I've never held a job before, but I've always felt the need to have more money sitting in my wallet. Coming to the University, wielding the power of free Amazon Prime, I realized that I would definitely need a lot more money pronto, or I wouldn't be eating for at least two days of the week. So, I went job hunting.
The first thing I did was narrow my search. A lot. I was unable to drive and taking the light rail home at 2 a.m seemed to be an unappealing picture. Along with this, I had exactly no years of experience and no morning availability whatsoever. So, I began to look at on-campus jobs, because these seemed the most flexible around my schedule. And, at first, I looked at working in the libraries and in the dining halls. But, I also wanted a job that would supplement my resumé, and, most importantly, I wanted a job that would give me some of the experience that I would need in my future career. After all, I wanted to work in law enforcement or with the FBI. If I didn't test out a job along those lines first, I might find out I hated it later. If that were the case then, well, that would just seem a little too late.
So, I picked up a job as a security monitor on campus. It seemed like a good fit for several reasons. First, it definitely gave me some of the experience I would need to determine whether my future career was something in which I could truly invest myself, or whether it was just a little fling. Maybe I wouldn't like working in law; maybe it was just a phase.
Second, the pay seemed relatively decent. Having never held a job before and, with my main reason for working being pocket money, I felt that I needed a job that would pay well. Lucky for me, security was on the higher end of paying jobs. So, I guess that, in a sense, I was just in it for the money.
Third, the security calendar worked around my schedule very well. Since almost all shifts were at night, there was definitely not going to be a conflict with any of my classes. And since I was going to be awake at night anyway, having discovered the powers of insomnia during high school, I was now going to be paid for being awake. What could be better? Here I was, never having held a job before and already utilizing various things that had previously been useless to me to make some cash.
So, I started my job. And I quickly found out that, as much as I hate my job, I love it that much more. Ask any of my friends and they'll tell you that all they hear from me are complaints that my job is too hard, that I work too late, that I'm always tired. Yet I don't believe I would feel this happy or content at any other job. I've discovered that I do like working a smaller, shortened version of law enforcement, and this gives me hope that I will like my future career. Along with this, I love my coworkers. I firmly believe that you have to be a certain kind of person to hold this job, with its strange hours and long shifts, and what that ends up meaning is that most of my coworkers are like me--we have the same sense of humor and we look out for each other. And it feels like I've found yet another family in a state so far away from my own.
I love my job. I wouldn't give it up for the world. Unless, of course, I found a better one.
