[Donald_Darko]

Hi,

Although I would class myself as a pretty intelligent person, I am completely unsure as to what career path to go down in life. I don’t have the most obvious skill-set in the world, but I do feel I should be doing better than I currently am.

First let me say, I am not a Leaving Cert student. I am in my mid-twenties. If I could rewind the clock, I may have studied something else in college, but as it is I am qualified with a BA in English and Philosophy, and a subsequent MA in another humanities discipline from a Dublin university. Since graduating, my employment record has been up and down.

I was lucky enough to get some work with a prominent weekly Irish newspaper after graduating. I researched a supplement that came out with an edition of said newspaper, and received a credit for it on the inside page, alongside some quite notable names in Irish cultural life. However, that was as far back as Autumn 2010. Since then, I have also written a couple of obituaries, the most recent of which was in December 2011.

Because my employment record was patchy (I worked in the service industry part-time to support myself in college, and continued this up until relatively recently) I was eligible for the JobBridge internship scheme, and that is what I’m currently doing. The money is very poor, and as I am not dependent on parents or anyone else, I struggle to make ends meet. Nonetheless, I feel this will be a valuable addition to my CV.

I am interning in a Dublin University, in a position which was advertised as ‘journalist’, with activities listed as – to cite the original advertisement - “sourcing, writing and proofing articles and developing case studies... S/he will liaise with designers and web developers; attend meetings and events; general administrative duties involved in research, setting up meetings, note taking and following-up on actions.”

I am doing all of this, though I do not believe there will be a job for me here when I complete the internship in August. I am unsure as to what kind of jobs to apply for.

Basically –
- I’ve shown I can write, quite well, otherwise I would not have had work published with a strong weekly national newspaper.
- I can research.
- I have good IT skills. As well as typing 80 wpm, I can use Microsoft Office and Adobe Dreamweaver (a programme used to design and edit websites, although I use it to edit rather than design them).

I was thinking, a job as a press officer, or in that field, may suit, but I don’t really know how to get into that. I also thought maybe in communications (I am aware of how vague and flimsy that sounds).

I know there may not be many jobs for me in these fields in Ireland, but I would be willing to travel. However, I would not want to up sticks and move to the likes of Canada only to work in a minimum-wage service industry position.

I am in my mid-twenties now, and I need to start moving along a sensible career path, but, like many people I suppose, I just don’t know how to take those first few steps.

If anyone could suggest any jobs that they think might suit me, or websites to find such jobs, or any good feedback at all, it would be greatly, greatly appreciated.

Thank you

[djpbarry]

Originally Posted by Donald_Darko

- I’ve shown I can write, quite well...

Based on what you’ve posted, I would say this is what you need to use to sell yourself to prospective employers. Don’t just say you can write well – prove it. Try and build a portfolio through whatever medium you can. Even if it means setting up a website to host your own articles, it gives you something to show people (as well as demonstrating your ability to design a website).

Originally Posted by Donald_Darko

...otherwise I would not have had work published with a strong weekly national newspaper.

You might think that, but to be honest, if someone told me they had an article published in a newspaper (and I know people who have), I wouldn’t automatically think that was impressive, for the simple reason that I’ve read a lot of very poor articles in national newspapers in the UK and Ireland (and I’m not talking about tabloids either). The quality of any one newspaper can vary quite substantially from article to article. For example, science is something that is almost always reported incredibly badly.

Originally Posted by Donald_Darko

I also thought maybe in communications (I am aware of how vague and flimsy that sounds).

Communications in what field? What would you feel comfortable communicating? My missus works in science communication, but she’s a scientist. There’s a fair bit of work in this area, but is communicating scientific research to the public (for example) something that appeals?

Originally Posted by Donald_Darko

I am in my mid-twenties now, and I need to start moving along a sensible career path, but, like many people I suppose, I just don’t know how to take those first few steps.

Forget about career paths and start thinking about what it is you want to be doing on a day-to-day basis (or perhaps more importantly, what you don’t want to be doing). If you find something you enjoy doing, the career will take care of itself.

[QueenOfLeon]

Moved to Work & Jobs OP, I think you might get more answers here

[dragon_wannabee]

Hey Donald,

Since you have a background in writing, why not sign up to sites such as oDesk.com & freelancer.com?
There you could offer your writing services and get paid to build up more experience and a portfolio. There are always plenty of copywriting jobs on those sites.

At the very least going that route would allow you to gain some more control over your destiny.

Hope this helps...

[doovdela]

Have you thought about going in to the area of Online Social Media?

Maybe blogging if you into writing or web design something to look into?

Maybe freelance work might be something to start off with.