Izulde's Grad School Quest: An RL Dynasty

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

What's your ideal job, you think? Like once you're done with this new masters?

Ultimate dream job? GM of an NBA franchise.

Realistic dream job? Torn between working in a university athletic department in some capacity and in the marketing department or front office of a professional sports team.

I'd also love to get back into coaching at some point, although because I don't have any college playing experience, I know I'm probably limited to a ceiling of the high school level, and most school districts require coaches to also be teachers.

[rjolley]

If you want to coach, there's always AAU, Little League, or whichever youth sports organization supports the sport you're interested in coaching.

[Izulde]

Yeah that's what I'll end up doing most likely. Like I've mentioned elsewhere on the forums, the year I coached a U-14 soccer team was one of the best experiences of my life.

[Izulde]

Work is progressing on all four of the listed applications. Transcripts are going to be a real pain in the rear, considering the number of schools I've gone to.

There's also a fifth school I've added, Canisius in Buffalo. I quite liked the look of the program as I was reviewing it, and of course, there's a number of FOFCers there. I know it sounds stupid that it's a factor, but I find life goes much better for me personally when I know people (however remotely) in a given area.

[Izulde]

Three months changes things.

I'm working on finishing my thesis and graduating with my MFA this semester.

I've also decided that if I'm really serious about wanting to coach (which is really my first love) and in particular coach basketball where I haven't played the sport since middle school, another master's degree isn't going to cut it.

I need to go out and get experience first, even if that means taking a job in another field and volunteering with a local high school or some such thing until I can work my way up.

[Young Drachma]

Well, I'd suggest avoiding the Mike Rice school of coaching.

Realistically though, I think the best play would be to volunteer as a counselor at a camp somewhere so you can see the work up close. Getting a HS JV or freshman gig isn't that hard, really. Especially at a private school, because they're usually desperate to find someone competent enough to show up, especially at non-competitive institutions or schools like where I once coached where all of the kids had to be involved in a sport for a certain number of trimesters of their academic career.

But the coaching camp experience would give you a coaching reference to be able to land some kind of lower level HS job where you can use the tactics you learned at camp (drills, etc.) to implement if you can manage to land some kind of freshman basketball assistant job or at a small school, a stipend to be head coach.

But yeah, it's not really realistic to think you're going to show up off the street and make a living at something that has so many people trying to get in, unless you have an in.

Hell, outside of the camp to some sort of HS freshman/JV thing which I think is your best bet for references/experience, you'd almost be better off working in the classroom as a faculty member at an private school or community college and then trying to latch on as an unpaid assistant to the basketball program. Even if you're just watching at first and even if the coach isn't very good, with the right place you can almost land yourself into a "volunteer assistant job" but then you've "coached college" and use that experience down the road to land a head coach job at the freshman or JV high school level once your experience is up to snuff or you've found a program that's not competitive where you can learn along with them.

[Izulde]

Good points and I'll definitely have to go one of those two routes.

I'll also try, if nothing else, to also coach youth basketball in the winter as part of acquiring more experience until I can have an actual higher level season coaching gig.

Hell, my experience coaching youth soccer got me offered a stipend position as a JV coach at a small school. Ultimately I didn't take it because it was an hour and a half drive each way and I couldn't make it fit around my school schedule.

[Izulde]

Thesis defense on Thursday. I've been really nervous about it, but I just got the most awesome email that really gives me a confidence boost heading into it.

It looks like I'll be staying here another year and adjuncting. It's the best thing for me to do right now, while I take time and figure out for sure where I'm headed. To be honest, and I never thought I'd say this ever before I came to UNLV, I really like living in Las Vegas, especially after I got my own apartment this year.

Heard from one of my former students that there's openings for assistant coaching in the district, but the application process is a bit strange, and there's a couple things I need to do before I can formally apply (I've filled out most of the application, though).

I've also applied for a summer camp counselor gig in Kenosha (Thanks for the idea, DC/YD!), but haven't heard back on that yet.

Also went to the graduation one-stop sendoff today to pick up cap and gown and all that.

It's funny how different this last semester has felt compared to Arkansas. Back then, I had a lot of anger and depression and felt a lot of stress re: the thesis with a completely useless director and then failing the exam.

Here, there was still stress with getting the thesis done, but my director was extremely helpful and encouraging, and helped keep me on track, and my committee members I had thesis hours with really gave me fantastic feedback.

Teaching has also been much more enjoyable this last year with teaching a themed class, probably the most fun I've had since my second semester at Arkansas. Still hate grading with every fiber of my being, but then, there's always going to be some part of every job to hate.

Social and romantic lives are still nonexistent, but I'm oddly okay with that right now. Depression issues still hit now and then, but I'm able to work through them and do the things I need to do.

