Employment update

Shortly after my bitter rant about my professional prospects, I received a call back from a marketing communications agency to which I had submitted a resume weeks before. They brought me in for an interview, and, a week later, had me start on a free-lance contract for one of their clients, a nutrition supplement company. (a large, national corporation that is based in Pittsburgh) After a few weeks on the job, the creative director of the client company asked if I would be interested in applying directly to them for a copy writing job. I did, was interviewed, and have now been hired as a regular, full-time employee.

So, I think I have figured out what I can do with my writing skills. I am enjoying the new job, though it is not as emotionally fulfilling as a journalism job. On the other hand, it's also not as emotionally draining. The pay is good, and this is a great place for me to be now in my career. I don't know what the next step after this will be, but I think I am evolving into more of a writing generalist, which is a good thing to be in a volatile economy.

The idealistic person I was in college might have thought that taking this job was a sell-out, but the pragmatic me, who hopes to one day have children to send to day school, sees this as a responsible choice and a wise career move. Life is full of unexpected choices, and I am grateful to be working in a pleasant atmosphere, doing a job that is at least related to what I was trained to do in college and graduate school. And, I hope that having some reserves of emotional and intellectual energy will allow me to eventually do the serious type of writing to which I aspire. (And in the meantime, to do more personal writing for this blog.)