Hunter, etc.

[Devin P Browne]

Paul had numerous good points, especially in that there are far more
stellar candidates out there than there are jobs.  And I agree with him
that a job-hunter in academia would be best to at least visualize other
things that he or she might be happy doing.  It allows you to feel in
control of your life, for one thing.  And secondly, should you act on
those feelings and begin working in a field outside of academia, you will
in some ways be a more attractive candidate for a job (back in academia)
because you will have multiple talents and can take on responsibilities
that others cannot (administrate a department, build up and maintain FL
computer lab, whatever).  [oooo, I just noticed the huge run-on sentence I
just wrote]

Other jobs will not only teach you new skills, but they also open doors to
possibilities you might not have considered before.  While looking for a
job as a high school teacher and working on a second teaching certificate,
I took a low-paying (but secure) administrative support position working
with grants in higher education.  Made me realize that I could be a pretty
decent grant-writer and I got the chance to develop that skill.  This in
turn really helped me to (finally) get the high school teaching position
that I have now, and I'm really happy about it.

For me the key is to never let myself think that I have no other options.
It's empowering and, as Paul mentioned, it gives you great confidence in
job interviews.

...my 2 cents....

Devin

Devin P Browne
dpbrowne+ at pitt.edu