Just to clear it up

I got an email from a friend who read my blog & was confused b/c she thought I worked at a non-profit. If you're reading this blog, you should know what's going on, but I'll explain it for those of you who haven't been listening to me. :P

I do work at a NP - I work in an employment & education department. I work there during the day & I teach Writing classes at a community college in Chicago at night. Obviously, this is not my ideal situation, but seeing that I couldn't find a FT teaching job & that I don't get paid much for being an adjunct, I wasn't able to leave my NP job (otherwise, I wouldn't be able to pay my rent!).

When I started at, I thought it was laughable that my title was Employment Specialist - like I have some grand, secret knowledge about the field of employment. However, I soon learned that a lot of people have no clue when it comes to searching for a job. I meet with all types of people - people just out of prison, people in recovery homes, people with MAs who have no idea what should go on a resume. You would be surprised by how many people can't get through a basic interview w/o saying something really stupid (things that will keep them from getting jobs). I teach a lot of basic interviewing classes & hygiene classes (yes, there are many people who need the hygiene classes!). I also write tons of resumes & reports for the mayor's office (that's who funds us). Honestly, I hate the job... partially b/c of what I'm doing, but mostly b/c I work with horribly incompetent people (especially my manager). I took the job a year ago after I was laid off from a teaching job (and was still in grad school) & I'm stuck with it until I can find another FT teaching job.

On the other hand, I love teaching at the commuity college - I don't particularly care for the school (it's a city college), but for the most part, I really like the students and the classes thus far. My ideal FT teaching job would not be at a city college, but at this point, I would take whatever I could get. I'm just out of my MA program, w/no college teaching experience (just two years of high school teaching), so I can't be too picky at this point in my life.