Matt's job log: 11 | Prospects.ac.uk

My Prospects

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Rising from the ashes

I write this surrounded by bits of computer. About three minutes into my first attempt at this post, the acrid smell of burning circuits wafted into my room accompanied by the shrill beep of a PC at the point of suicide. It was my sister’s equipment exploding, not mine, which means I don’t have to shell out a few hundred quid for a replacement but I did have to break the bad news. It went better than I thought. At least I have my limbs.

If I didn’t have other career plans in mind it’s quite possible I would’ve ended up going into IT. I’m a self-confessed geek never happier than when tinkering with the innards of something electrical. I’m brilliant at taking things apart and sometimes even manage to put them together again. At home I act as an unofficial, unpaid and unappreciated systems administrator (self-titled), and this is a position I think I’m going to end up carrying into my new home. That’s right, I’m officially moving out. I’ve three weeks left in the parental home then I’m off to live above a Chinese restaurant, two minutes walk away from an awesome pub, so I’m pretty damn excited.

Very full time

I can finally move out thanks to the fact that I’m working full time at the moment but while the money’s a bonus, I’ll admit I’m finding it hard to juggle everything that I’m doing at once. I think it’s because the job is pretty involved. Basically, I’m still helping to co-ordinate meetings between consultants, this time though I’m working for the Breast Cancer department. It’s one of the busiest for meetings, so I’m run off my feet pretty much all day. A bonus though, is that I’m hardly ever in the office. That and the fact I get to talk about boobs all day (that’s never going to get through the blog moderator is it?).

On the ‘proper job front’, I was supposed to be meeting with a former tutor this month to chat about PhDs but that has unfortunately been pushed back till July. Not a major problem, I’m still trying to sort out all of my ideas in my own head. Having spent a long time thinking about it, I now think it might be a good idea to start looking for work as a research assistant. I know that this is the umpteenth time that I’ve had a change of plan but this one seems sensible. I’m not in the financial state to take on further study for at least the next six months or so and I think that working in research may help me to decide if a PhD is really for me. I’m tied to the West Midlands until at least the end of December because of the move so I’ve started to look around for positions at local universities.

Twelve months

I’ve just this week finished an article about re-motivation, and to be honest that particular commission was pretty apt. It’s now been almost twelve months since I left uni, and I’m finding it easy to feel sorry for myself. But thinking about it, I’ve actually completed the goals I set myself for this year.

My major aim for this year was to find some work experience, which I’d done by October; at least enough to find out I didn’t want to work as a news journalist. Since then my experience has been pretty hands on. With the writing and the TV work I’ve built up a decent CV, so I’m not entirely sure why I’m stressing so much. I think I’m doing ok.

Well, there you go. I’m back after a fortnight out, with a better plan of action and a little bit more confidence. Now to try and save a smoking hard drive.

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