Monday, August 13, 2007

The Talented Ms Changa

My first day back and I’m already looking forward to the end of the day. :-P I arrived this morning to numerous questions along the lines of “what the heck are you doing?” People seem happy for me, but also somewhat sad/frustrated to be loosing a team member. It’s so odd to hear people saying; but you’re so talented! I don’t feel talented. I’m not trying to be facetious here; I really feel I don’t excel in this field.

It’s always been this way with my writing. Throughout my school years I would bounce from one teacher saying I was a wonderful writer to the next one saying I was a crappy writer. I think part of me went into communication to prove I was capable of doing it. If I was so talented, I doubt everything I write or create would be riddled with red markings. And if this field were really the one for me, it wouldn’t feel like having my teeth pulled every time I had to write something.

What defines talent in a field like marketing/communication? Is it the ability to write? To create? To innovate? By what standards are these talents evaluated. Gah! I’m so happy to be leaving this ambiguous field!

On to the new stuff!
I’m trying to decide what kind of work I’ll be doing come September. My current employer has offered me 5 hours a week to do occasional communication pieces. I’ve also got the catering gig which can give me anywhere from 5 to 15 hours a week – but it’s not very consistent. I’m trying to decide if I should work the 5 hours for my current employer + the catering gig or give up both and do maybe 15 hours of waiteressing a week.

Pros and Cons

Pros of doing 5 hours a week for current employer
Salary would cover ¾ of my required income to survive
Stable and constant salary

Cons
Writing about yucky things like children’s dental coverage
Not being able to have a clean break
_______

Pros of keeping the catering gig
I really have fun at the job
I like the people I work with
I know what to expect

Cons
Hours are unstable
Hours will greatly diminish in the New Year
Potential for some really late nights (3 AM)
_______

Pros of finding a new waiteressing job
Potential to cover my costs in one job
Tips!
The places I’m looking at would close by 10 PM at the latest

Cons
The unknown – what if I don’t like it?
What if the hours aren’t guaranteed?

Decisions. Decisions.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the combo of what you are doing now would be awesome...

Kevin

Anonymous said...

I know what you mean! I find this communications/writing/marketing field so difficult to evaluate. it is hard to judge whether or not you are good because it is so subjective. I really wish I could find a career choice where things are black or white but I fear that this does not exist!

nikki (knickknock)