I recently got a new job at a local bar. After defending my dissertation and graduating from my doctoral program, I spent months looking for work but learned the hard way how precarious it is to find employment when you have a PhD. Employees take a look at your resumé and wonder how someone with that much education is applying for entry level work. It was so discouraging, wondering if getting that degree was even worth it. I decided to find a job the old-fashioned way: get a stack of resumés and find whoever was hiring. With every business I went to, I decided to be upfront with them- I told them I recently completed my doctorate and plan on applying to academic jobs in the Fall, but I also need some kind of employment in the meantime. Some places told me immediately that they weren’t interested if I wasn’t planning on staying long term. Others saw my resumé, humored me, then showed me out. I ended up applying at a bar not far from me. The guy I spoke to was also really nice. When he called me later for an interview, I was so happy! I remember walking in for the interview, telling myself, This may be the closest thing you have to employment. Just breathe in, breath out, and you’ll be fine. We had the interview and a few days later, then he invited me to a working interview, where you work a shift to see how you would do. I think they really liked me- they offered me the job immediately after. It felt nice. I went home after, feeling a little more confident about my future and my job prospects.

Breathe In, Breathe Out….

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