I really have accomplished a lot for me the last three years when I think about it:

1. Presented a paper at AWP, my first conference presentation.
2. Got a 4.0 for my entire program.
3. Wrote a critical essay that I think could potentially be publishable/presentable with a little bit more work.
4. Translated a short story from German to English (This was easily one of the most difficult things I've ever done)
5. Went to Japan for two months and had amazing experiences there, even if it was a bit lonely at times.
6. Wrote my first novel length work since The Beautiful Girl and the History class.
7. Got several stories written, one or two of which I think will be publishable with just a bit more work, even though short stories are the medium I'm least comfortable with.
8. Taught themed courses, the first semester of which earned me my highest student evaluation marks since my second semester at Arkansas.
9. Lived by myself off campus for the first time.
10. Won my money pool in the NCAA tournament after years of coming so close. (Okay this last one is a bit silly, but still.)

If I'd gone somewhere else, like say if Columbia had accepted me, or if Old Dominion had offered me an assistantship, who knows if I would have accomplished the same things? Japan definitely not, as that was part of my program here. I also probably would have been saddled with huge amounts of debt at Columbia, whereas here, I have no added debt. In fact, I've managed to save enough that I'll probably be able to pay off at least one of my two smallish undergraduate loans before the interest kicks in.

I don't know - maybe all these things sound stupid or silly, but I wanted to note them anyway.

[Izulde]

Thesis defense.... PASSED! I feel like just stared down the ogre of the past and slayed a mighty beast.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I didn't see this until just a bit ago (sue me, I fell asleep early) but it's damned sure worth a hearty

[Qwikshot]

Awesome

[Young Drachma]

Congrats man. I know that's a tough thing. Good job.

[britrock88]

Congrats. (And I finally put 2 and 2 together with this thread and the FB FOFC page.)

[Izulde]

Thanks, all. Spent today running around collecting signatures for the umpteen Graduate College forms. Still need to collect one signature for two of the forums, print out the hard copy of the properly formatted thesis, and hand the giant package in.

Hoping tomorrow, but it may not be til Friday.

[Izulde]

"Tell me what drew you to creative writing."

It was all I could do to suppress a groan as the pretty, young woman looked at me from across the desk.

The first thing you need to know about writers is that we despise any form of the question, "Why do you write?". And this was a form of that question. I decided to be honest.

"It's instinctive, something innate that we're born with. Like I heard Junot Diaz say once, there's no real explaining *why* writers do what we do. It's just a compulsion, a calling."

She raised her eyebrows, nodded politely, and jotted something down on her pad, the well-put together blues and greens of her business professional attire attesting to her fashion sense and capability.

Yep, Izulde had a job interview recently. I can only nebulously say that it was in a business-related field and that they promised to call me if I made it to the second round of interviews.

They didn't call.

This didn't surprise me. I surmised after the interview, with the preternatural ability I have about job interviews and roleplay scenarios in competitions, that I hadn't made it. (I've only been wrong once in my life - the time I thought I had a job at a Panera Bread opening in my hometown. Turns out they went with all older women for the launch, which was smart, but I was still annoyed. I'd nailed that interview. To this day, I've never eaten at Panera for that diss.)

Anyway, I bring this up because the interview also illuminated several other things:

1. When asked what I looked for a job/career, I answered variety - doing different things and having a wide array of experiences and meeting different people. The thought of being in one place and doing the same exact thing day after day was anathema to me. (This job involved half-days in an office, and half-days in the field meeting with clientele, FWIW).

2. When asked if I was a people person, I said yes and no. In formalized, structured situations with clearly defined roles, such as work or the classroom, absolutely. In social situations, no, most likely because there the roles and landscapes of the conversation and interactions were undefined. (Note: I realize this was the wrong answer according to conventional wisdom about the question, but damn conventional wisdom anyhow).

3. Further reflection on the interview made me realize that I did genuinely enjoy many moments of teaching at the college level, and the relative freedom and flexibility are very important to me. Of critical importance, actually.

This last point became particularly clear when I received my teaching schedule for this semester and was ecstatic to discover that I had all evening classes. The night hours are when I'm most awake and most effective, and my various student evaluations in the five years I've taught at the university level attest to this. With one exception, the later my classes are, the better the evals are (The outlier was an early morning class at UArk where I loved the material I was teaching and got excellent evals as a result, and my best overall evals until last fall when UNLV started giving me later classes and allowed me to start teaching my comp classes as a themed course in college sports, whereupon the last two semesters have had the highest ratings of my career.)

Drifting along in the wake of all these recent revelations - the recognition that I really wanted to reach the pinnacle of degree achievement and become Dr. Izulde Jestor (to use my fictional alter ego).

Of course, there can be only one route for me - the PhD in Creative Writing. 32 or 33 schools (I forget the exact number) offer the degree (really a PhD in English with a creative dissertation as opposed to a research dissertation).

