I’ve been looking for a new job on and off for almost a year now, but I haven’t yet found a job I want to do. That’s sort of the problem with working a … let’s say non-professional job, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s very difficult to escape the non-professional circuit, unless you want to be a manager, which I don’t.
My job is basically tech support. Oh there’s lots of other things I do that a normal tech support person doesn’t, and I don’t have to deal with the general public, but that’s basically what it is. I have a fancier title but that doesn’t mean much. Unfortunately this job and the experience I’ve gained in the last four years (I’ve been working at this company four years and three days, not that anyone’s counting) only really qualifies me to do more tech support. I’m smart and I learn very quickly, so I could probably jump right into a senior support position, but I don’t want to. Why? Because I hate my job!
I’m a shy, anxious person who doesn’t really enjoy socialising much. As such, I HATE being on the phone with people I don’t know. We still have customers, although they’re not the general public. Almost every time I finish a phone call I get this sort of full body shiver to get all the ick out of my system. I hate being in a job where I have a lot of responsibility and work, but almost no time for the self-improvement things that my work (rather generously) allows us. I hate having responsibility and expertise but no influence to get anything done. And I hate that I’ve been pushing so hard to do the things that nobody else can be bothered to do for four years without anyone really appreciating it.
Of course I realise that a lot of people hate their jobs. But anyone who’s qualified or has talents in specific areas should go for it, should try and work in those areas. Nobody deserves to be unhappy in their job. Every job has its upsides and downsides, you just have to find the one that fits you best.
So right now there are a few jobs I’d consider. One is being a developer/programmer. I’ve been learning programming by myself for a few years and I’ve got pretty good at it. My websites are scattered around the web, as well as little tools I’ve designed, although I won’t publicise them here. But I enjoy the mix of creativity and logic that programming provides. Another job is being a teacher. I’ve always wanted to teach, and recently that has been focused into wanting to teach creative writing. I know I know, if there’s one job harder to get than being a teacher, it’s being a creative writing teacher. The last job I’d consider is a business analyst. It sounds very ‘suit’ and businesslike, but it’s something I know I’d be good at. I’m creative and good at solving problems, and that’s basically what a business analyst does.
So the downside to all of these jobs is that they require qualifications. And qualifications = money. And I don’t have the money. I already have a degree, but being a programmer requires at least a diploma in Computer science, which I don’t really have time for between having mental breakdowns and working full time. I’m doing one course right now, but at that rate it will take me over ten years to finish! Being a teacher is even worse, as it requires a masters. And I don’t want a masters in creative writing (I’ll probably post about why that is later). Being a business analyst (BA) requires more than a BA unfortunately.
So what to do? I’m too poor to be in school full time, too sick of customers to work tech support full time, and too underqualified to get another job. Gah!
