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The Teaching Question
April 23, 2006 by david l“Why aren’t you a teacher?” I get asked. A lot.
“Why aren’t you baking cookies?” I sometimes reply. Some interviewers get it, some don’t. Some need further explanation.
Just because I have a degree in English, that doesn’t mean I want to teach English, but that’s what the common assumption seems to be. But I look at it differently. My degree, even with my concentration in creative writing, is more flexible than most. There’s not a lot that it hasn’t prepared me for. Sure, I may have to start on a lower rung until I learn the idiosyncrasies of certain professions, but if I were to go into, say, marketing, it wouldn’t be so long a shot as an accountant going into the same field. By directing one of my interviews away from the teaching question and my obvious lack of experience and toward my communications skills and abstract thinking and problem-solving skills, I was once able to land an employment counseling position, even though I had no experience even close to relevant to the field. -
Tailoring Who I Am for Who You Need Me to Be
April 15, 2006 by david lTAILORING WHO I AM FOR WHO YOU NEED ME TO BE, 4/15/06
I never thought I’d be here; it was never part of the post-collegiate plan. But I ended up in Florida nevertheless, in a small beach town, struggling to find work that offered an intriguing challenge and a livable salary, both of which were nearly impossible to find.
I’m here by choice, but only to a degree. I chose to support my fiancée, to stay with her, to follow her. “I can do what I want to do anywhere,” I said. But each day that passed made me wish a little more that there were more microbiology jobs in Atlanta—we enjoyed life there—or at least somewhere that offered the variety of goings-on that keep life interesting.
(Not that there’s anything terribly wrong with where I live. I hear some people even like it here. And there’s nothing wrong with that, either, if you like the beach, and seedy bars and restaurants, and sand, and an overabundance of sunlight. Just don’t expect much more than that here.)
The biggest difficulty in finding work was not the lack of experience, which I’d been fully prepared for; it was fear of flight. Every company I talked to was afraid that I’d stay only so long as it took me to find a better job. Those companies that didn’t require an undergraduate degree were afraid I’d leave as soon as I found something in my field. So I resorted, at last, to temp agencies and to taking my degree off of my resume. It seemed silly to have to disavow higher education, but the advice came from locals who’d had the same trouble but, sure enough, it got me in the door. The same company that hired me as a temp kept me on permanently in a position as a project director for a state-funded program, even though I had no experience in that field. The temp position I left behind was later denied to several candidates with college degrees on the grounds that their degrees over-qualified them. Strange but true! -
Waking Up
April 10, 2006 by david lIt’s hard, they say. And they’re right. It was easy in college. I always scheduled my classes as early as possible—my mind works best before noon, blame it on biorhythms or whatever—and I was always in class before anybody else, coffee thermos and notepad at the ready. It wasn’t work; learning is fun.
I’ve been out of school for going on two years. Graduated with a B. A. in English with a concentration in creative writing and minors in studio art and business writing. I set out to become a writer and an artist—I am a writer and an artist, slowly but surely, a short story here, a painting there—but there’s more to dreams than dreaming. A man’s gotta eat, and, like it or not, said man must work for food.
So I struggle through the days to get to the nights; I struggle through the day job to get back to the page, or to the canvas, or to whatever project I’ve decided to commit my endangered free time to. Days are long. Data entry, making bills of lading for cargo ships. Nights go quickly, dinner with the future Mrs., then back to work—except when Lost is brand new, I’m a sucker for character development and mystery—and when I can’t feel myself anymore, I go to sleep. Deep sleep that ends too soon. And tomorrow I’ll wake up and do it all again. It’s hard, yes, but it’s necessary. -
Tiny-Pay Day
February 07, 2006 by david lI started to prepare my own taxes over 10 years ago. Times were simpler then. A few numbers from a W-2, a signature and a stamp and the taxes were done. Now there exists child care and earned income credits, mileage deductions and depreciation; the latter which I can not comprehend, kudos to tax software. However, I do have the basic knowledge, even if I was not smart enough to take accounting classes. Some friends and family agree. The problem lies in how much to charge them. They are friends and family after all.
My wife, I mean my ex-wife, and I divorced seven years ago. As a result of our unique and misunderstood civility toward each other, I have continued to complete her taxes ever since our separation. I feel great comfort in knowing that she still relies on me. My real pay is being needed; and being assured that she is taken care of. She is still in my will. (No, I am not worried about her ‘offing’ me because then she would have no one to do her taxes.)
Six years ago, I took on my mother’s taxes. This was simple enough as long as she wasn’t sitting there second guessing my every penciled movement. She agrees to pay me between $25 and $40. I may have been paid twice; three times if you count the day that she gave me frozen sour kraut.
