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lowercase work
Sep. 8th, 2008 02:26 pmSo if I did my math right, my unemployment ends on December November 1st. It's comforting to know how long I have left, especially since I just blew $200 on this proofreading class. I am having major second thoughts about proofreading. Not only is it just as tedious and boring as you would expect:
-It doesn't pay very well for entry-level work (I mean, not any better than my temp job did, for example).
-Most of the work comes from agencies, which means you shop yourself around to a handful of agencies, then take a test and get on their list. You tell them your availability, and then you call them every day to see if they have work for you. Sometimes they call you.
-Because it's so freelancey and catch-as-catch-can, it sounds like many of the assignments are short one-off deals. If I ended up proofreading alongside some more stable part-time work or something, this could be fine. If not, it sounds awfully lonely to me-- sitting at a table with other proofreaders, or alone in a cubicle, bent over papers, probably without the luxury of being able to listen to music?
I did apply for a job that I might actually enjoy, but it's a pro-homo job that lots of other people would probably enjoy too, so I'm not getting my hopes up too high. Still, it felt good to get my shit together and go for it. I might apply for some private school jobs too. At least I have the drive to renew my search- and also the 7-week safety net in the meantime. I think it would be smart to take advantage of this time to a) study the shit out of the GREs and ace the verbal part, b) assemble stellar grad school applications and c) enjoy free money while I still can.
-It doesn't pay very well for entry-level work (I mean, not any better than my temp job did, for example).
-Most of the work comes from agencies, which means you shop yourself around to a handful of agencies, then take a test and get on their list. You tell them your availability, and then you call them every day to see if they have work for you. Sometimes they call you.
-Because it's so freelancey and catch-as-catch-can, it sounds like many of the assignments are short one-off deals. If I ended up proofreading alongside some more stable part-time work or something, this could be fine. If not, it sounds awfully lonely to me-- sitting at a table with other proofreaders, or alone in a cubicle, bent over papers, probably without the luxury of being able to listen to music?
I did apply for a job that I might actually enjoy, but it's a pro-homo job that lots of other people would probably enjoy too, so I'm not getting my hopes up too high. Still, it felt good to get my shit together and go for it. I might apply for some private school jobs too. At least I have the drive to renew my search- and also the 7-week safety net in the meantime. I think it would be smart to take advantage of this time to a) study the shit out of the GREs and ace the verbal part, b) assemble stellar grad school applications and c) enjoy free money while I still can.
