I have a job!!

As a hostess! (No, not the heavily processed dessert cake.)


I work at a restaurant in Nashville, and I've been there for the last month or so. 


Is what I've always dreamed of?


Nope. 


Is it good enough for now?


Hellz to the yeah! 


It's funny. I feel really good because I have a job. I like the fact that I have somewhere to be early in the morning. That I'm contributing to society. That I'm "making it rain." (In dollar bills, but you know, whatever.) 


But I feel embarrassed also. I graduated from college. I have a degree (albeit worthless it seems) in journalism and a minor in Latin American studies. I worked at a newspaper. I worked at a non-profit that helped kids with their literacy skills. And now I'm a hostess? I went to college for four years, garnered all that experience and the best I could do was a hostess? 


It helps knowing I'm not alone. According to this study done by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, 17 million Americans with college degrees are in occupations that do not require college degrees. For instance almost 30 percent of flight attendants have college degrees. (The woman who just handed you a snack for the flight? She graduated with honors in Spanish literature.)


Or 25 percent of amusement and recreation attendants. (That guy who just latched you on to Splash Mountain at Disney World? Yup, he probably majored in psychology with a post-bac in What The Hell Did I Do To Deserve This.) 


The list goes on and on. 13 percent of waiters and waitresses, 16 percent of bartenders, 13 percent of receptionists. 


I want to find these people and be friends!


Good thing I know where to look. 

This IS my life afterall...

I did it. I left my job.


Well, almost. I gave my two weeks notice. Everything went very smoothly when I announced I was leaving. The higher-ups understood my position and have wished me all the best. I am EXTREMELY lucky to be part of such a supportive collective.


I feel relief and am at total peace with my decision.


But I am a TAD bit worried. I am unemployed. In a bad job market.


Sort of. Although the unemployment rate is at 9 percent, the unemployment rate for those with bachelor's degrees is at 4.3 percent.


It might take a while but that's OK. I CAN DO THIS.


Short term goal: Get everything in line so that I can leave two to three weeks from now.


Long-short term goal: Find a job AND/OR look into furthering my education, if I deem it necessary.


Long-term goal: Be happy.

Frustrated

I consider myself a good person. I think I'm understanding, have an over generous amount of patience and am generally a swell gal. (That's right, I DID just revert back to the 1950's and call myself a swell gal.) 


But THIS IS RIDICULOUS.


How long am I suppose to wait? It's been two months and I'm at a standstill at my job. The bureaucracy you have to deal with is amazing. How is an organization suppose to effect change when there's all this red tape you have to go through? This is the kind of stuff that makes me NOT want to go into non-profits in the future. 


It's a shame. There's SO many people who do need help out there. I guess after working years and years in this "industry," however, people start to lose sight of the good works they're suppose to be providing for their fellow man. I can understand HOW it happens but not how it can CONTINUE to happen. You have to get SOME kind of reminder. 


So very very frustrating. I hope things change.  


And I hope that this frustration doesn't kill my desire to continue on this path in the future.


For now, I'm giving myself until October. If things are still at a standstill after that, it's time to start getting serious about my other options.  

"When I Grow Up" Occupations and Their Actual Incomes

In first grade, I wanted to be an artist after having my non-impressive, watercolor painting of a farm-esque scene posted in the hallway of my school. I realized soon afterwards that this would never work seeing as I (1) don't have any talent and (2) did not enjoy art. Six-year-old me just wanted some attention. 

But what if I had stuck to it? What if I had stuck to any of the countless "When I Grow Up" dreams I had back in my elementary school days?

Well, let's see...

*All this information comes from the Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-2011 Online Edition.

1. Artists: It vary's greatly depending on whether you're on a salary. The 50-middle percent of salaried fine artists makes between $29K and 60K. Not bad! But then there's this tidbit about freelancers:  "Many, [freelance artists] however, find it difficult to rely solely on income earned from selling paintings or other works of art."

2. Magicians: Unavailable on OOH. (Guess it's a good thing I didn't follow that one...)

3. Lawyers: The middle 50 percent earn anywhere from 75K to 160K. (This still does not give me the desire to take the LSAT.) 

4. Doctors: This one has a quite a range, but they are all in the high five- and six- digits. Your general, first-year practitioner makes about 87K, while your veteran anesthesiologist makes about 230K. (If only I had learned to embrace anatomy at a young age, rather than go "Eww!")

5. Teachers: Average of 47K to 51K. Not bad, but a teacher's work is no joke. That seem's to be on the low side considering most teachers job descriptions go something like, "Needed: Teacher who can also be mind-molder, philosopher, cheerleader, mother, father, aunt, uncle, social worker and all around miracle worker. Other's need not apply." (I'd be "other's".) 

6. Dolphin trainers: Couldn't find this one either, although, other animal trainers make about 20K to 38K. Too bad I can't swim. AND that I am now morally opposed to making animals, who should be out in the wild, entertain people. (Double dag-nabbit!) 

7. Writers: Pretty much the same story as artists. Salaried writers do pretty well, with the middle 50 percent making 38K to 75K. But most freelancers "support themselves from income derived from other sources." (BTW, I stuck to this dream if you couldn't tell...)

How about you? What did you want to be when you grew up? Happy you made an alternate decision or that you stayed true to your pre-puberty self?