Let Me Catch You Up To Speed

I graduated college in May of 2021 with a degree in Public Relations. So it’d be understandable for you to think or assume that after I graduated, I might've gotten a job at a PR agency or ended up somewhere in the communications field. I thought I would’ve too, but I didn’t. Thanks to COVID-19 I spent the last year and a half of my college experience at home with my parents. I did all of my school work and my 6-month long internship from my childhood bedroom. And because one of my parents was extremely cautious of the virus, I barely left the house and spent a lot of time by myself. I was super isolated and it felt like my life was on hold.

When I started thinking about what I wanted to do after I graduated college, I was so ready to do something fun and entirely for myself. And I say ‘for myself’ because sure, I’ll have worked hard for 4 years to earn this degree, but I never thought getting one was the best thing for me right after high school. I did it mostly so that my parents could have some peace of mind and feel like they achieved their responsibility as parents. Graduating was the step of liberation I needed before I could pursue my own interests. And despite my parents urging me to find a ‘real job’ I went on to do things I wanted to do.

Once I graduated, I had the greatest summer of my life working as a camp counselor, fulfilled my dream of working at a ski resort, and experienced being a nanny for a couple of months. I enjoyed working at camp so much that I even decided to go back for another summer. For an entire year after college, I felt like I was on some kind of high. I was traveling again, meeting new people, not stressed about accidentally giving my parents COVID-19, exploring different jobs that I’ve always been interested in trying, and living a life that I felt was true to myself.

Unfortunately, that high ended during my second summer at camp. There’s a lot to unpack, but let’s just say that I was really caught off guard by how my efforts to do a good job were handled pretty poorly by people I had looked up to. The experience rattled me more than I could reasonably take and by the time I left camp, I felt the most depleted mentally, emotionally, and physically I had felt since spring of my sophomore year of college.

Though seasonal work can be exciting, I decided my days of moving around and low pay were done. (Jokes on me for thinking the latter.) I wanted more stability, the type of stability my parents have always wanted for me. You know, the 9-5 job with benefits. And since my mother also decided to retire, I knew that she couldn’t provide me with health insurance beyond the end of 2022. The idea of not having health insurance was really unsettling, so that was more incentive for me to find a stable job.

I started applying to any job with benefits that remotely fit my skill set. Several weeks of applying and many rejection emails later, I finally got a chance to interview for an executive assistant position. I talked to about 5 people on the team, toured the office, and received an offer letter about a week later. I was excited about getting a job offer but the hourly pay was only $24/hr. I thought this was low. I’ve earned more being an intern, a nanny, and a server. Even my sister advised me against taking the job unless they were willing to pay at least $30/hr. So I pushed and managed to raise it to $25/hr, which was barely an increase. I knew this was still very low for a job in Silicon Valley. If I didn’t live with my parents, there would be no way I could live off of that wage. But this job has benefits, a flexible hybrid work schedule, and opportunities to learn from very successful people. I also just simply needed a job, so I accepted it.

The first week was a bit rough. I spent the entire first day going through three weeks worth of mail. I also worked by myself with very little instruction and human interaction since my boss was traveling. It was quite a tedious and draining way to start the job, and all of this made the work feel very unfulfilling. However, since then, I’ve gotten a better grasp of my job and feel more comfortable with my responsibilities. I also began to recognize and experience the benefit of having a flexible schedule. My boss gave me permission to work remotely for 3 weeks to travel, hasn’t given me a hard time when I leave the office early, and gives me the option to ski on weekdays as long as I tell him in advance.

With any job, there are pros and cons. From my experience, the level of flexibility I get from this job is hard to come by and the ability to work remotely is a huge plus. But I know deep down there’s a better job out there for me. I’m not going to figure out what it is or how to get it overnight, but I believe over time, as I gain more life experience from trying out new things, the opportunity will naturally find its way into my life. In the meantime, I’m going to continue doing my best at this job, make the most out of every day, and bring you along with me.