Jobs, Man
You know that thing where you are looking to your future, thinking about how it would be nice to go somewhere else, see new sights, try a new vocation, see what the world holds for you? Nice, isnt it? To dream of a future that is unknown, but still bright and shiny. Thats what I have been doing since I got back from Vancouver last summer. I now find myself entering the stage of things where I wonder if it is ever going to come together or not, and that stage momentarily sucks.
You see, I cant fill out a Visa application yet, because they arent accepting them if you dont have employment already, or are part of a PhD program, or at least thats what the webpage tells me, the webpage that I check almost daily. I am making the right moves in my life to facilitate something like this, but I guess the want is so big that if feels like I am not doing enough, even though I cant do more than what I am.
What am I doing? Well, I am paying down my student loans so that they will be much more manageable when I get back out there on my own. I am saving up money so that the move can be much easier to go about, and I will be able to live once I get there. I am putting myself out there on websites such as LinkedIn so that I can do some networking of a sort, or at the very least I can get a taste of what is out there. Getting a taste of what is out there is actually what inspired this blog entry last week. (Yes I procrastinated when I promised I wouldnt, and I apologize to you)
Last week I wanted to get an idea of what jobs might exist up there in the beautiful Vancouver area, so I figured looking at Craigs List a bit wouldnt hurt. There was no hurt, but when going through the job categories I started to question what I was bringing to the table. You see, I have a masters degree in anthropology, but I have only ventured briefly into that wonderful field. I have worked for the railroad for the past 7 years, roughly, but I dont think my future lies in that field. In a perfect world I would be able to be the rich and handsome anthropologist that leads an exciting life, an interesting life, but for now I can only say that I have the handsome part covered. At the same time, I have a large desire to earn money by writing, something that I have had the desire to do as long as I had my love of museums, and it was that love that brought me into anthropology and made me happy to stay.
So what did my job hunt show me? It showed me that I am scared off by words like, experience required. Yeah that one put up a panic flag in my head, and I started to freak out a bit. I want to find a job that pays comparably to what I earn now, if not better, because thats what you do right? You move up in the world, or laterally at the very least, right? I questioned what I am qualified for, what could I do, what would I want to do. I was looking at the whole, and not the sum of the parts, and that was what I was reminded to do.
You calm yourself down much easier when you discuss things with other people, people that are out there and looking around, people who remind you that the world is about the skills you can bring into the picture. I may not have a lot of experience in specific fields, but I am an intelligent man that has built up some skills in the various jobs I have held in my life. Unfortunately for me, that panic flag can perk up and I forget that these are the things that can set you apart from others, these skills are what make an employee more desirable.
I pick up on things quickly, I am very observant, and that will help me as I adapt myself to new situations and opportunities in the future. I have my skills that I have learned, and I will learn more as I go on. The idea of looking for a job is a scary one right now, and I add to that trying to figure it out in a whole other country. I will admit that I have had the fear run through my mind that I wont be granted a Visa and that this dream will be unrealized. I have had the fear that I get a Visa, but then companies look past me for Canadians instead, which I guess I wouldnt blame them, but that doesnt help that brief fear from abating.
No, the only way I have found to calm the fear is by communicating with people I know, here and there, important people that want to see me succeed, that want to see me realize my dreams. I am reminded that I am doing the right things to get me where I want to go, that I will get there when the time is right, and that it will work like other things have worked in my past. I have always been a man who gets an idea of what he wants, figures out the requirements, and then gets it done. It might take me longer than others, or I might go a different route from someone else, but I get it figure out and I get there.
I just need to take a deep breath, calm down, pay my bills, and fill out that Visa application as soon as it becomes available again. That will be a nerve wracking situation as well, but cause and effect, I just have to remember that cause and effect get me where I am going. Step 1 leads to step 2 and that leads to the following steps and finally to the conclusion. I will be sitting here with my mini panic attacks and my moments of self doubt, but I know where I want to be, and I know that I am meant to go there.
So, the question becomes, why am I worrying about something that I know will happen?
