STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Honey is right -  when I started out at my current company, I don't know if you remember, but I was doing insurance claims.  I kept on holding out for an internal job posting, and now I'm doing sales forecasting, planning and allocation which is getting me closer to a Buyer position.  I took the insurance job for a bunch of reasons - the most important one being that it was a great paying job and I needed the money and other important one was that I knew with this job I could get my foot in the door to a great company and have that on my resume.

With working in NY, you don't know who you are going to meet and network with.  I think this is a great opportunity.  You can even join one of those publishing groups or writing workshops after work in the spring and summer, and hook up with some people and get some contacts.  I honestly see nothing negative about taking this job, and who knows - you might not even want to go back into publishing after this.    If you do want to go into publishing after this, you'll be in a great city to find companies that are hiring - you really don't have much luck in Jersey.

When I worked in the city, I met a lot of great people who gave me lots of career advice and it was a great experience - after I build up my resume in NJ, I will probably go back to work there in about 5 yrs.

Good luck to you and whatever you do.

Karina

n/m

quote:

---

Originally posted by: Irene
"I know exactly what you mean. I make a respectable salary as an executive admin, but there is no way in hell I am going to do this the rest of my life. That is why  am going back to school to finish my degree."

---

Good idea!  I'm sure that finishing your degree will open a lot of doors in the career world for you.  What are you majoring in?  Did you decide on English?

quote:

---

Originally posted by: Andrea Julia
"I ended up sticking with my current job.  I had a long conversation with my boss and he is calling all the people who have open jobs that are "frozen" and trying to get me into one of them.  If I don't have a new job within the next few months, I plan to go back to school to become a paralegal.  I would much rather be a paralegal than a legal secretary.  I think the idea of being a career secretary started freaking me out even though I didn't think it would before I got the job."

---

my unsolicited two cents:  aj if things don't work out for at your current job and you end up pursuing a paralegal position, i strongly urge you not to go back to school for a paralegal certifcate. while normally i advocate education and expanding your mind, imo going back to school for a paralegal certifcate is a huge waste, since you can get a job on the strength of your bachelor's degree alone. granted, you may not get the salary you want starting out, but i feel you would be in the same position w/ a certificate since you would still not have any experience and that is (arguabley) the biggest determiner of salary.

although my firm does specialized law (and we don't do any of the typical paralegal stuff) i got numerous interviews for jobs based on my degree alone. at my firm i've actually seen them toss out resumes from people with paralegal certificates in favor of people with just general degrees. for a short time, i also worked at a place where i did standard paralegal stuff, and the things i learned (how to prepare pleadings, how to serve paperwork) did not require thousands of extra dollars in schooling, and can be picked up in a short time through on the job training.  if you want to be a paralegal, i urge you to just pick up a copy of the ny times (or go to a headhunter) and just apply for some positions. i can pretty much assure you that you'll get a job with you just your regular bachelor's. 

additionally, if you're concerned about doing stuff that is challenging, look into working for a firm that does specialized law (instead of corporate). i do immigration law and much of the work involves writing, which i like. also in firms that do advocacy (children's rights, environmental problems) work, you'd be more likely to be in a position where the things you do are more thought provoking than just filing paperwork.  again, i don't want to discourage you in anyway, and if you want to go back to school just go and get master's in a field you're interested in. but please don't waste your money on a paralegal certificate.