Photo: Len@Loblolly Photo, Flickr Creative CommonsThis being my first real post of 2010 (my last post was actually begun well before midnight on Dec. 31), one might expect this to be about resolutions or a year-end recap of my life in 2009. Don't worry, if you read this blog regularly, you already know there's no need for a year-end recap. The only interesting things I did all year were a road trip out to Wyoming and a couple of hiking trips, all of which were thoroughly documented here as they happened. As for resolutions, I have no use for them. I ain't changing shit. I'm much too lazy and unmotivated to expect myself to improve or modify the way I'm currently doing anything.* Besides, all of my current goals are long term, and even the ones I hope to achieve this year are goals I've been actively working on for a while by this point.
That's not to say that I don't have some hopes for this year. I really do want to get a new job. I wish I could just move into the library at my current place of employment. The administration is excellent and I like my coworkers. I can't really see a change in work environment improving on either of those two greatly important factors, and I know first hand how bad administration can ruin a work environment. I've experienced that at two jobs since college. Still, I think being able to remove myself from the classroom and taking away those twin evils of constant classroom management and grading papers would make up for for any moderate drops in quality of workplace I may experience.
I also hope to land a summer job out in the Pacific Northwest at a national park. I've already applied for a position as a science educator at the Murie Science and Learning Center in Denali National Park, Alaska. That's the job I really want. It pays well, involves topics I love (science and nature), and would allow me to live for two months in one of my favorite places on Earth. I've explored Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula enough that I'm okay not having a lot of time there this time around. Fairbanks was underwhelming when I visited on my second trip to the state. Denali was my one regret about that last trip. We only spent a few hours in the park. We knew we wouldn't have time on that particular trip to do it right, so we barely did it at all. I'm also applying with the concessionaires who have contracts with national parks in Washington and Oregon for random jobs. I had also intended over Christmas break to get together that multi-page resume that the National Park Service apparently desires, but like I said, I'm lazy and unmotivated even with things I actively desire*. Seriously, if food weren't so plentiful and easily accessible, it's quite possible that I would actually starve. I actually doubt that I would get a job with the NPS. From what I can tell, they have much more demand for employment than they have positions. Still, it wouldn't hurt my chances of actually getting to spend the summer out west if I applied.
Anyway, that's my first ramble of the year, so at least there's that.
* I should probably hope any potential employers don't find this page and read it. If you are in charge of hiring for one of these places and and figured out which applicant is writing this blog, please be aware that I make frequent use of self-deprecating humor. While the jokes here about my laziness are based partly in truth, any employer I've had would gladly verify that it does not apply to my work habits. When I'm obligated to other people, I'm actually a pretty darn effective worker. The only problem is that I don't really care what I think about myself and I'll often slack off on any tasks that are only for me. Please don't make me have to live at home this summer. I can't afford to escape unless I have work waiting for me and I don't know if I can bear another full summer of excessive heat. I could die, suffocated by the chokingly thick and superheated summer atmosphere of the swamps of south Georgia. If I don't get that position you need to fill, I could die and my death would be on your hands. That's right, your decision to let my sense of humor here on this blog affect your hiring choices could be the same as actively murdering me. Make the right decision. Don't be a murderer.
7 comments:
Nice disclaimer. Unfortunately, you're right about NPS jobs being in high demand. You'd have a much better shot at one if you were a veteran.
They really should consider public school teachers the same as veterans. Our jobs may not be as dangerous, at least during wartime, but we are public servants doing very valuable work, and considering the educational purpose of much of the National Park Service positions, very relevant work experience.
I wish I could give some advice, but you're already aware that I haven't figured the process out myself. I do know this: if you have to fill out a questionaire pertaining to your qualifications, lie your ass off. Unless you actually meet the highest requirements, that is, in which case tell the truth.
Good luck with the job search. Thanks to the economic recession there aren't any jos in my field being advertised.
Laziness wins again. How sad. Not that I don't understand. I did nothing but play Super Mario Wii and watch tv/movies Saturday.
It generally takes more work to get a job, though, so you might want to get to it. Good luck with the Denali job. I got to spend a night in the lodge inside the park in high school and remember it fondly.
FYI - prospective employers do not dig desperation. You might want to work on that, too.
If a prospective employer confuses humor with real desperation, then I probably don't want to work there.
Also, desperate people make great employees just like ugly dogs make great pets. Both know they got lucky and are grateful. They show it.
A pretty cool goal for the summer. Good luck. And then next time you start to bitch about being a teacher, remember that the rest of us will still be working our same year-round jobs straight through the summer. Grrrr.
Post a Comment