Author Archive

The Career Switch: Learning from the Underpants Gnomes

on July 19, 2011

Gunsworthy5

When embarking on my journey to change careers, I needed a plan of action. I couldn’t just quit and expect to find a brilliant new job right away. As my mentor always says, “Don’t quit the old job before you have a new one.”

I knew this advice was wise and practical—and because I wanted out of the job like a snowman wants to get out of hell, I resented the wisdom and practicality of the idea. I didn’t want to wait to fall into my dream career. I was Veruca Salt. I wanted it NOW.

Time to go to work, work all dayThen I calmed down and thought of the Underpants Gnomes, who appeared in an episode from the second season of South Park. The boys are in the middle of researching a local business for a class project. Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny have to work with Tweek, the twitchy, hyperactive son of a local businessman who owns a coffee shop. Tweek is scared of gnomes, which he says are stealing his underpants.

The boys soon discover that Tweek isn’t paranoid: gnomes really are stealing his underpants, and in fact, the creatures have an entire business built on stealing underwear.

The boys ask the gnomes to explain their business plan, which is this:

  • Phase 1: Collect Underpants
  • Phase 2: ?
  • Phase 3: Profit!

The gnomes know their plan, they have their end goal, but they have no idea how to connect Phase 1 to Phase 3.    Read More →

Gunsworthy5
Comment

What Can You Do with a B.A. in English?

on June 21, 2011

Gunsworthy13

“Miss Education” is a public-school teacher in the New York area. Until she finds herself a shiny new career and can leave the blackboard jungle behind, she’ll be posting anonymously.

English Major

“Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.”

Ever since I became a teacher, people have spouted this delightful little cliché in my direction, helpfully reminding me how this country views its teachers and its education system: as overpaid babysitters who had no real knowledge or marketable skills, and who only pursued a career in education because they couldn’t get a real job and because teaching seemed easy. (Those people have a point—it must be easy, since a mere half of all teachers quit after the first five years).

I always knew that the saying was a whole lot of hogwash, and I paid it no mind. I would leave the profession at the end of the school year and spend the summer vacation looking for other work. Surely I had marketable skills other than teaching…right? Then I began the job search and started to wonder if perhaps it was true, after all.    Read More →

Gunsworthy13
Comment

No Respect at Work? You Might Have a Deal Breaker on Your Hands…

on May 19, 2011

Gunsworthy7

“Miss Education” is a public-school teacher in the New York area. Until she finds herself a shiny new career and can leave the blackboard jungle behind, she’ll be posting anonymously.

The New York Times recently published a great op-ed by Dave Eggers and Nínive Clements Calegari on “The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries.” They argued that teachers need to be paid higher salaries to make a decent living, and that the government should consider paying for their training. They cited a McKinsey study showing that 68% of 900 top American college students would consider teaching if salaries began at $65,000 a year.

I read this article with mixed emotions. On one hand, teachers are receiving a heck of a beating in the media every time I open a newspaper or turn on a television, and whenever I see a prominent face clamor for higher teacher salaries (as opposed to cutting our benefits), it makes me want to go back to college, get an accounting degree, and do that person’s taxes for free for the rest of his or her life. (If only I weren’t allergic to math.)    Read More →

Gunsworthy7
Comment

Miss Education: Why Does It Take So Long to Leave a Lousy Job?

on April 29, 2011

Gunsworthy5

Happy Friday! Today brings the debut of “Miss Education,” a public-school teacher in the New York area. Until she finds herself a shiny new career and can leave the blackboard jungle behind, she’ll be posting anonymously. We think her struggle to drastically remodel her work life is something that lots of us can relate to . . . .
Empty SchoolroomAfter four years teaching, I’ve had enough. In fact, I often wonder why I stuck with it for the first four days. In 2007, I graduated with a diploma in one hand, a teaching license in the other, and stars in my eyes. I had just one goal: to change the world through the power of literature and my dynamic, witty personality. I didn’t know which school would hire me, which grade I would teach, or even which city I would work in, but somewhere, my first class of middle-school students was gearing up to have the best English teacher of their lives.

Four years later, after working for the New York City Department of Education, I am also working at a second job on the sly, enhancing my resume with other marketable skills and counting down until the day I can quit teaching middle school forever and shred my license into confetti.

I think that I went into teaching for all of the right reasons. None of the perks–summers off, pensions, health benefits, a workday ending at 3:00 p.m.—meant anything to me when I began my secondary-education program at college. I cared about only two things. I wanted to spend most of my day with eager, energetic young people, and I wanted to talk about books ALL DAY LONG. Was there a better way to make a living?    Read More →

Gunsworthy5
Comment

Product Management, User Experience, Information Architecture, Interaction Design, Usability Testing

Project Management, Program Management, Production, Content Production

Animation, Art Direction, Creative Direction, Corporate Identity, Flash Design/Dev, Graphic Design, Web Design

Content Strategy, Editorial, Copywriting, Copy Editing, Research, Blog Outreach

Brand Management, Business Development, Sales, Product Marketing, Event/Conference Planning, Promotions, Marcomms, Corporate Comms, Direct Marketing, E-Marketing, Public Relations, Market Research

Account Management, Account/Brand Planning, Media Strategy, Communications Planning, Media Planning/Buying, Social Media, Search (SEM, SEO), Web Metrics & Analytics

Web Development, Front End Development

[no subcategories]

close

We're sorry, we could not retrieve the gun you were looking for. Please close this window and try again.

Thanks for your interest in our talent! We'll be in touch soon.

An error occurred and we weren't able submit your request. Please try again.

close

We have but one over-arching rule for comments: Do not add to the chaos of the universe.

  • This blog is devoted to developing a point of view around the Future of Work through the lens of the digital creative class. It offers some of the best career writing out there to help you get ahead as well as some brand new bloggers livin' the dream and tellin' it like it is. We encourage you to use the comments to drive conversations to the next level, bounce ideas off our bloggers, challenge them, and engage in dialogue with your fellow readers.
  • Disagreement is fine. If one of our bloggers gets your goat, say so, but elevate the conversation. Substantiate. Strive to teach. Your words might actually change someone's opinion. Don't just rant.
  • Sign your name. Anonymity makes you a wimp.
  • If you're just commenting to get your handle out there, please be clever about it. Or witty. We'll delete unimaginative self-promotion.
  • We'll also likely delete comments that are vulgar, inadvertently or maliciously off-topic, spammy, creepy or sloppy.
close