. and found not a damn thing I'm qualified to do (in my chosen field). If I search for IT or web, I get things that require programming, like real programming - C++, java, etc, or networking or database programming (Oracle, etc) that I don't have. I get these concepts - how networks work, how databases work, but I don't have what these jobs are looking for. Gave up there. Went onto Career Builder and HigherEdJobs.com to see what was there, and more of the same - listings way out of my league or no listings at all. HigherEdJobs has ONE listing in the general Harrisburg and surrounding area that is related to the web, and it would be perfect except I don't meet the requirements for what seems to be the focus of the job listing - video (and audio and image) editing. I mean, I can (most likely) shoot a video, but I don't know how to edit one. I can embed video, but Flash is also a requirement, and I have no skill there. I had tried (unsuccessfully) to teach myself flash animation, but with no luck. I can manipulate images for posting on the web, although I've never used Photoshop, I have used other programs like Fireworks and Paint Shop Pro. I'm not great at it, but I've done ok. The other thing, it requires a degree in communications, marketing, or other related field. I guess my degree would fall into "related field", because at least here at PSH the communications or marketing degrees wouldn't prepare for this job - unless certain electives were taken... and as previously noted, my degree doesn't qualify me either.. except that I know HTML and CSS and social networking (the things that stuck out when I clicked on the job), of course I had those skills before.
I decided to refine/add to my search, I started looking at clerical type jobs and found a couple that I could probably do. I wonder if they'd overlook the fact I've never been a receptionist, but I can answer a phone and type. I have a degree - just not in business.
Did I really spend 5 years getting the wrong degree? Or maybe not the wrong degree, but taking the wrong electives or support of options? I never wanted to be a programmer - I suck at programming. All of the programming courses I was forced to take - all beginner level, basic intro to x-language, were the worst classes I took. Half the time I got "for effort" grades because more often than not my program didn't work, or if it did work, it still had some type of error. I've taken courses in (in no order, across 2 schools/degrees): C#, VB.net, Java, and C++ (although I dropped this course and didn't have to take it again because I had the transfer credits from a previous course). Other options for either electives/support of option courses were pretty much open to what was available. I took some security courses, a couple communications courses, a writing for the web course, but nothing that taught editing film or audio or anything like that. I did have to record myself reading something I wrote and post it to a website that I made - but I didn't edit the audio, I just posted the raw recording. I'm not even sure what I could have taken instead of what I actually took.
I've got a limited time left here at PSH... which sucks because I love my job here. I *can* do stuff, and that stuff is visible to the public. The big project that I was part of - 5 brand new Academic School websites. They launched a couple weeks ago, and they look great. I didn't have anything to do with the design of those sites, but I had a hand in populating the content within the CMS. There is so much more to do, in terms of the bigger picture - new campus website. There are more big projects that are going to be started soon - yet I won't be here to be a part of it. My boss says there is plenty of work, and he'd like to keep me, but there isn't enough money in the marketing budget. I've been here over 2 years - November would be 3 (not that I'll be here in November) - and I've only seen a real use to the work I've done in the past year. The previous web manager would give me projects that were busy work, that never saw the light of day (aside from the usual updates). What the new web manager has given me is pieces of projects that are relevant and useful. I've been part of the team. I knew it would end, I'm an intern (technically), and I'm supposed to move on.. my boss says I'm ready to move on to other bigger things. But what if there isn't anything bigger out there for me, that I'm qualified for?
My other option - take the GMAT, go back to school and get another degree. Of course I'll need a job, something in an office - if I have to - back to retail. I kind of hate retail. I used to like it, kind of, I think. I remember Blockbuster not being a horrible place to work - if it weren't for the people I worked with (toward the end)... and sometimes the customers. :)
I wanted to be a writer at some point in the past too.. or something like that. Who knows. I have to figure something out, before I'm out of a job... and before my savings runs out... and the little bit of extra money from insurances and so on that we've got right now because I keep reminding my dad we're going to be short income starting in September. He's got it figured out that the bills will get paid on his income, and my contribution, with money left for food. Which we don't use as much because theres just two of us.
I decided to refine/add to my search, I started looking at clerical type jobs and found a couple that I could probably do. I wonder if they'd overlook the fact I've never been a receptionist, but I can answer a phone and type. I have a degree - just not in business.
Did I really spend 5 years getting the wrong degree? Or maybe not the wrong degree, but taking the wrong electives or support of options? I never wanted to be a programmer - I suck at programming. All of the programming courses I was forced to take - all beginner level, basic intro to x-language, were the worst classes I took. Half the time I got "for effort" grades because more often than not my program didn't work, or if it did work, it still had some type of error. I've taken courses in (in no order, across 2 schools/degrees): C#, VB.net, Java, and C++ (although I dropped this course and didn't have to take it again because I had the transfer credits from a previous course). Other options for either electives/support of option courses were pretty much open to what was available. I took some security courses, a couple communications courses, a writing for the web course, but nothing that taught editing film or audio or anything like that. I did have to record myself reading something I wrote and post it to a website that I made - but I didn't edit the audio, I just posted the raw recording. I'm not even sure what I could have taken instead of what I actually took.
I've got a limited time left here at PSH... which sucks because I love my job here. I *can* do stuff, and that stuff is visible to the public. The big project that I was part of - 5 brand new Academic School websites. They launched a couple weeks ago, and they look great. I didn't have anything to do with the design of those sites, but I had a hand in populating the content within the CMS. There is so much more to do, in terms of the bigger picture - new campus website. There are more big projects that are going to be started soon - yet I won't be here to be a part of it. My boss says there is plenty of work, and he'd like to keep me, but there isn't enough money in the marketing budget. I've been here over 2 years - November would be 3 (not that I'll be here in November) - and I've only seen a real use to the work I've done in the past year. The previous web manager would give me projects that were busy work, that never saw the light of day (aside from the usual updates). What the new web manager has given me is pieces of projects that are relevant and useful. I've been part of the team. I knew it would end, I'm an intern (technically), and I'm supposed to move on.. my boss says I'm ready to move on to other bigger things. But what if there isn't anything bigger out there for me, that I'm qualified for?
My other option - take the GMAT, go back to school and get another degree. Of course I'll need a job, something in an office - if I have to - back to retail. I kind of hate retail. I used to like it, kind of, I think. I remember Blockbuster not being a horrible place to work - if it weren't for the people I worked with (toward the end)... and sometimes the customers. :)
I wanted to be a writer at some point in the past too.. or something like that. Who knows. I have to figure something out, before I'm out of a job... and before my savings runs out... and the little bit of extra money from insurances and so on that we've got right now because I keep reminding my dad we're going to be short income starting in September. He's got it figured out that the bills will get paid on his income, and my contribution, with money left for food. Which we don't use as much because theres just two of us.