The Migraines Begin

Almost immediately after graduating, I became a regular visitor on job sites like USAJobs.com, careerbuilder.com, and monster.com. I also became an avid reader of the classified ads of the local newspapers and a frequent visitor to the Ohio Museum Associations website and the American Association of Museums website.

I was also hearing a lot of negativity from some people saying "Good luck finding a job, NO ONE is hiring in this economy." Let me just say that this is a lie. People ARE hiring. USAJobs.com was my first look at who is hiring and where. It is the job website for all government agencies to post new openings. Each department has its own list, so depending on what area you are looking to work in, you can choose to click on that department.

Since I had worked with the National Park Service for a summer, and loved it, I started there. As of today, there are 855 position openings in the Department of the Interior alone. So I can't be told that people are not hiring, you just have to be willing to look.

My first month of the job hunt, I decided to be picky. I was born and raised in Ohio, and this is where I want to stay. So I tried looking for NPS jobs in Ohio Well, that narrowed my original search to less than 5 jobs, all of which I was not qualified for (it was a Law Enforcement Park Ranger. This is an excellent job, but lets be honest, for the people that know me well enough, I should not be given a job that requires a gun!). The majority of the jobs were in New Mexico, Nevada, Utah... etc. I told myself that if I deemed the state to be "more boring" than Ohio, I would not apply. A lot of good that did me. NOT.

I was making the same mistake that many other recent grads probably make each year. We graduate and expect to find a job immediately. It definitely happens to some lucky grads, but it can't happen to everyone. But at the same time, I can't blame myself and the other graduates for being picky. We just graduated and as country singer Rodney Atkins would say, "They threw us out into the world."

We are on our own. Sure the colleges did the best they could to prepare us for this, but that doesn't make it any less scary. For 22 years we have been hand fed by our parents and teachers.  For 4 of these years, we lived on our own. We studied, partied, slept and ate... it was the perfect life. But now those fabulous 4 years are over. We are now broke from too many nights out on the town, jobless, and stuck with our parents.

For me, my parents offered me a deal that as much as I want to refuse it, I can't. As long as I'm employed and/or looking for a job, they will let me live with them, rent free, so I can pay down some of my bills. This is a great deal, but with this means I HAVE to be picky. If I had gotten a job in Nevada, I would have had to spend money to move there, had enough money for rent, bought furniture and food, oh yea and paid those tuition loans (remember, I'm broke). It is almost impossible for me to be able to afford that. So naturally, I  chose to be picky. Now please don't think for a second that I want to live with my parents for the rest of my life... because I can assure you, I don't. I love my family to death, but I also loved the freedom that living on my own for 4 years gave me. I was not a "wild, crazy college kid." I worked hard, studied hard and got good grades. But it was nice that when I wanted to go out with my friends, I could go at any time of the day or night, no questions asked. Now that I'm home, I feel as if I have been given a curfew again, and if I'm not in bed by 10:00 PM, something bad has happened.

So you can see, this leaves me, and others, in a sticky situation. Live/mooch off mom and dad, no rent, find a job, pay your bills... and have no life. Easier said than done, especially when you can't find the job you want nearby. So you might ask why I don't just look for another job until I find something better. I am, believe me.

If we do move elsewhere, we are even more broke than we were. Do you know how much apartments cost these days? A lot. And if you are new to an area or a state, chances are, you know no one. I don't know about most people but I watch the news and I would not want to live in an apartment with someone I do not know. You don't know what kind of people are out there today!

This is just another example of why this such a HUGE cause of stress for us. I obviously can't force businesses in Ohio to start hiring, I'm just trying to voice my concerns. Living somewhere new, by ourselves is absolutely terrifying. I know I don't want to do it, but what options do we have? Sometimes you have to take what you can get.. if it is offered.

So now the #1 reason for my surge in migraines is known, but despite taking Advil and Tylenol, I have quickly learned, the headaches do not stop!