My GRE scores are null and void, so I need to retake it, in the scary, new, harder format this fall, and I will also have to take the GRE Subject test most likely. So it's a good thing that although I really, really wanted to teach World Lit, that I'll instead have three sections of my Contemporary Issues in College Sports class to teach. New course prep is very time-intensive.

I'll conclude this post by noting I feel very blessed right now. So many of my fellow adjuncts across the nation are struggling to make it, and more than a few have to teach at more than one campus to survive. But I've been very fortunate to be given full-time adjunct status, which comes with health insurance benefits. That's huge, particularly since it makes me think of one of my friends still in retail, still stuck with just below the hours to qualify for benefits, who is *still* paying off a surgery he had to get a few years ago.

[Izulde]

GRE re-take scheduled: October 17th, in the afternoon. Will make my scores valid for another five years, but I'm determined to get into a PhD program for next fall.

[Izulde]

Dusted off my manuscripts and have started reworking one or two of my short stories for submission.

I've also been researching possible careers outside of academia, just because of how brutal the market is, particularly for those in the humanities (English, especially.) It appears there's a growing number of PhDs who are leaving the academy and transitioning into teaching at private/independent high schools.

Have to admit, it's damned appealing an option. I've seen this semester what a life as an adjunct would be for me personally. I go to office hours, teach classes, go home... and there I sit. I have no social life beyond out of town friends coming in or my going to see them, and in the former case, that's only if they're interested in hanging out with me for an evening while they're here.

I've come to genuinely love teaching, discussion and seeing my students grow as writers and as people. Research? Hate it, and I found early on my graduate career that an academic PhD in English was something I had no interest in doing. A PhD in Creative Writing? Yes, would love that.

I know private school employment is less pay than most public high schools, and that there's service requirement expectations just as there would be for a TT position at the university level. But I'd be fine with that - love it, even, especially if I could get back into coaching.

Most appealing, I think, is that prep schools really focus on developing and fostering a sense of community and involvement, and require its faculty to be a part of that. So it wouldn't just be me doing office hours, teaching classes, and going home. And it's an easy trap to fall into. There are some people here who have been adjuncting for 20-25 years. I don't want that to happen to me. If I do that, I will consider myself as having failed in life.

The biggest problem? Teacher me never would have had the opportunity to instruct student me. Going to private school was never an option or possibility for me as a kid, nor did I have any interest in it. In fact, ironically enough, I won a small scholarship in high school by writing an essay championing public education over private at the secondary level.

But then another part of me realizes that I have no interest in teaching at a public high school, especially with the way the system has been destroyed, and even though I'd be at a private school, I'd have ample opportunity to help make my students far more ready for college than most of the ones I see are when they first walk on to campus.

Just me thinking aloud here.

[Young Drachma]

National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), NAIS Career Center|Find Your Career Here

Job board for the national association of independent schools. It's a good resource as the school year nears next year to look for things.

I'd strongly suggest considering using that and sites like Indeed to find work you'd find suitable. At this point, you're going to find yourself increasingly competing with people who have work experience AND the degree you have.

You need some formal experience outside adjuncting to really make yourself marketable. I think going to private HS route is smart because they're likely to hire you, you don't need to be certified and your college teaching experience will make you attractive.

But you need to sort of find a gig that works, because the PhD route makes sense somewhat, but with more and more people finding a harder time getting work with their doctorates, you're going to need to be creative or strategic to use it or else you'll be overeducated, underemployed and limited in the relationships outside of higher ed that you can use.

Just .02. Good luck on the GRE.

[Barkeep49]

I started teaching at an independent school intending to stay 1 or 2 years before getting back into public. 7 years later I'm thrilled to be where I am. I have been having increasing pangs about teaching the elite but lots of good can be done in these schools. Having conducted job searches for the school, I can also tell you with just your current qualifications (even with no PhD) you would likely get a phone interview at my very good (half step below elite) school. The PhD and college teaching would garner you a ton of interviews.

Added bonus of independent schools vs college? You can find one whose profile makes you happy. Want a school that focuses on academics? No problem. Want a school thats progressive? Plenty of options. Want a school oriented around service? There are those. Want a boys (or girls) school? Sure. Want the all encompassing bordering school experience? You can have it. Take your pick of rural, suburban, or urban location.

If/when you decide to do this PM if you'd like to talk further.

[Izulde]

Thanks, guys. I did find a very interesting spring semester sabbatical replacement opening which would give me formal experience teaching in an independent high school while I wait to hear from the PhD programs I apply to, so I'll definitely apply to that and see how it goes.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I'll add another item to the list of "things to consider about the private/indy school" route.

They definitely seem to often have a bent toward hiring certain types of teachers. Be those similarities age or experience or background or even simply universities/types of universities. Look at the faculty makeup of the school when you're applying or considering applying. The hiring process is often more personal than human-resources driven, see what you can glean from the information that's often part of public bios for the staff.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I'll add another item to the list of "things to consider about the private/indy school" route.

