Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So I graduated college in 2013 with no debt and a double major in a social science and a foreign language, taught abroad for a year came back and immediately got a full-time job as a copy editor, which also includes a lot of the non-expert writing that the company needs, making 35k a year, thinking I'd be able to talk to people, research, and find a career path, because honestly and unfortunately I only had vague ideas about what I wanted to do, but so far I've had a lot more trouble than I thought I would deciding and no obvious choices or opportunities have presented themselves. There seems to be no real advancement as a copy editor in my company and there are limited other positions in the company, which is quite small, and require a master's of education and I'm not sure that that is what I want to do. All of my jobs and internships so far have been education related (assessment writer for public school system, general intern for chamber of commerce's education department, writing tutor in college), and I am interested in working in another field just to see something different. I think something in health care would be interesting but I haven't really seen any positions where I could leverage my skills. My city has a strong health care and insurance sector. But I realize that I need to make more money and continue to grow my skills, which isn't really a part of my current job.
Does anyone have any ideas for a career I can train for and be working and have opportunities for advancement within a few years, possibly leveraging the skills I already have? I just need a direction to point myself to and go, preferably where I can study on my own and not spend money on a degree. I've tossed around the idea of speech language pathologist, accounting, IT networking, copywriter, technical writer, and teaching, but I'm so indecisive that when I talk to some people in these fields they seem down on them and their outlooks, which is probably me reading too much into it and focusing too much on the pessimistic articles about some of these careers, but for someone who already can't make up their mind, it makes things really difficult. I've lived with my parents and saved 95% of my salary for a down payment (very cheap area), and some other money from a few side jobs, and want to buy but feel like I shouldn't until I find a career I can stick with long term and be certain I can stay in the area, which I wouldn't mind doing but if opportunity came knocking elsewhere I also wouldn't mind moving, and that offers opportunity for advancement. I also really want to move out, which I could afford to, but it feels like I've got a pretty sweet deal compared to my other friends who are making more than me but see their pay checks disappear with all of the expenses of living independently.
Like I said, I just need a direction to point myself in and go. Are there any careers I haven't thought of that might be good for someone with my experience and can be learned independently? I'm willing to put in the work and go back to school if need be, but I want to be fairly confident that it will lead somewhere. What I do isn't so important, I can become and sustain interest in almost anything, but being able to make money and advance and to have a family and live a middle class life is.
Money does not buy happiness. So if you are not satisfied now, what makes you think money will make your life any better? Work, career, money, there is much more you should be thinking about at this stage of your life.
Money does not buy happiness. So if you are not satisfied now, what makes you think money will make your life any better? Work, career, money, there is much more you should be thinking about at this stage of your life.
Nothing would make me happier than being guaranteed this job and salary for the rest of my life, but that's just not the case and I'm concerned that one day I will find myself fired and unable to find work to support myself because I don't have a very quantifiable skill, and full-time copy editor jobs with benefits and paying as much as mine does aren't exactly falling out of the sky. I like my job and workplace but I also want advancement, not just in the sense of making money (though that would be nice) but in being in a field where I have to continuously educate myself moreso than I do now. I may have focused too much on the money part in my post, but that is not really my concern (I'm strongly considering teaching, which the public school system here starts at 37k so not much more, but at least a teacher is always hireable and has certain guarantees regarding retirement and that it will probably always be around). But it is hard to live and save on 35k a year in a metropolitan area, and I don't think anyone can argue that. I do my best to worry about the more important things and my hobbies and relationships but the anxiety of where my career is going weighs heavily on that, so I'm craving some sort of stability. I don't think that is so bad.
Edit: But thank you for the perspective. I do realize that even though I'm not doing as well as my friends who went into engineering or accounting, I am okay for my age compared to a lot of people. I do try to avoid the trap of always wanting more (to a certain extent this is probably unavoidable, and maybe a little healthy, I think), but for the reasons I've listed above I think I'm right to want a little more, and not necessarily in money.
Are there larger companies that employ copy editors that have more room for advancement? What do the advanced positions consist of and do you think you would enjoy them?
Are there larger companies that employ copy editors that have more room for advancement? What do the advanced positions consist of and do you think you would enjoy them?
What do you enjoy about your current job?
French. I taught English. I did enjoy it, but I taught mostly small classes from 5-15 students, and French students are far better behaved than high school students were when I was in school so I don't know how I would respond to being thrown in a class of 30 in a low-performing school, which is probably where I'd start in the public school system. It's just so hard to tell if I'd be happy teaching or not, although I know that I could take my Master's in Education and work outside of teaching; I've been exposed to all sorts of people who did that exact same thing, so getting that degree wouldn't necessarily trap me in that one professsion. One other problem is that I'd need to take some other classes to become certified as a Social Studies teacher, which is the one I'm closest enough to achieving. I know that both French and Social Studies aren't the highest demand subjects, but being able to be certified in both at the same time should make it a lot easier to find a job.
I'm in a metro of a bit less than 2 million in the midwest so there are not a lot of large companies that would employ copy editors. Advanced positions is a good question though as I haven't looked into it to extensively. Finding a niche, such as technical editing is probably a more lucrative and employable route, but finding that niche and mastering the subject is something I'd have to find. You are right, so far I've just assumed that there really isn't a way to move up as a copy editor just based on what it is, but I will research that. I think I would enjoy them. I really actually do like the work of being an editor, but I just know that I need to make more and become more than just a general copy editor and have a deep skill set in specific subjects that goes beyond the sort of general purpose editing I'm doing. I need to get serious about answering these questions. I see positions for technical editor but each one seems to require a different set of knowledge so its hard for me to just decide I will pursue one, because I'm worried I'll never see another opening for a job like that.
About my current job, I enjoy the independent nature of it. Because of the volume we do there is very little chance for collaboration, as there is a middleman position between me and the writers. Sometimes I do crave more team work, but I guess I value the independence over the constant meetings and calls that other people at work seem to get sucked into. I enjoy learning about things as I am editing and researching to make sure everything makes sense and goes into enough detail, and since it covers all sorts of college subjects I get to constantly learn about everything from nursing to accounting, as well as internal business development and white papers we publish, which is something I like because I'm tied into basically every department in the company and get to work with everyone who does any writing in the company.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
