I Wish I Was..

 On the alumni FB page of my college course, my former prof who is the department head now asked for our job hunting stories after graduation especially those who didn't land a job in the broadcast journalism or media industry. Initially, I was not interested to answer because I don't feel like sharing because it will open up wounds but then the responses were all engaging to read so I was compelled to share my story. Here is what I posted:

I waited for 4 months to land a job sa isang news media company but exams and interviews lang po eh. I have no connections, just tried my luck but I never really came close. So the first job offer I had - content writing for Internet marketing  - tinanggap ko agad because I wanted to have a job before Christmas. But since it was not the type of writing I like, I lasted only 3 months. Next job was as an editor but for academic journals abroad and it's more on technical editing based on their guidelines. It paid well because it's a BPO company but I struggled because it's not really something I like to do. I continued looking for a new job in my 5 months with that company and finally landed one in a small media production company. The starting salary was minimum but it's a media-related job finally so I carried on. I'm still here 11 years later. But to be honest,  I still had multiple attempts in between those years to look for another job mainly because of financial reasons. My income is adequate but you have to be thrifty to survive, so little room for luxuries. I also have a side job for nearly 10 years (writing movie reviews and community management for a local website) to supplement my income. I won't deny sir that financially speaking working in the media industry is a big challenge. In my mid-20s, I actually had a job offer from a dream media company but then the salary was way lower than my current job so I sadly turned it down. I just couldn't risk leaving my stable job where I am already a regular employee (something that's hard to get in this industry). If that offer happened in my early 20s and still fresh from college I would have accepted it in a heartbeat but I was at a point in my life that I can't afford to do so. I wish it wasn't the case but there I fully realized what "the real world" they were talking about before.

It felt good to share it on a public space. But also sad because I'm not a success story 12 years after I graduated. I wish I was but hey 2020 thought me things could be so much worst.