They definitely seem to often have a bent toward hiring certain types of teachers. Be those similarities age or experience or background or even simply universities/types of universities. Look at the faculty makeup of the school when you're applying or considering applying. The hiring process is often more personal than human-resources driven, see what you can glean from the information that's often part of public bios for the staff.

Good tip, thanks. I'll keep that in mind. And an update forthcoming.

[Izulde]

GRE Week is upon us. Thursday afternoon is the scheduled test time. Despite all the horror stories I've heard about the Revised GRE, my impression is that the Verbal sections appear easier now, as they got rid of the need to memorize esoteric vocabulary in the analogies and focused on the more pragmatic qualities of sentence equivalence.

The Quantitative section remains as brutal as ever, however, and I'm going in to it thoroughly expecting I'll get my tail kicked on it. Not that it matters overly much - the Verbal and Writing portions are what's important.

Nor is the GRE that critical for PhD in Creative Writing programs. Much as is the case with the MFA, the bulk of weight falls on the creative and critical manuscripts.

I also applied for a promising sabbatical position at an independent high school for this spring, but I haven't heard back yet, which leads me to believe that's out, and I'll be back at UNLV for one final semester. Not a bad thing if that happens - I'm spared moving hassles and my health insurance, which kicks in December 1st, will have continuity then.

The three PhD programs I'll be applying to, in order of ranking:

2. Florida State
I know someone in the PhD program right now, as well as a few alumni from Florida State in English and Creative Writing. They've all spoken glowingly of their experiences and the faculty there. I've gotten used to this warm weather thing, and though I hated the South after Arkansas, Florida to me has always been distinct from the rest of the region in ways that I actually enjoy the state.

8. Cincinnati
Really, Izulde? The Midwest you wanted so much to stay out of permanently? Well... yes. Four year program and all PhD in Creative Writing students are guaranteed to teach creative writing at some point during the degree. There's also a 1-1 teaching load, which is a huge draw for me, having done the 2/2 teaching load, and in the midst of 4/4. Plus, I really like the vision of the campus administration and the direction the university is going. Rather reminds me of UNLV in a lot of ways, which has drawn praise for how the administration is positioning and growing the university.

15. SUNY-Albany
I've always wanted to live somewhere out East for a while, ever since I was in high school. Like Florida State, I know someone in the PhD program here and they love it. It's also someone whose opinions about this sort of thing I highly respect, and whose creative writing and critical analysis are on the same wavelength as mine. Plus, Albany seems like an awesome city to live in for a few years from everything I've read.

Obviously, this will all be dependent on both getting into programs and, most importantly, getting funding. Why only three? Most of the PhD in Creative Writing programs are in the Midwest, and Cincinnati's is the only one that appealed to me enough to go back there. A lot of the non-Midwest programs require both the GRE General and the GRE Subject test, and I had absolutely no interest in putting in the time and expense for two exams, particularly given my likely post-degree career.

Either way, come next fall, I will no longer be in Las Vegas. If I don't get into a PhD program with funding, I'll be at an independent high school, and am already working on applying with two of the major agencies and preparing for the hiring season that starts in earnest in December.

Like I told my mom the other day, no matter what happens, I'm fine with it. If I get into a program with funding, awesome. If I don't, it simply wasn't meant to be, and while I'll be disappointed, I'll have the fun prospect of living somewhere else and getting started on a new career.

But I'm done with Las Vegas. There have been great things about living here, and terrible things. Long-term, the terrible things outweigh the great things, but I won't go into further detail than that. Suffice it to say that for me personally, I can't stay in this city much longer.

[sterlingice]

I think I missed this earlier- what's the midwestern school objection?

SI

[DaddyTorgo]

Albany?

Yikes.

[Izulde]

sterlingice: I grew up in the Midwest and hated it. The only city in the region I've lived in that I loved was my final undergrad alma mater of La Crosse, WI. The Twin Cities was actually pretty cool, now that I think about it, but overall, I put the Midwest and most of the South on par with each other, which is why I hated Fayetteville, AR - to me it combined the unappealing aspects of both regions.

DaddyTorgo: I take it you hate Albany? Any particulars as to why?

[Jon]

If you don't mind me asking, what do you think you're likely post degree career will be?

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Jon

If you don't mind me asking, what do you think you're likely post degree career will be?

Teaching English/creative writing and (hopefully) coaching at an independent day high school. Boarding school is too alien a concept for me, and goes against my philosophy that students should live with their immediate family until going to college, and I want more control over my curriculum than public high schools offer.

