I'm A Big Kid Now

Turns out that the title of this post isn't just a slogan for training pants....it's actually a real-world phenomenon! After I graduated and had begun contemplating holding off on law school I began to search for that elusive pot o gold, that priceless experience that would take me from rag tag college student to working professional.....my first "real" job. As I sat down at the computer and pulled up an online job board (what did job seekers DO before the Internet??) I thought, sheesh, this is going to be so easy. I mean, why would anyone not want to hire me.....well, they didn't. Here is an example online job board experience:

1. Narrow down jobs to things that I know for sure that I can do. I don't really know why I can do them but I know that I'll be a natural at it.


2. Look at the job description and think..."huh, I'd be perfect!!"


3. Look at job qualifications and think..."well, at least I have a college degree"


4. Loot at job experience and think..."ummm, I have no experience so where does this leave me?"


5. Become depressed and think that I might as well apply for a job at McDonald's because that's the only thing that I'm qualified to do.

So finally I found a recruiting firm to interview with....I think they were the only people on those job boards that didn't care about my lack of experience (well, maybe them and McDonald's.) I went and had an interview with them and then a week later I had my first full-time position. I am an Administrative Assistant at a software development company. This is my official title but I prefer "sexy secretary." =)

This may not be the most glamorous job in the world and certainly not the most powerful but I do get to learn more about the corporate world and myself and what I can accomplish everyday. And I get to wear jeans and let me tell you that goes a looong way.

So This is Real Life, huh?

Graduation was amazing. The culmination of my (very long and drawn out) undergraduate career. I was so proud of myself for achieving something that not everyone does in their lifetime. For that night, and the few weeks after, I felt as if I had really accomplished something. I wish this starry eyed optimism could have hung around forever because man was it validating. But then the inevitable happened. I got tired of sitting around the house all day and watching re-runs of the past seasons of The Real Housewives of (insert name of horribly embarrassed city here) in my pj's. So my mind became a nagging wife that kept reminding me of my failures.


"When are you gonna get a job?"


" What can you even do?"


"Have you even showered today??"


So I did what every self-respecting recent college graduate who has taken the LSAT and applied to law school does......apply to every entry level job that I could. Now, I don't even have to imagine how ridiculous everyone thinks that this is. I have actually heard it from almost everyone in my life. I was all set to go to law school, prepared for the hard work and sleepless nights and the famous competitiveness of my future classmates. But one thing that I was not prepared for was the financial burden that it would put on my husband and I. I had a vision one day of being outrageously indebted by my undergrad and law school tuition and Tim and I still living in our one bedroom apartment in 5 years. I decided to do something different.



With my law school apps still out (I wanted to move quickly before I could get blamed on making a new decision because I didn't get in) I began to look for a job in earnest. And what sort of job CAN a history major with no experience who had no other plans than going to law school do?



I'll save that for next time.



....and by the way....I did get in.