Tag: jobs

Career Quandaries, Part 1

Yes, I double-checked the spelling of “quandaries.” It is, in fact, the plural of “quandary.”Things have been… interesting… lately at work. We got a new Asst. Provost for e-Learning about a month ago. She seems great and has a lot of good ideas. I’m not sure yet how things will go when she tries implementing any of her proposed ideas. But at least in theory, she can be really good for the future of e-Learning at Miami.Because of the potential readership of this post, I have to be pretty vague in the next few things I’m about to say.There is 1 project in particular that she is working on. In theory, it’s great. It’s something that I’ve worked on at my previous institution and was widely accepted and praised. One would think that given my background and experience, I would have been asked to participate in the planning/implementation of such a project. Well, that is not the case. And I have been spending quite some time trying to figure out why I wasn’t approached. I know that it’s not because she didn’t know I had that experience – she requested copies of all of our resumes/CVs before she even started. It clearly says on mine that I have this experience.There is really only 1 other reason I can think of – my experience doesn’t hold any weight in this office.But wait, there’s more…I will have been in this current role for 3 years on February 1. It’s the longest I’ve held a “grown-up” job since finishing my undergrad degree in 2007. For the last year or so, I’ve been thinking about where I want to go from here. Not that I want to leave immediately, but thinking more about my long-term career path. I’ve decided that I want my next role to be more of an administrative one. A director, assistant director, or something of the like. I’ve been involved in more and more tasks lately that would normally be completed by people in these roles, so to me it seems like a natural move. I’ve recently been hinting (it’s been less hinting and more blatant lately) that I want to begin transitioning out of my current role. And as it turns out, my requests are being dismissed. I haven’t received a flat “no,” but I also have not received any recognition or sign that they are considering my request. Again…There is really only 1 other reason I can think of – my experience doesn’t hold any weight in this office.So now what? I’m considering multiple options, but haven’t made any decisions yet. In part 2, I’ll go more into my options.

Changes Are Needed

The title of this post can have multiple meanings, of which I’ll explain 2 possible meanings here.Have you ever felt like you aren’t sure why you have a job? I have, quite frequently, in fact. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job (at least most of it) and I enjoy the people that I work with. However, there are many departments on campus that don’t even know I exist. I’m not trying to be world-renowned – in fact, I definitely don‘t want that. But when a department makes a decision to bring in a consultant to tell them exactly what someone from my department can tell them (for free), I want to scream. We (the country) are in the middle of an economical crisis and people think it’s okay to spend money on services that are clearly not necessary. I have spent thousands of dollars to earn my Masters degree, and I have been hired by my institution to provide services to our “constituents.” With groups of people bringing in “outside” consultants rather than relying on “in-house” consultants for the same assistance, I’m not sure why I have a job. It’s a waste of money on multiple fronts:

  1. Departments are wasting money on these outside consultants.
  2. The institution is wasting money on paying me to just “sit here.”
  3. I wasted money on my Master’s degree.

This problem is encouraging the perpetual cycle of the economic crisis in our country. Changes are needed.Now for the second meaning…I am clearly over-extending myself. Here’s the extent of my weekly activities:

  • I work 2 jobs (my full-time job and freelance business);
  • I teach private music lessons, which is kind of like a 3rd job;
  • Volunteer with the Marching Band (5+ days per week);
  • Involved with the local community band;
  • Record 2 weekly podcasts;

With all that I’m involved with, I don’t feel like I’m spending enough time “relaxing.” I need to make some changes, but I’m not sure where to start. Changes are needed.