Employment for A Communication Major? (Johnson City: apartment, student loans, home)

[kattwoman2]

I'm a young person with a B.A. degree in Communications and I'm currently working on a Master's in Integrated Marketing Communications. I have four years of work experience from my college and spent 2 of those years as a supervisor for a branch of the technology center. Right now, I live in a small town in SW Virginia (pretty much a s**thole for those who have anything higher than a GED). I hate to say it, and no offense to anyone from the area b/c sometimes it produces great people, but ever since I started looking for work last June I've only had two companies accept me. One was in November but I got laid off in March because I worked too fast and they ended up not having enough work for me to do (I kid you not). I was offered a job yesterday, but I had to turn it down because it was only paying $23,600 a year and it required me to travel up and down a mountain an hour away from home each day (2 hours of extra travel daily plus wear and tear on the vehicle). Plus, I don't have my license and the four-county transit told me that none of the buses will go anywhere near that area. I don't mind walking up the mountain, but they won't even take me to the town.

So, my situation is this: I have a little less than $2,000. None of the companies in this area will hire me because they are either not hiring or they look at my resume and tell me I'm overqualified b/c I have a bachelor's degree. It's like a sin in this hick town to have a degree! Sorry, just a little frustrated b/c I was taught my entire life that having a degree would mean more jobs, not less. So, I have $2,000 and no potential job opportunities available where I live at. Here are some questions:

1. Is $2,000 enough to start out in the Tri-Cities? I would not dare try to move out with any amount below $5,000 on most occasions, but I'm starting to get desperate.

2. Do the Tri-Cities have some form of public transportation? How reliable is it? I know most American cities in the South have less-than-great public transportation, but I'm just wondering because it is taking a while for me to get my license.

3. Are there any job opportunities out there for someone whose worked in print journalism, media, and/or teaching others how to use software? Are there any opportunties for people with a communications degree and working on an IMC degree? I don't have a technology degree, but I do have some technology skills when it comes to software. I worked 1 1/2 years in journalism (KY), 2 1/2 years in Instructional Technology (KY), and 4 months as a marketing assistant (VA).

4. What is the social life there like? I'm pretty much a moderate whose extremely liberal when it comes to social issues. I'm sick and tired of the close-minded Halleujah Jesus life that goes on in this town. I live in the crystal meth capital of SW Virginia basically and yet if I say the words "Hell" or "**********" in public I get yelled at for cursing (*rolls eyes*). I like a place where I can go out and do things such as see a movie, go to a dance club with friends (just dancing, no one-night stands or getting drunk), go to a library, etc.

Basically, is it worth trying to get a higher paying salary in the Tri-Cities area if I move there with a little less than $2,000 from SW Virginia, or am I better off just waiting to save more money by student loans I'll be getting in September and moving to a larger city like NYC?

[gea12345]

Yes, Definitely move!! Try to get a job with the federal governemnt, that way if you get hired, they can't terminate you three months later due to the enconomy!

Move to norther virgina, there are plenty of people who are more educated than you. So, at least you will have a different refrain, of you are underqualified. That may make you feel better for a short time.

Go where the jobs are!
'2000 dollars is not much. 1000 to move into an apartment. and 1000 to move and start job hunting! Not enough money.

You need friend, who will let you crash on their couch for three months or save 5000!

or commute for the first 6 moonths!!

[kattwoman2]

LOL! Thanks Gea . I've thought about moving to the suburbs of Washington DC last June, but I had about $3,500 at the time and while I had 2 job offers starting out at $30,000 each; my roommates were talking about wanting to move into a one-bedroom apartment in Chinatown and sharing it with other Chinese nationals while they worked as maids (one didn't graduate from college and the other had very little confidence in herself even though she had a Business degree). After realizing their plans I decided to back out and focused on trying to get a job to save up enough money to move out on my own (that didn't come until November of that year).

I agree about the $5,000 at least, unfortunately I don't have any friends that live in Northern Virginia or else I would have stayed with them. I tried Craigslist, but ended up with people who either seemed a bit shady or did not speak English/Spanish. Commuting is out b/c I don't have my license yet and the area keeps failing me: one tester said I didn't yield long enough and the other tester said I yielded too long. Plus, I was supposedly speeding 5 miles over the speed limit the first time even though there were no speed limit signs and it looked as though we were still in a rural area (it turns out that some people own cows in the city...go figure).

So, it looks as though I need to possibly wait until I can get the full amount of loans in September then? I've tried applying at retail stores and they turned me down b/c of my degree. I wanted to work as a CSM or other manager at Wal-Mart, but they wouldn't hire me b/c I'm not allowed to be the boss over my mom and sister who work as cashiers. I asked if they could just have me not interact with them and they told me no. I didn't apply for a cashier position b/c they only hire part-time at this Wal-Mart with starting salaries at around $7.00 an hour I think.

