Training for the Future

Searching for editing jobs was not as easy as I anticipated it being. Because editing jobs can encompass so much, I was surprised that there weren’t more local job openings for the position. However, I was able to find a couple of editing jobs; many of these jobs require some kind of experience in the field, or they were searching for someone with video editing skills, which I do not possess. While this is a little disheartening, I have learned many valuable skills through my internship with The Writers’ Slate and Professor Franklin. As Sherry Southard states in “Interacting Successfully in Corporate Culture,” “students need skills that will enable them to participate successfully and to make decisions even more than they need such skills to work successfully within older organizations.” Professor Franklin routinely encourages his interns to make important decisions on the journal, which is a practice that I can apply to my future job. Although I am transitioning immediately from an undergraduate career to a graduate career, it is still important to have an understanding of the jobs that are on the market now, because it will give me an idea of what skills will need to be further honed in order to excel.

            The first two jobs I found were for multi-media journalist positions in Pittsburg with KOAM-TV and Manhattan with WIBW-TV. These jobs requires some kind of video editing skill. While I do not have any skills in video editing, it is something that I would be willing to learn. However, since it is a preferred skill for a new hire, I would have a disadvantage when compared to other candidates. This caused me to move on to the next job I could find.

            The second job I found was a technical writing position with Reynolds and Reynolds Company in Houston, Texas. Of all the jobs I found, this was the most attractive to me because they offer benefits that include medical, dental, vision, and health insurance; an opportunity to invest in a 401K; and paid holidays, vacations, and sick days. However, the salary listed was the only negative aspect. The job ad listed on the site was $35,000+ a year. According to Indeed.com, the average wage for technical writers in the Houston area is around $62,000 a year and the lower end of the range is approximately $40,000 a year. If I were to apply for this job, I would have to negotiate for a higher wage in order to meet the cost of living increase in moving from Pittsburg to Houston. While I kept this in mind, I moved on to the next ad.

            The next posting that I found was for a junior copywriting intern position with VSolvIt LLC. This is a web-based internship that pays $8.50 an hour. For this job, I would be “working on company newsletter, providing Quality Assurance (QA) on documents, spreadsheets, and webpages, interviewing other employees, and participation in weekly team meetings”. The minimum time commitment is 10 hours a week, which is practical for an internship position while in school. After reading this posting, I decided to apply for it in order to have a job this summer. After applying, I moved on to the next job listing.

            The final opening that I found was for an outreach intern position with Midwest Cancer Alliance - University of Kansas Cancer Center. This is a full-time paid job, but the pay is unspecified. Some of the duties that I feel as though I would excel at include creating marketing materials, generating emails for distribution, internet research, and general office duties. It also requires good customer service skills, which I would excel at because I worked at Dairy Queen for several years and was required to interact with people. However, since I’m applying for graduate school in Pittsburg, this internship was not as realistic as the one I applied for.

            Overall, there were several good opportunities available now in my chosen job field. However, many of them seemed to focus on video editing skills, and I do not have any experience with them. Despite this, I was able to find an internship that I applied for in order to have a job over the summer. I learned that, even though I’m afraid of the future, it does not hurt to look and discover what is being offered, because I could be using current opportunities to develop skills I could use in future careers. 

Southard, Sherry. "Interacting Successfully in Corporate Culture."