Seriously

Tell me, oh great blog-o-sphere, what it takes to find a good job.

I'm a 25 (and a half) year old, college graduate with a degree in Media Communications from a school that though smaller than my high school sends students regularly to work for the Olympic Broadcast and ESPN - while they're still in college. I am a hard worker, reliable, honest, and eager to learn new skills. I'll admit I'm highly introverted, and I have a hard time understanding, much less maneuvering the chess game that is "corporate" operations. I'll also admit that I don't think myself much of a writer; however, I am a damn good speller and a bit of a grammar nerd. My current boss seems fairly fond of me . . .

I'm familiar with both Mac and PC platforms, Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, ProTools, many DV format cameras, both live and recorded sound production. I could be up to speed on Avid editing very quickly, as well as linear editing. I'm good with a hammer, saw, and paintbrush. I've stage/floor managed television and theatre. I spent four years of college doing theatrical lighting. I actually like soldering cable ends. I'm not supposed to admit to that. I've done field audio work for the Olympic Broadcasting company - and I never even got yelled at.

Why on earth can't I land a full time job???

All I'm asking for is 40 hours a week - and a few more here and there are no big deal - preferably the same 40 hours each week, or at least a relatively predictable schedule, benefits, and a pay rate that acknowledges the fact that I have a college education in my field. It would also be nice if said job made it possible, mostly in terms of scheduling and time, for us to start a family . . . but that's just gravy. Oh, and I would like to achieve said position based solely on my merits and accomplishments, and not on my ability to sweet talk, as I have no such ability.

Meanwhile, I work 40+ hours a week, and this is a vast improvement over when I was only working 25-30, but I'm still technically part time. This week is 52 hours, I believe, or was that last week? They're all starting to blend together. Being still part time, my pay has not changed, and there are no benefits. I never know what my schedule looks like more than a week or two in advance, and my hours vary widely from day to day. And while I knew that this would basically be the case even before I arrived, I'm fairly tired of working in a department that is treated daily like the bastard step child of the building. I should mention, I've been where I am for a year and a half now.

Now, I realize that a large part of my current status is my own fault, as I have made some bad decisions, mostly out of naivete. But to some extent, I'm caught in the classic catch twenty two - everyone wants experience, but you can't get experience without first getting a job. I'm horrible with networking, and schmoozing just makes me feel dirty.

I'm fairly certain that a job that suits me is out there - and that I would suit it quite well - I just don't know where to look.

**as a side note, a large part of this rant stems from the fact that we have a new guy starting at the station. Well, he's only semi new - he used to work there a long time ago. He's since worked in NY and a couple other places. And the basic impression I've gotten from talking to him is that I could go anywhere else, have a far more pleasant and slightly less stressful job, get paid a lot more, and probably work less. Problem is I can't move, at least for now.

Ok, rant over . . . garden update soon, I promise!