You know that thing where you are looking to your future, thinking about how it would be nice to go somewhere else, see new sights, try a new vocation, see what the world holds for you? Nice, isnt it? To dream of a future that is unknown, but still bright and shiny. Thats what I have been doing since I got back from Vancouver last summer. I now find myself entering the stage of things where I wonder if it is ever going to come together or not, and that stage momentarily sucks.
You see, I cant fill out a Visa application yet, because they arent accepting them if you dont have employment already, or are part of a PhD program, or at least thats what the webpage tells me, the webpage that I check almost daily. I am making the right moves in my life to facilitate something like this, but I guess the want is so big that if feels like I am not doing enough, even though I cant do more than what I am.
What am I doing? Well, I am paying down my student loans so that they will be much more manageable when I get back out there on my own. I am saving up money so that the move can be much easier to go about, and I will be able to live once I get there. I am putting myself out there on websites such as LinkedIn so that I can do some networking of a sort, or at the very least I can get a taste of what is out there. Getting a taste of what is out there is actually what inspired this blog entry last week. (Yes I procrastinated when I promised I wouldnt, and I apologize to you)
Last week I wanted to get an idea of what jobs might exist up there in the beautiful Vancouver area, so I figured looking at Craigs List a bit wouldnt hurt. There was no hurt, but when going through the job categories I started to question what I was bringing to the table. You see, I have a masters degree in anthropology, but I have only ventured briefly into that wonderful field. I have worked for the railroad for the past 7 years, roughly, but I dont think my future lies in that field. In a perfect world I would be able to be the rich and handsome anthropologist that leads an exciting life, an interesting life, but for now I can only say that I have the handsome part covered. At the same time, I have a large desire to earn money by writing, something that I have had the desire to do as long as I had my love of museums, and it was that love that brought me into anthropology and made me happy to stay.
So what did my job hunt show me? It showed me that I am scared off by words like, experience required. Yeah that one put up a panic flag in my head, and I started to freak out a bit. I want to find a job that pays comparably to what I earn now, if not better, because thats what you do right? You move up in the world, or laterally at the very least, right? I questioned what I am qualified for, what could I do, what would I want to do. I was looking at the whole, and not the sum of the parts, and that was what I was reminded to do.
You calm yourself down much easier when you discuss things with other people, people that are out there and looking around, people who remind you that the world is about the skills you can bring into the picture. I may not have a lot of experience in specific fields, but I am an intelligent man that has built up some skills in the various jobs I have held in my life. Unfortunately for me, that panic flag can perk up and I forget that these are the things that can set you apart from others, these skills are what make an employee more desirable.
I pick up on things quickly, I am very observant, and that will help me as I adapt myself to new situations and opportunities in the future. I have my skills that I have learned, and I will learn more as I go on. The idea of looking for a job is a scary one right now, and I add to that trying to figure it out in a whole other country. I will admit that I have had the fear run through my mind that I wont be granted a Visa and that this dream will be unrealized. I have had the fear that I get a Visa, but then companies look past me for Canadians instead, which I guess I wouldnt blame them, but that doesnt help that brief fear from abating.
No, the only way I have found to calm the fear is by communicating with people I know, here and there, important people that want to see me succeed, that want to see me realize my dreams. I am reminded that I am doing the right things to get me where I want to go, that I will get there when the time is right, and that it will work like other things have worked in my past. I have always been a man who gets an idea of what he wants, figures out the requirements, and then gets it done. It might take me longer than others, or I might go a different route from someone else, but I get it figure out and I get there.
I just need to take a deep breath, calm down, pay my bills, and fill out that Visa application as soon as it becomes available again. That will be a nerve wracking situation as well, but cause and effect, I just have to remember that cause and effect get me where I am going. Step 1 leads to step 2 and that leads to the following steps and finally to the conclusion. I will be sitting here with my mini panic attacks and my moments of self doubt, but I know where I want to be, and I know that I am meant to go there.
So, the question becomes, why am I worrying about something that I know will happen?
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
if you just
do it.