Matt's job log: 6
Matt Atkins works part time in the NHS while he considers his future. Second thoughts, version two If there’s anything on God’s green Earth that’s true it’s that once I’ve made a decision I’ll instantly change my mind. It’s happened countless times before and it’s happening again. I think I’m the most indecisive man alive. It may have seemed from my last post that I had finally made up my mind to concentrate on a job in journalism but now I’m definitely not so sure. Before you start screaming and throwing things at the screen, I’ll try to let you in on my reasoning.
Monday afternoons at my current job are ridiculously boring. Not because I’m doing a boring job per se, but because very often there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO. Seriously, I have to ask for work. Rather than sit and twirl on my chair, I prefer to find any job going. As long as I’m sharpening pencils, pouring tea or licking envelopes I’m happy. I just need something, anything, to do. For the past few weeks though, even these jobs have been scarce and in an attempt to avoid a near catatonic state I’ve taken to performing some private research, work I should probably be doing in my spare time. I figure, though, that if I’m being paid to stare out of a window, I may as well occupy myself. Back among the booksAlong with a couple of articles, I’m currently also working on a politics-y/media-ry-blog-type thing and this has required me to spend much of my spare time in the city library. As a result of spending most of my weekends studying I’m starting to realise how much I actually enjoy it. I really don’t resent giving up my time to work on something that I find interesting. So once again, or perhaps for the first time, I’m starting to think seriously about PhD study. My approach at the moment is to find out as much as humanly possible about how to go about it, and how to get funding. I’m emailing university departments, getting in touch with old tutors and talking to anyone I know who has some experience. I know that, unlike my Masters, this is something which I really can’t afford to take lightly. I need to do as much research as I can and realise that, taking into account my finances and lack of a research proposal, it will take considerable time before I can commit to a course. But it’s something which I’m growing increasingly interested in and excited about. Obviously, thinking more long term, I understand that it would be wise to take on this kind of study only if I’m committed to following it through as a career, given the costs and time involved. I’d love the opportunity to be able to conduct my own research within a university setting and the chance to be able to contribute to media and political theory. I think that I have a lot to give in this respect. However, the teaching side of the equation wouldn’t be my main motivation, and I need to find out if this is the way I should be thinking. I’d be more than willing to teach, but I think my main priority would be the research. Is this the way I should be thinking? I guess this is one of the questions I should ask of someone who already experience. Anyway, a little bit about my ongoing job search is probably in order… My shiny new CVWell, while I try to figure out if a PhD is for me, I’m still trying to find a job which will free me from the temping trap. My most recent progress has been the complete overhaul of my CV, which was becoming pretty outdated, considering the work placements I’ve completed and the writing I’ve taken on in the past few months. I can definitely recommend this if you’re starting to feel that you’re not on the right track. While my CV is quite full it’s hardly the most impressive, packed with academic achievements but little in the way of life or job experience. I’ve done little travelling and have never been a massive fan of clubs, societies or teams, all of the things that employers seem to find exciting. However, my recent rewriting of the old CV has been useful in giving me the opportunity to look over the qualities that I do have. When looking for work I sometimes tend to focus on the abilities or experience that I lack, which isn’t a productive way to approach the subject. I’ve found that just reading over and polishing my CV over the past few days has made me much more optimistic about finding work. If only I wasn’t going round and round and round in circles deciding what to do. Read Matt's previous job logs:
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