The Job Market Sucks!

 

When I obtained my Bachelor's in Dance back in 2023, the stress of finding a job was not something that I felt. I was obviously in a unique field searching for a dance studio where I could become a teacher, and after about three months, I had a job lined up before I even graduated. I had been applying to local studios in January of 2023, and by May 2023, I was subbing at the studio where I would later work for three years. 

After I graduated, I took a year off from school to really figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Did I want to teach at the college level? Did I even enjoy what I was doing anymore? I felt like I had no direction until one day it clicked. I decided to pursue a different career path that always intrigued me, but I never thought I could do it. 

I began my Master's program in English with a focus in Creative Writing in October of 2024. Immediately, I knew this was the area I had been missing in my life. I loved learning, and more than that, I loved to write. Throughout my almost two years in the program, I worked as an intern at five different companies, learning the niches in copywriting, editing, marketing, social media, and article writing. 

Little did I know that these short-term internships would not help me as much as I thought. This weekend is my commencement ceremony, and I still have no job in my field... When I apply to any role, I am either overqualified or underqualified. Entry-level roles now seek three to five years of experience within a similar role. Sorry, but entry-level roles should require little to no experience. That's why they are supposedly entry-level.

If I look for more internships to gain this experience, it is rare that they even pay. In this day and age, I can't understand how people survive full-time, unpaid internships. I have bills to pay, and I think that, unfortunately, puts me on the back burner for many companies that wish I could lend more time to unpaid internships. Apparently, my five prior unpaid internships are not enough. 

The job market is set to improve towards the end of the year and beginning of next year, but I wish I could find a job in my field now. I have not given up on my search for the perfect role, but I have become more discouraged over time. I wonder if anyone else is feeling this same struggle.