The Safe Job vs. The Dream Job

Margot didn't waste much time.  She wanted out from under borrowing from Dad and having time off when everybody else is working is not a lot of fun.  So we went full blast.  She signed up for some temp jobs, did all the internet things, and checked the A&M career office.  I went through the Houston Chronicle web site every Monday and sent her every link that did not include adult entertainment.  I also scoured my shrinking list of good old boy contacts. 

One that bore fruit was Phil in Kansas City.  Phil and I went to school together in Europe and stayed in contact.  Phil owns his own ad agency and this was an area Margot was interested in.  Who isn't?  Advertising is sexy or perceived to be sexy and glamourous.  Phil flipped Margot's resume to a headhunter who flipped it to a VP at the biggest independent ad agency in Houston.  Margot got a call.

In the meantime Margot got a contact from A&M about a support job for a medical insurance company.  The work was project oriented, paid pretty well at $35,000 and the staff was mostly Aggies.  She had one interview, then another, and then another.

Meanwhile, at the ad agency she had one interview and they offered her an internship.  The good news was that the internship was for six months and then they would probably offer her a full time position.  The bad news was the internship paid $7 an hour.

The same day the medical company called and offered her the job. 

What to do?  Margot called and asked "What do I do?"  "I don't know", I said, "What do you want to do?"  Long pause and then "I want to take the advertising job."  And I said that was the right answer.

There are lots of jobs out there and the task of finding one is frustrating but one shouldn't go only for the bucks.  If Margot had turned down the ad job she would have wondered her whole life if that was the job for her.

Turned out if wasn't but that story if for tomorrow.