Five years ago I started a friend’s taxes. We worked together at a restaurant then. Her taxes are the simplest even with the earned income credit and every year she is pleased. My first real paying customer, she pays me about $20. Even with her $3,000 refund, $20 seems enough. My pay maybe slightly below average, but we are both grateful.
Last year at this time, I took on two of my largest tax projects. Two friends, neither aware of the other, had both neglected to have their taxes prepared for two years prior. I had no knowledge of past due taxes but researched as best I could. More than 20 hours were spent on each “customer’s” income taxes. I made it clear, as we sent the forms to the IRS and PA Department of Revenue, that I could not be sure that the forms were correctly filled out. Months later, the only feedback that occurred was that of penalties, which I had anticipated and informed them both of. My pay was $400 worth of work on my car and $40 cash from the other.
This year I am up to eight or nine customers. I do not anticipate even making $100. There are more ways to get paid than just with cash though. Sour kraut, assurance, gratefulness and engine work all count. These types of compensation do not pay the bills, but they do indeed add up. The $100 that I might make is $100 more than I made 10 years ago when I started. There is also another benefit. Now I have ten years experience in tax preparation. What have you been doing for ten years? -
Career Services and Much, Much More
January 31, 2006 by david lI graduated one year ago. Still, I have not found a career that matches my Bachelor of Arts degree in Integrative Arts. In the past two months I have visited many, many online job banks and I have performed hundreds of job searches. After reading quite a few articles while seeking guidance, I took one piece of advice and contacted the online version of my College’s Career Services. I was delighted to find newsletters, networking, workshops, career counseling and much, much more.
Soon, however, my delight shifted to anguish and then to disgust. Every link, from newsletters to much, much more, all seemed to eventually lead to one screen; the online application to the Alumni Association. Furthermore, in exchange for $30 a month for 20 months, I will be allowed all this information, and much, much more.
My hostility grew as every link ultimately led to the membership page of the pricey association. Had I not paid enough? Had the $50,000 in school loans not been adequate to warrant me this online privilege? As a student there were certain career services that were freely available. I did not want them then. I need them now.
Moments later…
And calmer…
Even as Alum, there are services that are provided, free of charge. The ‘loop’ that consistently led to the Alumni Association was misleading. One would not have to spend hundreds of dollars to access this online information. One would only have to have the patience to register to use the service. Registration is free. Finding the free registration page is tricky.
Now if you will excuse me, I have some careers to explore, people to network with, counseling to undergo, and much, much more. -
Oops! I Networked
January 29, 2006 by david lIn the past month, I have spent an extensive amount of time online, looking for suggestions on where to look for work. I graduated one year ago. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Arts. I studied photography and writing. What I do not have is the internal confidence. Hundreds of times, in online advice, the word ‘Network’ came up. It was to the point that the very word ‘network’ irritated me. Unemployed and frustrated, I needed work.
I called my ex-boyfriends mother, ‘Jane’. I had painted two bedrooms for her a few years back when her son and I dated. With a first impression, one could not tell that Jane was emotionally strapped with ADHD, depression, and bi-polar. Multiple medications and BAM, she was genuinely happy to hear from me. We did lunch.
Before arriving at the restaurant, Jane told me to bring my resume. She explained that she used to work with career services at the local college. A real life free career counselor; how did I not know that after three years with her son? Furthermore, she proclaimed, although she was not perfected in the grammar aspect, her structuring was top-of-the-line.
Jane ordered the equivalent of a lunchmeat sandwich and soup, something I would not normally eat. However, she offered to pay, and the meal seemed cheap and not messy, so I ordered the same. While waiting for our food, my job in painting was not discussed. She looked at my resume and started to hack it immediately. Three red lines and a circle crossed each other; that was just the first line.
Before Jane read the second line of my resume, she looked over the top of her glasses and apologized to me for destroying my job history. I was not offended. It was just the product of the software preprogrammed on my computer. Until that moment, I assumed it was fine.
Our sandwiches and soups were brought out by the server. A few minutes later, she finally pulled herself away from my mess of a resume, now littered with red slashes, X’s and lines.
We briefly discussed the price of my painting; more accurately, she offered $15 per hour and I graciously accepted. Over the next two weeks, I painted two ceilings, some walls, and trim in two rooms. Meanwhile, between sleeping and napping, she worked on my resume.
When she finally emailed it to me, I was amazed. I had no idea that I had accomplished so much. Jane set my new resume up with a priority on accomplishments. Listed were my five years of restaurant management experience, four years of photography and writing, and three years of property management. Each area was set up in a separate row with details that I assumed were irrelevant. My resume looked terrific.
Who knew that five years of working in a restaurant to get through school, photographing two friend’s weddings, another’s senior pictures, and buying my house, with three extra apartments, could mean so much?
I was looking for a job and came away with more confidence and money. Oops, I networked. I can not wait to do it again.
