The financial and economic success we experienced from about 1998 to 2003 fooled the country into thinking it was possible for us all to get really rich. It could be fifty years before we experience another period like that, or it might never happen again due to regulation in financial markets. Americans are still stuck in the “get rich” mindset characterized by those five years, and if perspectives fail to change many Americans will spend their lives reaching for something that no longer exists.
Yet there are still many people who have found their niche in the work world, ranging from artists to shop workers. These people have found jobs that suit their needs and wants in a deeper way than having a big salary. The people we explore via this blog are satisfied with their work and enjoy their jobs because of the lifestyles they cater to. In this blog we will define the parameters for a "good" job. We will define and explore many different lifestyles that different jobs cater to. We will explore the different ways one can think about and pursue their own career.
I am a 20 year old Economics major and Business minor at the university of Southern California. Like many college students, I have no Idea what I want to do when I graduate. I don’t know if I want to work or go back to school, and if I were to work, I don’t know what exactly I would do. I have been exposed to the arts through my parents, my father was a music video director, my mother a producer, and my stepfather is a novelist. Through previous work experience I have also been exposed to the corporate world. There has always been a battle in my head pulling me both ways. For most of my life I have always thought I would have to make a choice between one or the other when I enter the work force. I am starting realize that things are not so black and white. Through this blog I hope to continue this battle in my head. I will consider careers both corporate and art oriented and the lifestyles they foster. I hope you enjoy.
2: jobmonkey.com is in my opinion the best career and job market oriented site out there, it is organized well and has something to offer everyone, the CEO and the highschooler looking for his first summer job. On Jobmonkey internet users can find out about interesting summer jobs and all sorts of careers around the world. A component of the site is its blog, which is a random digression of job market related information. For example the most recent blog post, posted 8:17 pm on January 26, 2009, revealed that America’s job market lost 71,400 jobs yesterday primarily due to Caterpillar and Pfizer.
The Author of the Blog is Mara Strom; and despite my browsing, I was unable to find information about Mara and her relation to the field. Mara posts frequently, sometimes she takes a couple days off, but in general she posts daily.
January 8th, 2009 at 10:45 pm, Mara posted “Work at home? Beware of Scammers!” I found this post to be pretty interesting in light of the work-at-home ads that seem to pop up all over the Internet. Mara describes a study CNN did that revealed an astonishing ratio of 54 scam ads to 1 genuine ad. Some of these scam ads manage to convince internet users to pay a fee via credit card to get more information about their stay at home job. They pay the fee and because they didn’t read the fine print somewhere on the page they get nothing in return.
Another one of Mara’s posts I find interesting is from September 23rd, 2008 at 12:52 am, its called “Monday Markets: Green Collar Jobs.” This post discussed the emerging need for green-collar jobs and workers. The post defines green-collar workers as blue-collar workers who somehow help other people or the environment via their work without polluting. In her post Mara quotes Carl Pope, the executive director of the sierra club (one of the countries oldest grassroots environmental organizations), who said
“A green job has to do something useful for people, and it has to be helpful to, or at least not damaging to, the environment.”
Mara also discusses a 2007 study by the American Solar Energy Society that cites interesting statistics. According to the study,
“renewable energy and energy efficient industries currently account for 8.5 million jobs in the United States. With federal policy to support green industries, that number could grow to as many as 40 million jobs, which is equivalent to 1 out of 4 workers, by 2030.”
Mara’s blog is very academic, she supports everything she says with factual information and she often quotes specific statistics. Her post vary, some are longer then others and some are more thorough then others; on average Mara’s post are about three quarters of a page long. Jobmonkey.com is a website and a blog for everyone and anyone looking for a job. The site gives detailed information about how to pursue currently available jobs and the blog keeps its readers current with changing job markets. I really like the way Mara writes and the structure of her blog; those two things will definitely influence my blog. Unlike jobmonkey.com, my blog is concerned with actual careers and the types of lifestyles those careers foster; whereas Mara’s blog is concerned changing job markets and what job opportunities are out there due to the change.