Tenure track jobs in academia are shrinking, and unless your PhD comes from an Ivy League school, or a select few highly ranked schools outside of that, you're likely to end up in the pits of adjunct hell, where, if you're lucky, you end up with a 4/4 teaching load of introductory courses (read: Freshman composition and maybe World Lit) for $24k and health insurance. If you're not, you can end up with something like a 5/5 teaching load for $20k and no access to benefits. You're also very limited geographically in terms of TT jobs, which I also hate.

Long-term what I see happening is that adjuncts will continue their growing grassroots efforts at mobilization and activism until conditions improve, but the harsh reality is that, particularly for humanities PhDs, you're part of an adjunct mill, which is why, in conversations I've had with people, more and more of them are quietly pushing their students to consider options outside academia.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Izulde

sterlingice: I grew up in the Midwest and hated it. The only city in the region I've lived in that I loved was my final undergrad alma mater of La Crosse, WI. The Twin Cities was actually pretty cool, now that I think about it, but overall, I put the Midwest and most of the South on par with each other, which is why I hated Fayetteville, AR - to me it combined the unappealing aspects of both regions.

DaddyTorgo: I take it you hate Albany? Any particulars as to why?

I wouldn't say hate. I've only been there once, and it was only for a really brief time, but it didn't strike me as the kind of place where I'd want to spend multiple years - didn't seem like there was a lot going on there. Certainly not when compared to say Las Vegas, or even Boston.

[Cap Ologist]

Originally Posted by Izulde

if you're lucky, you end up with a 4/4 teaching load of introductory courses (read: Freshman composition and maybe World Lit) for $24k and health insurance. If you're not, you can end up with something like a 5/5 teaching load for $20k and no access to benefits. You're also very limited geographically in terms of TT jobs, which I also hate.

What do you mean by 4/4 and 5/5?

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Cap Ologist

What do you mean by 4/4 and 5/5?

4/4 = Teaching 4 sections a semester/Teaching 4 sections a semester

5/5 = Same thing, but 5 sections a semester

Hence, it's quite easy to see the appeal of Cincinnati's 1/1 load, or teaching one course a semester.

[Izulde]

Took the GRE today. Obviously the Analytic score has yet to be determined. While I won't list my scores here, I will say I scored significantly above the recommended Verbal score/percentile for both Cincinnati and Florida State as published on their English department websites. I presume SUNY-Albany is in that category as well, but I couldn't find any specific information.

Obviously it's a very minor part of the application, particularly for a PhD that culminates in a creative dissertation, but it's still nice to know that my scores won't hurt my chances (pending, of course, what the Analytic score is).

[Izulde]

So I didn't apply to any of the schools or the programs. Despite the intermittent urge to go forth with a PhD, last semester and this one have taught me that I have no real interest in teaching long-term (if you'll pardon the pun).

Last semester devolved into a series of nightly panic attacks, as I struggled to find the motivation and energy to keep teaching, and had a rough time transitioning from two sections plus my own schoolwork to a full-time four section load (at poverty-level adjunct wages, of course!). I was isolated to the point where my life consisted of get up in the afternoon, walk to school, teach, walk back home, and spend all night/morning shut-in, going through a grading grind. Every.single.day. was like that. I can't even remember if I saw anyone outside of my students last semester other than maybe once in Las Vegas. I did, however, go to San Diego for a weekend and had a trip to Orlando with the BFF, which were the only two things that kept me from going completely breaking down. In fact, the two nights I slept on the couch in San Diego and the nights in Orlando were the only times all semester that I didn't go into massive panic attacks.

Needless to say, my end-semester evals, while not terrible, were the worst I'd ever had at that particular school.

Fast forward to this January. As most of you already know, I was without income for a few months and job-hunting, weighing all of my options. If I'd had the money on hand, I would have left for San Diego then and not looked back, the cost and job hunt be damned. As it was, I seriously considered moving back to Wisconsin to help my parents out (my mom's on the liver transplant list and has been for months now - probably getting close to a year), but resolved to try and hang on.

In that job hunt, I had that behavioral interview with the company I would have LOVED working for in a really awesome job, and it would have meant double my adjunct salary. I thought I did well with the interview but they went another direction.

In sheer desperation, I even tried applying to a retail store, but I knew I didn't get that when the description said "Be prepared for an interview when you bring your resume", and the sales girl said "Are you from the company?" and the guy who was the store manager said "I'll take this and give it to my hiring guy" and I thought to myself, "...Why the hell would you say on the job description to be ready for interview and then blow me off like that?" So yeah. Clear I wasn't getting it, which was fine.

Put out more interviews, and then I get contacted to take on classes at a community college due to a unfortunate set of circumstances. I accepted, of course, thinking a new location would give me a fresh start and a new burst of enthusiasm. It helped even more that I was highly recommended by the Composition Director at the place I adjuncted at in the fall despite my mediocre ratings.

