The Dismal Nothingness Between College and Career

So you have a degree. Now what?

This is a question I have been asking myself a lot lately. I was very lucky to find a job soon after graduating, but I can't help feeling like it is simply filler. I graduated with a degree in Creative Writing, and my dream job is to work in publishing. Currently, I am working in the writing lab of a community college, helping people with papers, and tutoring in English and reading. I read horrendous papers, checking for topic sentences and fragments. But most of the time I get on Facebook or Pinterest, constantly refreshing the page, hoping for a notification. If I am truly ambitious, I read. I am truly in the in-between. The dismal nothingness between college and career.

So what should in-betweeners like me do?

1. Stay focused. Don’t give up on what you truly want to do. If your dream is to write for The New York Times, and right now you’re working as a bartender at Friday’s, don’t give up.
2. If you’re lucky enough to have a job in this transition period, save money!
3. Don’t get lazy. Check job sites every day. Apply to anything that sounds interesting.
   
4. Try and network with people in the industry you want to be in. Check specific company websites for job offerings. If you don’t see a job available, find a contact and e-mail them anyway. Ask if they know of any openings? It could lead to nothing. Or it could lead to someone on the inside keeping an ear out for you.
5. Even if you have to take a lower position, do it. It’s much easier to move up in a company than it is to break in from the outside.
6. Don’t let an opportunity pass you by! If a job offer comes up, and it is out of your comfort zone, do not let fear destroy your dreams.

Continuing education is always an option as well. Or we could all stay in mundane jobs, complaining in our blogs that we are the next big thing. If only someone would see.