I went to university to study what I enjoyed - History, I enjoyed it so much that I also went on to do a Masters.
I was trying to get a job in archiving however I have a job at Asda (supermarket owned by Walmart) and they were shutting down one of the counters I worked on. I took the chance to move departments to the Opticians and found I really liked it. So I'm now back at college studying to be a Dispensing Optician.
In between all that I went travelling twice, once interrailing around Europe and once to the States.
I had no real idea what I wanted to do in life. I liked science. So I picked a major off of my highest NYS Regents exam. Biology has been good for me.
I've had a bunch of of different biology based jobs: -Hospital tech: Messy low level job. -Wildlife pathology: Cool, but didn't pay well. I was never much of an outdoors man. I was just real good at necropsy. -Research assistant: It's fine as an undergrad. It fucking blows in the real world. Doing menial lab shit with a degree is souls sucking. -R&D: Decent experience, but short term.
I'm currently a shift lead for pharmaceutical company doing purification and formulation for late stage clinical and commercial therapeutic protein drug production. in short, I make drugs. The crew is great, company is top 100 best employers, stock options are sweet, pay is stupid high, and growth is good. I took a weekend lead position after a bad break up. Burring my head into work helped me get over it. It also did wonders for my career.
I like where I'm at right now. I still won't settle though. Eventually I'll get into a management track or work for regulatory. Eventually. If I ever get unhappy, I'll use the skill set they gave me to go to another pharma company.
In summary: Take jobs that keep you learning. Getting paid to learn is a double positive.
After graduating High School, my parents took me to community college to earn most of my general credits before transferring to a 4 year University. I spent a two extra years in college because of this due to switching major. Started in Business, which I hated because of the atmosphere/curriculum, tried Communications, failed classes/hated teachers, and then landed in Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Community where I graduated in Winter of 2013.
I adore writing. It dates far back to writing fanfiction when I was 13, where I would create my own stories and original characters, thinking of ways to improve and/or satirize shows I loved or hated. I spent around a decade in the fanfiction world which helped me understand the importance of sentence structure, editing, writing, and how to do research before creating a story. You could call it my time in the trenches as great authors like Michael Moorcock and Neil Gaiman started there.
My background is sheltered, but I have great communication/interpersonal skills. I learned that from my wonderful mother, who allows me to work as an Administrative Assistant at her small stockbroking business. She has helped me established connections amongst people in the state and landed me a few freelance gigs after college. (Nothing big, only 500 dollars each) Sadly, this has led to my biggest downfall with my lack of experience.
I never had a job outside from college. The closest I had was interning at my school newspaper during my final semester, where I mainly worked in the Opinion and Life sections. I loved it, even with the stressful schedules. I felt that it legitimized my passion for writing, to get published on a real life newspaper and get paid to review movies. (Professional/Entertaining Criticism is a hobby I really treasure)
Outside of college, most companies that ask for technical writers demand grant writers, proposal-writers, and are in a field of government, legal work, or business/schools. On top of that, it's always a demand for "2-4 years of experience in related field." Although my mom has offered to allow me to work as a stockbroker, I know for a fact I don't want to handle the policy/insurance side of the industry. All the memorization, rules, cutbacks, and constant demand for research and bureaucracy make my head spin. My brother fell back on that and I know he hates his job.
Searching for jobs that are within my niche can be soul-crushing. I also grip to come to terms with my ADHD and Anxiety problems. The ADHD is manageable, but the anxiety can keep me distanced from doing new things or even sending in resumes for fear of mocking.
So at the moment, I'm trying to find a career that mixes my passions together. Blogging, Writing, Editing, Craft Beer, Movies, TV, Criticism...it's what I love. I just need the patience and determination to be consistent, dedicated writer. Maybe I can work with a friendly, tight-knit, creative community and build a life from there. For projects, I do an animation blog on a geeky, entertainment website called OneofUs.Net. I'm in the middle of writing two novels. This type of life takes years of work, but I know that it is my calling.
Comments
"I totally get the primordial desire to do your best for your kids, but if your plan is to do that with banknotes, you’re doing it wrong."
I was trying to get a job in archiving however I have a job at Asda (supermarket owned by Walmart) and they were shutting down one of the counters I worked on. I took the chance to move departments to the Opticians and found I really liked it. So I'm now back at college studying to be a Dispensing Optician.
In between all that I went travelling twice, once interrailing around Europe and once to the States.
I've had a bunch of of different biology based jobs:
-Hospital tech: Messy low level job.
-Wildlife pathology: Cool, but didn't pay well. I was never much of an outdoors man. I was just real good at necropsy.
-Research assistant: It's fine as an undergrad. It fucking blows in the real world. Doing menial lab shit with a degree is souls sucking.
-R&D: Decent experience, but short term.
I'm currently a shift lead for pharmaceutical company doing purification and formulation for late stage clinical and commercial therapeutic protein drug production. in short, I make drugs. The crew is great, company is top 100 best employers, stock options are sweet, pay is stupid high, and growth is good. I took a weekend lead position after a bad break up. Burring my head into work helped me get over it. It also did wonders for my career.
I like where I'm at right now. I still won't settle though. Eventually I'll get into a management track or work for regulatory. Eventually. If I ever get unhappy, I'll use the skill set they gave me to go to another pharma company.
In summary: Take jobs that keep you learning. Getting paid to learn is a double positive.
I adore writing. It dates far back to writing fanfiction when I was 13, where I would create my own stories and original characters, thinking of ways to improve and/or satirize shows I loved or hated. I spent around a decade in the fanfiction world which helped me understand the importance of sentence structure, editing, writing, and how to do research before creating a story. You could call it my time in the trenches as great authors like Michael Moorcock and Neil Gaiman started there.
My background is sheltered, but I have great communication/interpersonal skills. I learned that from my wonderful mother, who allows me to work as an Administrative Assistant at her small stockbroking business. She has helped me established connections amongst people in the state and landed me a few freelance gigs after college. (Nothing big, only 500 dollars each) Sadly, this has led to my biggest downfall with my lack of experience.
I never had a job outside from college. The closest I had was interning at my school newspaper during my final semester, where I mainly worked in the Opinion and Life sections. I loved it, even with the stressful schedules. I felt that it legitimized my passion for writing, to get published on a real life newspaper and get paid to review movies. (Professional/Entertaining Criticism is a hobby I really treasure)
Outside of college, most companies that ask for technical writers demand grant writers, proposal-writers, and are in a field of government, legal work, or business/schools. On top of that, it's always a demand for "2-4 years of experience in related field." Although my mom has offered to allow me to work as a stockbroker, I know for a fact I don't want to handle the policy/insurance side of the industry. All the memorization, rules, cutbacks, and constant demand for research and bureaucracy make my head spin. My brother fell back on that and I know he hates his job.
Searching for jobs that are within my niche can be soul-crushing. I also grip to come to terms with my ADHD and Anxiety problems. The ADHD is manageable, but the anxiety can keep me distanced from doing new things or even sending in resumes for fear of mocking.
So at the moment, I'm trying to find a career that mixes my passions together. Blogging, Writing, Editing, Craft Beer, Movies, TV, Criticism...it's what I love. I just need the patience and determination to be consistent, dedicated writer. Maybe I can work with a friendly, tight-knit, creative community and build a life from there. For projects, I do an animation blog on a geeky, entertainment website called OneofUs.Net. I'm in the middle of writing two novels. This type of life takes years of work, but I know that it is my calling.