Long story short, the difference between the semesters has been dramatic. Although the pay is less, I have a lot more freedom in terms of my curriculum and I get the sense that the department really likes me. Do I still have panic attacks at night? Yeah, with some regularity, but it's not every.damn.night. like before, so I suspect a lot of the ones in the fall were due to stress at the old adjunct position.

That said I don't have the passion for teaching that I should. There are moments that I enjoy it, and I'm damned good at it, but it's draining. Remember how I said I was dusting off my manuscript and revising one or two stories earlier? Said revision attempts got nowhere. Teaching and dealing with student writing on a full-time basis has completely destroyed my writing mojo, reducing me to angry, expletive-laden FM dynasties and the now and again DDS sim league article - and even there the writing has gotten paint by numbers rather than anything creative.

I *have* applied to a graduate program, but I'm still waiting to hear whether or not I got in, and if an assistantship is waiting for me if I did get in. If the answer to both is yes, it will be a radically different career path than anything else I've considered before, which is precisely what I need to snap out of this mental, emotional, and social rut I'm in, I think.

I'm still far too reclusive, but seeing one of my fraternity brothers and BYU 14 and his wife when they came into town a few days apart was a wonderful tonic, and it's impressed on me even more that I need to move somewhere where I actually have good friends.

Otherwise I see myself falling into complacency and before I know it, another 15-20 years has gone by and I've gone from mid-30s with still a spark of hope for a future worth having to an early 50 something who has seen life completely pass him by, with an end game too awful to contemplate.

[Izulde]

So as those of you on Facebook that I'm friends with know, I applied to an East private school's graduate program in HR and while accepted, kept getting dicked around on the assistantship, so I declined the acceptance. It would have been a horrible decision financially and timing wise to go, especially since my interest in the field was only lukewarm anyway.

Since that time I've been applying to pretty much every entry-level public relations job I can find. Got an interview with an agency here in town (I really would rather agency than corporate - I crave the variety), but that's not looking the best prospect right now, as they're taking a very slow pace with it. As in, they won't even decide who to bring back for a second interview until the end of this month.

It's rather frustrating because I remember in 2007, when I was doing my capstone for my English degree, they said that public relations firms really wanted English majors for our writing skills and our well-honed sense of empathy, cultural understanding, and reading and research skills. Fast forward 7 years later, and all the jobs are asking for Public Relations, Communications, Marketing, or Business degrees. Hard to believe things have changed that quickly. And I have an Associate's in Marketing at least.

The other obnoxious thing is that almost all of the entry-level jobs want previous internship or full-time experience. I've heard the old joke about that aggravating Catch-22 in the job market, but I never realized until my stint in January and my efforts now just how true it is.

While I could probably go back to adjuncting in the fall at one or both of my previous schools if I had to, I really want to avoid that if at all possible. It'd just be continuing this cycle of misery and poverty, and I feel like I'm reaching that point in my life (I'll be 35 this month) where if I don't make a change now, I'll be trapped in this prison of unhappiness, no money, no friends, no relationships (romantic or otherwise), no anything for the rest of my life.

But I keep trying, and I keep plugging away.

[Izulde]

Funny that virtually a year to the day of my last post, I can finally report great news for starting to break away from the wage slavery of adjuncting. I applied to a full-time position at one of the colleges I teach at, but didn't even make it to the interview round. I wasn't too broken up about it, to be honest - A 5/5 teaching load, plus committee and office hour requirements for a decent pay meant an incredible time overload for a monetary level that wasn't really worth it.

I again hit up public relations jobs, only this time I concentrated on internships, which appear to be a necessary requirement for having a realistic shot at a job (interview last year with an agency notwithstanding - and I didn't make the second interview round).

This time I landed an (unpaid) internship with an entertainment company here in town. I start at 10 am, and because it's a small employee roster with a public relations segment that is that, in the words of the CEO "fly by the seat of our pants" at the moment, I have a big opportunity to make a meaningful impact and create something. They're also looking to strengthen their Internet presence beyond its current profile, and are bringing in a couple more people to help beef that up, and want me as part of the team on that project.

I'm being thrown in the deep end as it were - one of my first tasks will be working on one of their national campaigns, which I'm doing research on now. In addition to the usual things like press releases, they want me to devise and implement public relations strategies and campaigns.

It's thrilling, and I feel like I'm finally in a place where I can flex my creative muscle, and as I said, play a pretty key role in the company's operations (as opposed to a larger arena where I'd be a grunt, and might not get as much out of it in terms of accomplishments when going to interview for actual paying jobs).

But it's also damned scary. Still, this is looking like a huge opportunity, and the first break I've been searching for.

[Young Drachma]

I'm glad you're landing okay and are doing meaningful work. Don't be scared by it, though. Just do what you do and it'll work itself out or at least, if you're gonna doubt yourself, do it at home and with your friends...not with your coworkers. Be willing to learn, but don't hesitate to contribute and show them what you're made of.

