Entry level now, or hold out?

The job market in Austin is better for entry level careers. Unfortunately, I am more middle level, so it provides me with a career dilemma as I job search. There seem to be many office manager and admin jobs for a person willing to organize other people for another $30,000 a year. And then there is Sales. There is always a market for Sales jobs. I have ample experience in both these fields. Would all my sacrifices be in vain if I excepted a job in a field I am not interested in – at a lower income range then I have been at previously?

My mind wrestles with this question daily. Which is the best course of action? I have already spent a lifetime getting experience in fields I don’t want to work in, so why prolong that? My only answer is because it’s scary out here on my own. Making decisions that will take me to a goal I am not sure I can complete, in a town where I have few friends (cue the melodramatic organ music).

I woke up yesterday nervous I wasn’t making the most of my Austin experience. My mind goes back and forth like a pinball hitting all the bumpers as I try to figure out if I should be searching for a job in Sales, where I have the most experience but not the most love.

Now that the newness has worn off of my move, I miss Chicago, my family, my friends. That stupid Daughtry song, “Home” followed another song about missing people and family on the easy listening station here. I thought it was a sign that it would be okay to cry, so I let the sadness wrap around me like a warm pashmina scarf. It was comforting and well-fitted, but not too tight. I was sad about all the work that went awry with Entrees By You, the fun and security I left behind in Chicago. I am working on creating a better situation for myself in Austin. It’s not better here in Austin yet. I am working on developing a network of friends and finding a job. So I let myself cry for the 3 minute song, felt the sadness and then headed inside Pure Austin Fitness for my workout. I let it go, and focused on my “run”. Navigating this uncharted territory is more mentally exhausting then I thought, but I am hanging in there, with the thought of a promised land – created by me in the distance.

I made myself go out and see a band last night. Akina Adderly and the Vintage Playboys. I give them a C+. She has a powerful voice, but the songs were terribly trite and boring to listen to. I met a guy named Steve. He likes go hiking and running and such, so he might be fun. He wanted me to run with him today, but clearly he doesn’t understand when I use the term – “run” it is always in quotes. I’ll keep you posted.

Plans for this weekend. As I stretch and try to do things that are uncomfortable to me, I am planning on participating in a free Cardio Strip class (just being associated with something strippers do makes me a little queasy), the Ballroom Dancing group on Saturday. It is Rumba night!