Search Result: Zero Jobs In Your Area

Can I be Linked-out?

The “entry-level” tab on LinkedIn, empty as ever, has sat open on my desktop over the past few months. Part of me awaits an update or a new position, while half of me dreads that it will be another copy editing position for an auto insurance company, where I am tasked to edit AI generated newsletters. With the absence of light pollution and droning taxi cab honking comes the result: zero jobs in your area. 

Nevermind the moment something finally sounds relevant to your desired career path, because they are probably looking for someone with: five years of relevant experience in a related field.

The most dystopian part of the job search can be attributed to the increasingly common statement in the day-to-day descriptions of any writing job. Typically, there is one sentence hidden in the middle of a bullet point list that sounds something like this: assist AI-generated content to increase your productivity and efficiency.

Yuck. 

I understand that AI is something that isn’t going away, and is actively advancing. I don’t, however, desire to work for a company that treats me like a workhorse. 

A love letter to my jobless state.

I often think about growing up in Michigan and doing relatively well in my English programs. I was always encouraged to be more creative, to challenge my work, and make something meaningful. Now, with hands full of material, there’s nowhere to put it in a 200-mile radius. We’ve reached a sort of dead end in the Midwest with finding companies who value creative work. 

This is not to say that I wouldn’t love to live in a big city. Chicago, New York City, and Seattle all have a plethora of jobs that I would love to call mine. But, there are some obvious caveats that would come with packing up my whole life. 

There comes the price of living in New York. It’s frankly impossible for me to live anywhere in the city without sharing a studio with about three other people — not practical. There’s also a price to pay with leaving my friends and family. I wonder sometimes if the second I’d step out of the Midwest, my life would get so caught in the whirlwind of the “go-go-go” mentality that I’d be 50 the next chance I’d get to look in the mirror. 

Then I think about living the slow life: Sunday morning coffee, whole summers of living up north just to hear the loons, nights out with the same friends I’ve known for — by this obscure future date — a lifetime. Would I regret leaving this all behind just for a career? I guess people could regret anything they never do, so the decision won’t really matter in terms of being all-knowing of my mistakes.

In fear I’ve become too philosophical, it’s ok to not know if the decision you make is right or wrong, because it’s probably somewhere in between. This is something I continue to tell myself as I hem and haw about my future. 

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