It's at least advice I wish I'd gotten during those times. Good luck.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

I'm glad you're landing okay and are doing meaningful work. Don't be scared by it, though. Just do what you do and it'll work itself out or at least, if you're gonna doubt yourself, do it at home and with your friends...not with your coworkers. Be willing to learn, but don't hesitate to contribute and show them what you're made of.

It's at least advice I wish I'd gotten during those times. Good luck.

Thanks It's good advice to keep in mind. As it turned out, my first day had some major wow moments.

By the end of the day, I was put in charge of two nationwide press releases, had talked to a very heavy hitter in the standup comedy world, and identified opportunities for my company's social media profile and visibility.

Perhaps best of all, at the end of the workday, my boss said, "You know, you remind me of my friend who went to Princeton for undergrad and Oxford for grad school." (Cue my heart breaking as those two schools are the most loved, and I still regret not applying to the former). "He also did Creative Writing for his masters, and now he's making a living as a writer for a lot of publications. And the funny thing is, even though it's journalism, he writes absolutely beautiful pieces, where his creative writing background comes through. You can become that."

Boss further went on to remark, "Public relations is about two things: the quality of the story, and the relationships. You already have the writing down. It's just a matter of building those relationships, and we'll work on getting you those while you're here, for when you're ready to move on."

One last thing - a little thrill of pleasure shot through me when the boss was talking to the heavy hitter and said, "Yeah, Izulde is our new PR guy, and I want you to talk to him about a press release that we're making national."

[muns]

Originally Posted by Izulde

"Yeah, Izulde is our new PR guy, and I want you to talk to him about a press release that we're making national."

That's freaking awesome! Glad its working out for you

[Young Drachma]

+1

Keep up the good work.

[Izulde]

Thanks, guys. We added a second PR intern today, though their specialty is social media, and that will be their primary area of focus. I imagine we'll collaborate together on some projects, though.

[Izulde]

So over the last two months, I've been killing it in the internship, particularly with the press releases. I also put together a PR campaign strategy proposal (in 40 minutes, after one of our PR interns who had that as their final assignment did a horrendous job and left us scrambling), that in combination with the press release I wrote for that client, landed us a major account.

Called every PR firm in town. Only one or two hiring, and I couldn't get so much as an interview. Called other leads the boss came up with... nothing.

And then today happened. I was officially promoted to Director of Public Relations for the firm, and will be responsible for establishing and growing the PR division. I still need to adjunct for now, but it's another big step forward to completing my exit from academia.

[muns]

Awesome stuff right there. Keep doing big things boss

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by muns

Awesome stuff right there. Keep doing big things boss

Thanks. Things have blown up the last couple weeks. I've landed two clients on TV, am working on building something big with another one, gotten the company's foot in the door with a potentially key relationship, and, after today's interview with the first TV client aired, another potential client called my boss and said that's what they want. This is a potentially huge client who could be the PR division's first monthly retainer. Meeting set for Saturday afternoon.

[Young Drachma]

Excellent news. I'm glad things are going well for you and evolving there!

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

Excellent news. I'm glad things are going well for you and evolving there!

Thanks. Full steam ahead, too. Latest client I've not only gotten on two TV appearances, but for one of them, they want the client as a special guest host for the entire hour of the show. I'm still floored, and humbled, that this stuff is actually happening.

[muns]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Thanks. Full steam ahead, too. Latest client I've not only gotten on two TV appearances, but for one of them, they want the client as a special guest host for the entire hour of the show. I'm still floored, and humbled, that this stuff is actually happening.

You have paid your dues. It's about damn time for you!

[JAG]

Originally Posted by Izulde

So over the last two months, I've been killing it in the internship, particularly with the press releases. I also put together a PR campaign strategy proposal (in 40 minutes, after one of our PR interns who had that as their final assignment did a horrendous job and left us scrambling), that in combination with the press release I wrote for that client, landed us a major account.

Called every PR firm in town. Only one or two hiring, and I couldn't get so much as an interview. Called other leads the boss came up with... nothing.

And then today happened. I was officially promoted to Director of Public Relations for the firm, and will be responsible for establishing and growing the PR division. I still need to adjunct for now, but it's another big step forward to completing my exit from academia.

That's an impressive title bump. Congrats, happy things are going well for you, seems like you may have found something you excel at and enjoy, that's a great combo.

[Izulde]

Thanks, guys. It's going to be one hell of a semester, though - teaching 4 sections Tues/Thur (the max credits allowed for an adjunct), and then Mon/Wed/Fri (and possibly Saturday and some Sundays too) doing the PR job.

The gameplan is for me to eventually be poached by a PR firm for a full-time gig at great salary and benefits, even though I'd hate to leave my current position, and the company would hate to lose me.

Retainer client keeps pushing the meeting back, but we'll see what happens with it.