Although our blogs serve different purposes and set out to accomplish different goals Jobmonkey.com is a great blog to draw inspiration from. I'm a big fan of it and recommend the posts to everyone.
3: Voice, in terms of writing that is, can be loud or quiet. A writer can be obnoxious, opinionated and loud, or a writer can write in a very academic way and be quiet. Either way, it's an important identity to establish. For me its really complex, and frankly my voice needs to hit the weights so that it doesn’t get bullied or pushed around anymore. Or maybe I need to go to writer’s voice therapy or something along those lines. From the time I was in the 4th grade and learned the 5 paragraph essay format, Intro-supporting body-supporting body- supporting body- conclusion, I have been conditioned to write academically.
The problem is that in school they teach you to write as if the reader is your enemy. He is trying to tear apart your argument, scrutinize you for unsupported ideas, question all your claims, and put you in your place for poor grammar. Naturally one loses his voice to an extent in a scary setting like this. He starts to write more conservatively, and over time gets less and less risqué from content to grammar.
I guess this is a good thing if you are writing a research paper, or a case study, or something similar that requires a straightforward no bullshit style. In terms of writing a personal blog it’s a bad thing though. It’s hard going back and forth between voices, and sometimes my own voice gets lost in my academic voice without me fully realizing it.
I have been trying to emulate Kyle Hackett’s voice(I wrote about him in a previous post because he has found his career niche) . Its not that I want to write like him, use the same words or copy his style. I just want to emulate the freedom, the subconscious unfiltered train of thought that he lays on paper. Which by the way, flows out in his own voice with out effort or significant modification (as it should, for Kyle and everyone).
Kyle uses short sentences. Often sentences that technically and grammatically shouldn’t stand alone as complete sentences. I like it though because he writes as if he talking, which creates a personal tone and rhythm to his blog. It’s insightful and blunt, short winded but still illustrative. I like it because its easier to listen to or read then most writing I come across. It’s so informal that its like being part of a conversation as opposed to listening to a lecture. I feel like he doesn’t second guess his stuff that much, it comes off that way at least.
Kyle’s voice changes from post to post but not significantly. Its depends on what he is writing about.
This post is short and simple, nonetheless it is demonstrative of Kyle's voice. The post is Kyle's take on the evolution of American Apparel advertising which has gotten more and more provocative over the years. Finally in their newest add campaign, American Apparel has crossed the line into nudity. For kyle this was a great disappointment. (click here for the full add)
"I can remember when I was little, trying to see how far I could bend a stick before it broke. It was exciting pushing that limit (yeah, I grew up in Maine), but as soon as the stick broke there was a feeling of disappointment. American Apparel just broke the stick."The thing that I admire most about Kyle's writing is his ability to express exactly what he wants to while retaining simplicity. Bending the stick and breaking is the perfect metaphor for the history of American Apparel adds. Its simple but it conveys the exact meaning he wants it to.
Relevant enough, in another post Kyle does what I’m doing now. He writes about someone else’s writing voice in their blog and why he likes it. He writes about Jake Davis’s blog, Jake being a pop-culture fashion blogger like Kyle. After reading a few of Jake's posts myself, I too have become a fan. Ironically, he writes like Kyle in many ways; partially beause they share similar insight into their field and partially because of pure coincidence. Both Kyle and Jake have strong voices though, and those voices make their blogs what they are just as much as the subjects they blog about.
Here is Kyle on Jakes blog:
“I’ve mentioned in the past I’ve become a fan of Jake Davis’s blog, and his latest post is a good example why. Jake is either a man of few words, using a quote or song lyric to make sum up the idea behind a post, or an eloquent editorialist, writing posts pertaining to the times and trends. Exploring how we’ve gotten to a certain point and what the impact will be. These posts are always well thought out, relevant, and strike a chord with his readers.
Blogs run the gamut. Some people like to opine idly about whatever shit they think is cool that day, this is where I fall. Others prefer to write nothing at all. And then others put some thought and time it to what they have to say, Jake is one of these guys."
I'm excited to continue writing and blogging with these two guys in mind. I admire their styles and through observing their blogs I have become more aware of my own voice and how it can grow.
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