I hate thinking about taking out so much money in student loans, but yeah anything to get out of this area. As you said, Northern Virginia might be a different change of scenery with people talking more about politics and current events rather than what church they want me to go to. Are they hiring Communication majors in Northern Virginia?

[jabogitlu]

NVA might be a good option for you, but I would ask those questions in the NVA forum.

As far as the Tri-Cities go, I can only answer most questions about Johnson City, as I am unfamiliar with many of the basics of the others. JC has a decent, reliable public transport. No, it's not great, but it'll get you where you're going if you plan your commute around it.

$2000 is tight but manageable *if* you land a job RIGHT away. I figure $400 deposit for an ap't, $400 first month's rent, fees to turn on water and electric, a bit of food and that's half your savings. As soon as your next month's bills roll in you'll be completely broke. Target here is NOT hiring and I've heard that Walmart isn't, either. The market is very competitive and very tight. ETSU turns out many graduates every semester, lots of them in communications/journalism/public relations that fill most all of the holes in the local economies through internship networking.

You say you're working on your master's. Any chance of moving to ETSU and finishing there? You could utilize grad student housing and (I think?) a meal plan for food. This would allow you to funnel your basic life expenses more easily through student loans which have MASSIVE benefits over any other kind of loan, and if worst comes to worst you can use the installment payment plan available to ETSU students.

Otherwise I'm just really concerned for you on $2,000.

Social life here is decent, much better than you're used to in SWVA to be sure. Due to the university and medical complex there are tons of people from all over the world with all sorts of viewpoints. I'm ragingly liberal, gay, and an atheist (three HUGE nono's in the South!) and I never have any problems; and even more importantly, I have lots of friends that are one or more of the three, too.

Lots of clubs around, too. A couple trend honky tonk (stay out of Electric Cowboy, for God's sake!) and one is bigtime college age and under (Chrome), and one is ostensibly gay (New Beginnings) but I've always heard (never been) that it has more str8s than not.

As for movies, well, there's the Carmike 13 and the Reel to Real, the latter sometimes shows arthouse and/or indie movies. I just saw the 10:20 showing of Star Trek tonight after work at Carmike. (Second time, btw... that movie is soooo good). And our library is pretty new and big and nice!

[rccrain]

Originally Posted by kattwoman2

4. What is the social life there like? I'm pretty much a moderate whose extremely liberal when it comes to social issues. I'm sick and tired of the close-minded Halleujah Jesus life that goes on in this town. I live in the crystal meth capital of SW Virginia basically and yet if I say the words "Hell" or "**********" in public I get yelled at for cursing (*rolls eyes*). I like a place where I can go out and do things such as see a movie, go to a dance club with friends (just dancing, no one-night stands or getting drunk), go to a library, etc.

Johnson City tends to be more libertarian. But if you're using expletives near some mamma's youngun' you will likely get an earful.

If I woke up tomorrow in your shoes, I would just try to find a job anywhere and move to the job. There's nothing to say you won't pack up and move to JC and immediately find a good job, but it's more than likely going to take 5-10 months.

[rccrain]

I don't really know where you are located right now, but this looks like a great job opportunity:

ABINGDON, Va. – A $2 billion merger announced Tuesday will place Alpha Natural Resources as the third-largest coal producer in the nation – and in a strong position to weather industry uncertainty, company executives said.

The all-stock deal, which includes debt reduction, gives shareholders of the Linthicum Heights, Md.-based Foundation Coal Holdings Inc. 41 percent of the combined company, which will keep the Alpha name and keep its headquarters here.

“Given that Abingdon will remain the headquarters, it’s not inconceivable that we will need to increase our staff here,” Crutchfield said. “I think it’s a foregone conclusion that we’ll end up expanding our footprint at our corporate headquarters here in Abingdon over the next couple years as a result of the merger.”

Once the merger and integration are complete, he said, continuing strategic growth will be in Alpha’s future.

Alpha Merger Creates 3rd-Largest U.S. Coal Producer | TriCities

[jabogitlu]

Also with your degree and experience you could do some freelance work. Check out sites like elance.com!

[kattwoman2]

Thanks everyone!

Jab, I would never dream of cursing in front of little kids . I'm talking more about talking in front of other adults and saying things such as, "What in the Hell was he thinking?" when someone does something inexplicably dumb such as driving their car 90 MPH up a hill, launching themselves off a hill, and rolling a few times while this person and his friends were high (they survived with little injury, but it's still a WTF moment). Also, thanks about the warning about tons of Communication majors staying in the area. I received an e-mail recently from an anchor at WVVA and they are not hiring right now, but he did send me some wonderful links for jobs once I do save up $5,000.

Rccrain, thanks for the posting. Abingdon is about 35-40 minutes away, so it's a bit of a stretch. However, it does sound interesting.

Jab, thanks for the elance.com link! I've wondered if it's legitimate or not. I am a freelance writer on eHow, but I had just started in April. I'll definitely check into this since I'm a little leery of Craigslist after so many posts of people doing work and not getting paid.