First TV interview didn't have the results expected. A lot of eyeballs, but no conversion - but a couple of things happened during the interview that caused it to not have the conversion rate we expected. Tomorrow's interview for a different event should go much better, I hope.

Things have been quite busy. I often don't get home until 6 pm or later, and it's going to be another late one tomorrow. Not only the interview, but a focus group meeting for another thing we have planned with another client whose status alone should generate big hits as we expand what we're doing with them. Case in point: The focus group had 40 slots. Within an hour of the private event being set up on Facebook, 31 of the slots were gone.

I'm also now in charge of handling our internship applications and the initial intern interviews, as the boss doesn't have time, and we really need to increase our team. Thought we landed a great prospect, but he told me this afternoon he'd accepted another position elsewhere. Tough pill, but we'll carry on.

I have to say, it's been enlightening being on the other side of the table. So many people do not know how to write effective resumes and/or cover letters.

[Izulde]

Big things may be ahead for the company over the next year. We've brought in someone who has access to some considerable venture capitalists, and while we're not yet at the point of approaching them, we're planning a major office move by March, and are working on expanding our staff to take the business in a new, higher-level direction.

I'm also considering applying to a Masters program in Los Angeles for next fall, because while I've been doing well learning as I go in the trenches, I feel like getting a theoretical groundwork will make me that much more effective, and I'll get a chance to possibly strengthen our LA presence - something we've been wanting to do anyway. It's also a program with a concentration that deals specifically with the industry I'm working in right now, which is another important factor.

Whether this all pans out remains to be seen, obviously. But rather than shift to an agency now, as was my original plan back in the summer, I want to ride this wave and see where it goes. I mean shit, I'm one of the top people in the company right now, and if I jump ship now (if I could even get anything), while I would experience an immediate jump in financial security that would allow me to quit teaching after this semester, my earning potential would be capped off for the foreseeable future, and I'd have a far slower progression up the ladder - I mean, going from intern to Director in 2 months isn't something that can be topped, and realistically, I'd be looking at an associate position with an agency - starting off at the bottom. It'd be sacrificing long-term potential for short-term security, and in my mid-late 30s, even I'm still working poor, that's still young enough to where I don't need to make that tradeoff yet.

Besides, staying here longer will only add to my experience and accomplishments, putting me in a much stronger position if I ever do face a scenario where I need to leave.

[Izulde]

Necroing this to update.

Long story short, I stayed adjuncting the last two years. I left in May of 2016 due to lack of payment, and the company essentially disintegrated due to a whole host of factors I won't get into publicly. I made the right choice to leap when I did.

At some point in the last few years, I had an opportunity for a private sector PR/writing job that I declined because it was literally two days before the semester started, and I didn't think it'd be right to put the school and students in a bind. I also was on top for a private sector writing job until someone just a bit more experienced came in at the last second and beat me. Made it deep into a creative writing job with a mobile game developer based overseas, but got beat out by someone with mobile game development experience (don't know my placement there, but I was definitely on the final shortlist).

Fast forward to last May, and I continued job hunting, as I had every summer without success. Got offered an AP English position in China, but the language of the contract was far different from what they told me, and it would have been a potentially bad situation, based on how the contract was worded. So I didn't go.

I also finished second for a private school in Utah. Would have been a fantastic job at a great school, with a supportive administration that actually trusts its faculty, but a local person won out.

August arrives, and my name isn't showing up on any of the sections on campus. A week before the semester starts, and I'm still not listed. I contacted the school to find out what's going on. No response. So I was contract non-renewed without notification. While I wasn't totally surprised at not being renewed (long-standing deep philosophical divide over courses and textbooks), the fact they didn't even have the courtesy to inform me, or even respond to my request for confirmation/clarification, is something that will stick with me for a very long time.

So it was like extended summer. Kept applying to both teaching and private sector jobs (writing and PR). Silence abounded. Unemployment ran out in February, and I was at the point where I had maybe three months tops before I was either out on the street or forced to move back in with my parents.

I started a freelance writing business last fall, shortly after I got hit with the non-renewal. I have a small stable of loyal, repeat clients, but the money's not near enough to sustain me long-term - nor am I particularly interested in growing it to full-time. I'm one of those people who actually likes working for others.

Finally got a hit on a private sector writing job. Phenomenal company. Screening interview went very well. They requested a tryout assignment and actually paid me for it! That's literally the first time I've ever had a potential employer pay for a tryout assignment. I absolutely nailed that, too, and have an interview on Monday with one of the managing partners. My sense is that this is a rolling applications position (otherwise it'd get awfully expensive paying for all these tryouts), and if I impress during that interview, I'll finally get the win.

I've been prepping for it like mad all week, and will this weekend as well. They're one of the top companies in their sector, and their philosophy/ideology meshes perfectly with mine. The job also checks off pretty much all the boxes I'm looking for.

So we'll see what happens.