News Update

Oh NPR, I love how your modulated voices and neutral reports scare the living sh*t out of me, even more than the sensationalized mainstream media. Your deadpan delivery on how the largest unemployed demographic is the under-24, newly graduated crowd (25-30%), and that we're skewing the national unemployment figures, make me feel oddly comforted and depressed at the same time, like the moment when you finally admit you have the flu.

I couldn't find links to the actual newscast I'm referring to (I heard it on Morning Edition and unsuccessfully tried to find it on their website), but I'm including a few related articles, chock-full of other unemployment fun facts.

Fed: Expect Higher Unemployment

Obama: Education a Key to Economic Rebound (Mr. President, did you hear the newly educated are unemployed?)

This one's from Business Week, but equally heartening (schadenfreude, anyone?): Even the Employed Lose with Hour and Wage Cuts

First Paycheck

I have officially received my first payments as a freelance writer, a grand total of $13.27 from Associated Content, which I strongly recommend you check out if you're interested in a writing career. They don't offer a whole ton of money per article, I had to turn in 6 articles to earn that $13-and-change, but with a little hard work you can turn it into a source of income.

Note to self: time to try "a little hard work"!

What Not to Do

A note to other aspiring eHow writers out there: don't miss the "Suggested Articles" postings. You can come up with how-to articles on your own, but the eHow editors come up with topics they need articles on, and post 50-100 a week. I try to snap these up because they get more views and earn you more "points." I'm not really sure how points work, but the more I get the more money I seem to make, so I'll play along.

I can't figure out if they submit a new batch on Mondays or Tuesdays, but I missed it this week and wrote a grand total of two Suggested Articles. I'm pretty disappointed because after the 27 article marathon last week, my earnings have been steadily increasing. Now I guess I have to rely on my own brain for article ideas. I should probably invest in some sort of planner.

I did submit one more article to Associated Content, though, a post from my other blog. And I got my first accepted article from the first batch I submitted. Woo, $3.22.

Hard Work and Research

I have accomplished 2/3rds of my goals. I wrote 27 articles for eHow this week, bringing my grand total to 33 articles and quintupling my earnings. Before anyone breaks out the confetti and champagne - my earnings as still less than the $10 minimum total eHow requires before they will pay me, but I'm looking at this as daily encouragement. Surf on over to my eHow profile to see my articles, maybe help me pay some bills, etc.

I also rewrote a bunch of home improvement articles I had sitting around and submitted them to Associated Content. If I'm really good, this coming week I will rewrite them yet again and submit them to Constant Content. I'm torn because if Associated Content rejects them I can submit them to Constant Content without the re-rewrite. But I need to remind myself that laziness does not a good freelancer make. It should be my new motto.

So next up is to research other websites I can start writing for, namely Guru, eLance and iFreelance. I need to find some sites where I can bid on work, because coming up with my own ideas is what I am worst at (a reason I am not a creative writer, probably). Any suggestions will be accepted gladly and with serious consideration

Discouragement

Let's just say that earning $0.27 does not make for an encouraging start to a new career. Add that to a tough week, a heat wave, and an offer of janitorial work that sadly got me excited (hey, a girl's gotta eat), I just about threw in the towel.

The day after writing my eHow articles, I'd earned $0.27 from 38 views and was pretty excited. Three days later, with +100 views and no change in my earnings, I felt like the wiffle bat of reality had clocked me good. I moped the rest of the week, refused to check my eHow profile, and spent the 4th of July holiday telling people I was looking for work in my originally-intended career. So yes, I had a little pity party for myself.

My earnings have since gone over the $1 mark and the wiffle bat came back to beat into me that I don't need to change my plans, I need to stop thinking that this was going to be so easy. So I'm back to work on eHow, and promised myself that I will start submitting things to Constant Content, Associated Content, or a similar freelance site. No more wussing out.

Officially A Writer

Over the past three days, my articles on eHow have made $0.27.

If this is the deluge, it's proof God has a sense of humor.

NewGrad1040's eHow Profile

And then, the Deluge! (of money...please)

So I sat and dithered for about a week before actually attempting to write and begin my big, bad freelance career. I've been prepared to write for at least a month, and had all the tools at hand last Monday, but I just couldn't take the first step.

I thought, if the economy is bad, it will stay depressed long enough for me to get over myself.

On the day that I decided I couldn't use my Master's degree without wanting to stick my head in an oven, I spent about 12 hours of prime thesis-writing time researching how to make a freelance career work and talking to friends in the business (the quarter-life crisis was hopefully not spurred solely by predefense jitters).

I spent the month following my defense researching my options, like Odesk, Constant Content, and eHow. Who knew that eHow pays people to write for them? I knew that I should probably start with eHow....and thus the dithering. It immediately became obvious to me that I am an expert about nothing, there had to be some catch, and my prime SEO (Search Engine Optimization) skills meant nothing on a website with hundreds of other, similar articles.

And then I found Master Dayton's blog (see link in the side bar), which is chock full of you-can-do-it-! advice. Chastened, I logged onto eHow and found the "Suggested Articles" link. Follow this link to see my profile and read my articles: NewGrad1040's eHow Profile. Suggestions, encouragement, and clicks that earn me money are appreciated.:)

And because I want this blog to be more than me moaning about the state of the economy and my joblessness, I have included the article that planted the idea for this blog and gave me a little hope. Graduate's Brace for Worst Job Market in Years: NPR (Yes, I'm an NPR nerd. Shut up.)

Where Do I Start?

I am a recent graduate of a decent state university and I have graduated into the worst job market in modern memory.

I simultaneously decided that I couldn't see myself pursuing a career in a field that I just spent six years getting two degrees in. When I made this decision, I told people to go ahead and call me crazy, I like adversity.

But the worst economy since the Great Depression? That's some cold, faceless adversity. I was thinking more along the lines of disbelief and mockery from already-salaried friends.

So instead of turning in applications for jobs that, while the odds are slim of being hired, still make my stomach lurch at the thought, I've decided to try freelance writing. Ah, there it is, the mockery I was talking about. I love writing, and the few jobs I had pre-graduation made me rush home from my work as a graduate student looking forward to cranking out some (admittedly) puff pieces. But now I have to turn that odd job into something that will pay rent, my student loans, and allow me to move out of my friend’s spare room.

I've done my research and come to the conclusion that a blog is an incredible tool for writers trying to get their name out there, draw attention to their work, and earn a little padding for their resumes. Maybe I can even get some advice from professionals and people who’ve been where I am.

First things first: I have to actually get started.