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!

My Story

The idea for this blog comes as a result of frustration. About 3 months of pent-up, angry frustration over the "real world" (not the MTV kind!)


I graduated in May from a small school in Ohio with my Bachelors degree in Museum Studies in History. Anyone reading this is probably wondering why I would choose to major in this given the economic times and what I'm going to do with a Museum Studies major. 


Well I'll tell you why. I have always loved history. Since learning about Paul Revere in 1st grade, I have loved history. I have read as much as I can (and I continue to read) about every historical time that interests me. Growing up, my parents always took us to museums on vacations or staycations. We never went to the beach or Disney. It was always the Smithsonian, Gettsyburg, Columbus OH, Cleveland OH, etc etc. So naturally, I have always loved visiting the museums. Despite my love for history, I have never wanted to teach, at least not right away. My favorite history teachers in school started teaching later in life, and they were the greatest teachers/professors I could have asked for. 


So when I first started in college I decided to major in Communications. I chose it because it seemed like something I would be good at, not something I wanted to do. When Museum Studies became an option, it was a no-brainer. They always tell you to major in something you love, and I loved history and I loved museums, so why not?


Now to answer the 2nd question, what could I do with this major? I want to be a curator. Almost everyone I say this to, gets a confused look on their face and asks what that is. The curator is in charge of the collections. They "care" for the artifacts in the collection. It can be as simple as acquiring objects and putting them on display, to something as complex as minor conservation work, loaning objects out etc.


So why did I decide to be a curator? Maybe its because I think of it as a job that is going to benefit someone in 100 years from now when they find an object in a museum collection that is worth something historically. That person might be so grateful that someone decided to acquire the object 100 years before. Maybe I also chose it because it would be hands on and I would always be doing something different.

The biggest reason though? I would love doing it. It sounds cheesy and maybe a little juvenile. But it is what I want to do. One of these days. Because getting back to that "pent up frustration," I don't have a job. So the only collection that I am caring for, is the dust that is covering the collection of college textbooks I still own.


I am like hundreds of thousands of other college grads: Done with school, broke, jobless, and living in my parents home. For 4 years I was "living the dream" in college having the time of my life, and now I feel lazy and worthless to the professional world. 


Even before graduation, I was looking for jobs. Maybe not as hard as I should have been but writing an undergrad thesis, papers for other classes, studying and working makes job hunting difficult. But the day I graduated, I started looking. And looking. And looking. And let me tell you what I have found and what I have been told so far: A whole lot of NOTHING. 


It is frustrating and horrific. I spent 4 years working my butt off to get to graduation, and every time that I log onto one of the countless job sites, my day just gets bad. 


So this is why I am writing this blog. It is on behalf of me and the hundreds of other college students out there looking for jobs and experiencing the same pains that I am. I will write about every job site that I have used, I will rate them, and (of course) I will complain about the problems and issues I have been facing along the way. I am hoping that someone out there will read this and help do something about it. I don't want pity, and I don't expect someone to find this and say something along the lines of "I'll give you a job." I want anyone that reads this to think back to their days as a fresh grad, and the trials that they went through, and remember that when they are hiring. Everyone experiences problems in finding the perfect job for them, and if it was easy it wouldn't be life. 


Putting my personal job hunting problems aside, and speaking for a lot of my friends, this is getting just plain ridiculous. We are all trying so hard and using what we were taught, and we are getting nowhere. I am not trying to pin the blame on anyone, and I am not trying to rip the professional world apart. I also am not intending to offend anyone (student, professional, or business). I just want to point out the problems that are facing college grads in the real world.


With that being said, welcome to my blog! =]