Almost three months have passed since I completed design school. I was both sad and excited for that part of my life to be over. But most of all I was just plain tired; I hardly slept my entire last 20 weeks of school. I kept telling myself, I couldn't do this field if I didn't love it, and surprisingly I enjoyed most of my tired nights and days. Once I got home, chaos ensued and everything in my personal life went, for lack of a better phrase, tits up. In about a month, things calmed down and after a short vacation, I began my job search. Day after day I scoured every source I could think of looking for job postings that I was qualified for.
After about a month without a single response I found myself with a case of disemployment. Yes, I know disemployment is not a real word, but it is the term I have coined for the feeling of disappointment that one feels when they are unable to acquire employment. It's depressing searching day after day and experiencing constant rejection.
The worst for me is when I come across unpaid internships. First of all, I already completed one internship, and as someone who got their first job when I was fourteen, I always found solace in the fact that no matter how crappy whatever it was that my employer was asking me to do, every two weeks or so, I went home with some green in my pocket. Second, I can't afford to work for free; I live about 2 hours outside of New York City, and with gas, parking, train fare and meals, it would cost me upwards of $50 to commute. Third, the majority of the internships that I see offered are illegal according to the Depart of Labor regulations, but I will get into that at a later date. I think the most disappointing thing that I have run into when applying for jobs, is that there are some internships out there that even after 5 years of education and a previous internship, I still am not qualified. Not qualified to work for free???? How much can an employer really expect for free??
This job search is really starting to bum me out. And every now and then the panic sets in. I only have three more months before I have to start making good on the close to one hundred thousand dollars I have amassed in student loans. So I search everywhere I can, I listen to everyone tell me what I should do, how they got their jobs, and then I search some more.
That's all my rant for today. Check in next time for an update on the job search, and my deeper discussion of internships and how they are ruining the job market for recent graduates.
Til next time, X.
