What Do I Want to Be When I Grow Up?

Perhaps I've led a typically, untypical working career. In the span of 20 something years I started in a retail clothing store in high school, sales job during college followed by an administrative job.... Left the corporate world when my kidlet was 3 to become an entrepreneur, sold the company, stepped back into the corporate world part time for a few years to 'get out of the house', then took on a full time field position for a number of years working 50-60 hours per week - then the company closed "due to the economy". Found another job shortly after and was laid off...

So here I am well over 20 (yet feeling like I'm in my 20's) looking at jobs that I'm well qualified for, but they all require a college degree. Degree-less, I (along with 500 others) apply anyways. I don't know how the job market is where you live, but here in California, right after you apply you get an automated message that reads "Due to the high number of applications/resumes we receive, you will only hear from us if we want to interview you".

So you don't even get a rejection letter... Which makes it even more weird if you see the same job again a few months later, do you go through the lengthy 45 minute online application AGAIN?


So I'm competing with people for jobs that paid nearly 2x as much back in 2002... however now I want a salary commensurate with my experience, but I'm competing with kids out of college. Not to mention my own kiddo will be starting college next year (WHAT?!)

To get to the nitty gritty of this article, "what do I want to be when I grow up?"

In a nutshell "happy"... the rest is yet to come!

Alethea Anderson
MultiMediaMom.com

PS Entrepreneur really does have a nice ring to it...