Life’s a Circle

Like Joni Mitchell tells us, the circle game is a fact of life.

Five years ago, I was a victim of a layoff at the high-tech company I had been at for over four years. After job-hunting for eight weeks, I finally got an interview with a company that I wasn’t really interested in, and doing a job that I didn’t want to do. But they liked me and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse (easy to do since I had no other offers to field), so I went to work there reluctantly but thinking I would keep looking around and make a move if I could find something more interesting. Eighteen months later, a more interesting job presented itself and I made the move. The more interesting job turned out to be less than satisfying, so I kept looking while I worked there. Then that company had a layoff and offered early retirement packages to anyone over a certain age (that would be me, among many others). A year’s salary plus benefits sounded pretty enticing, so I decided to accept it and use the time to finish my BA in English. I was certain that with a degree, I could find work as an editor/proofread/copywriter. Once I had my degree, I applied to dozens of writing jobs, and couldn’t even get an interview. The jobs all required five years of professional experience, and even my volunteer work didn’t even add up to a year. After ten weeks of applying everywhere I could think of, reality set in and I reluctantly began to apply for jobs in the high-tech industry, where I have spent most of my adult life. Within a month, I had two good offers. The highest offer came from that company I worked for five years ago and left for greener pastures. Fate circled back around and hoisted me up on that merry-go-round again.

I have a love-hate relationship with high-tech. The work itself is no longer interesting to me; the job is just a tool I use to pay my bills. But the pay and benefits are higher than what most of my friends and relatives make, including those with master’s degrees. I stumbled into this industry almost by accident and worked hard to succeed. Even though it’s not my chosen profession, I’m grateful to be here. Thanks Universe.