I've been thinking of what to post next here...something pertaining to writing, yet interesting and personal enough to make it unique, so I figured I would write about something writing-related and of great interest to a lot of us nearing the end of grad school...the job market.
Now, people say that the academic job market is very tough and only gets tougher with each passing year and that's true. Universities churn out (many) more graduates than there are jobs and when you go on the job market, not only are you competing with everyone else who just graduated, but also all those who didn't get jobs in the years before.
This is my last year to bulk up my CV, so I am looking for ways to enhance it a bit and take precautions in case more schools have hiring freezes and/or cut funds as many have in the past. To prepare, I am looking to broadening my horizons and looking for anything and everything in which I am qualified and the results are interesting (and there are job opportunities here in Knoxville!). Paralegal. Admissions Specialist. Communications Manager. Technical Writer.
The technical writer position(s) have me interested, because based on the job descriptions, I've done a lot of what they do in my editing and technical communication classes in Auburn. I could dig up some of those projects and make a portfolio. I've taken classes in rhetoric and technical communication here at Tennessee. I helped teach an upper-level writing for publication class. I like editing and my teaching style is very collaborative--very much like what it seems the writer/editor relationship would be like.
It could be fun and I've discovered that the Studio at the UT library has free classes on Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Illustrator, Publisher, Photoshop and so on (all programs technical writers use), so I put myself on the waiting list for classes in the coming weeks. Experience in those programs will also be good for teaching, so it will look good on my resume/CV either way.
I love teaching, but haven't given much serious thought to working outside of academia until now. Have any of you had experience working outside of academia? Any suggestions for someone with a year left before entering "the real world"?
Now, people say that the academic job market is very tough and only gets tougher with each passing year and that's true. Universities churn out (many) more graduates than there are jobs and when you go on the job market, not only are you competing with everyone else who just graduated, but also all those who didn't get jobs in the years before.
This is my last year to bulk up my CV, so I am looking for ways to enhance it a bit and take precautions in case more schools have hiring freezes and/or cut funds as many have in the past. To prepare, I am looking to broadening my horizons and looking for anything and everything in which I am qualified and the results are interesting (and there are job opportunities here in Knoxville!). Paralegal. Admissions Specialist. Communications Manager. Technical Writer.
The technical writer position(s) have me interested, because based on the job descriptions, I've done a lot of what they do in my editing and technical communication classes in Auburn. I could dig up some of those projects and make a portfolio. I've taken classes in rhetoric and technical communication here at Tennessee. I helped teach an upper-level writing for publication class. I like editing and my teaching style is very collaborative--very much like what it seems the writer/editor relationship would be like.
It could be fun and I've discovered that the Studio at the UT library has free classes on Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Illustrator, Publisher, Photoshop and so on (all programs technical writers use), so I put myself on the waiting list for classes in the coming weeks. Experience in those programs will also be good for teaching, so it will look good on my resume/CV either way.
I love teaching, but haven't given much serious thought to working outside of academia until now. Have any of you had experience working outside of academia? Any suggestions for someone with a year left before entering "the real world"?
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