A Good Job

Since starting my new job this semester, several people have asked me why I’m still working at the library.  I politely respond with, “Well, that’s how I support myself.  And, they pay me significantly more per hour, provide me with health insurance, and give me paid vacation and sick time.  How could I afford to give that up?”

My new job may be a better opportunity geared more directly toward my professional goals, but since taking it, I have grown even more thankful for my library job.  Even though I’m 26, my job at the library, which I started a year and a half ago, was the first I ever had with benefits.  I still marvel at them.  When I got back from a 2 week Christmas vacation to my normal pay check, the full amount there as if I’d worked all those hours, I felt incredibly fortunate.  When I talk to my uninsured or underinsured friends and remember that I have very affordable medical, dental, and vision coverage, I feel comforted.  Knowing that getting sick doesn’t mean losing working wages immediately is such a relief.

As lucky as I feel, as surprising as it still is, I yet managed to be reminded, as if I’d forgotten, of the reality that if I miss a day at my second job, that is money lost.  If a holiday interferes with working hours, the day off is tinged with a bit of disappointment, because again it is money lost.  I even regret taking time off to go out of town.  Maybe I wouldn’t feel that way if my budget wasn’t so tight that I count on those hours to keep up with my plan of getting out of debt.

I also, of course, get paid a pretty ridiculous wage, especially for having no benefits.  It’s very typical for a grad school job and for a non-profit.  And, it’s worth it for the opportunity, for the connections I’m making, and because I like the job, but it certainly doesn’t allow for much security.

I’m happy to do both, even though it means little to no free time.  When you have a good job, especially one you enjoy, you don’t give it up.  And that’s a conservative take, especially when there’s such an emphasis on the internet and with my generation of taking big risks to do the job you love–usually working for yourself.  I understand that.  I mean, I’m pursuing a very impractical career because it’s what I want to do, but I think taking big risks is only possible when you prepare the way by acting responsibly.  On top of which, I have zero desire to work for myself; I like someone else cutting me a check, withholding taxes, and keeping the business going.  It’s also important to know how you work best.

Related posts:

1. Saving for Risk and Uncertainty
2. What To Do With An Extra $120 a Month