Belay AHHHN!
Copyright 2015
Joshua C. Robinson

It’s been more than a month since my graduate school adventure has come to a close and there is a lot to do, and a lot to be thankful for. I’m lucky enough to have a number of contracts to work on to sustain that whole living thing, but a semi-steady flow of income doesn’t mean that life is easy breezy. In many ways graduating into the gig economy has made making a living a tall order…

Part of why I went back to graduate school was to secure a 9 to 5, with benefits, 401k all that, blah, blah, blah, blah, but the more that I throw myself back into the work force, the more that I find that consistent 9 to 5 positions aren’t necessarily plentiful, or even the right path. I have found more consistent work with contract, and project based work than enticing 9 to 5 offers. Not to say that I haven’t had some bites, but the 9 to 5 prospects that have surfaced seem… not right.

Maybe that’s just the world telling me to pursue that avenue of work more purposefully. I know that my skills with business pursuits have been set on a fruitful path, but other than playwriting and copywriting, I find myself primarily without a trade.

Don’t get my wrong, I feel well prepared for a position that requires business accumen, a deep understanding of the arts, and a passion for non profits, but as a contract employee, I find that I want to offer even more in the form of a sellable skill.

I am scared by this shortcoming, but not nearly as scared as I was two years ago. I boiled down my skills and my interests into some neat buckets, and found that I do have skills that people are willing to pay money for; if I didn’t I wouldn’t have contracts coming my way.

I have skill as a copywriter, I write copy quickly and efficiently, I am very good at analyzing systems of business and developing a more efficient method that will generate more revenue, I’m curiously good at sales consulting, I’m good at analyzing marketing systems and improving them, I’m pretty darn good at improvising, both as a business person and as a performer, and I have fun doing it.

But here’s what I lack, I lack the ability to build something tangible, something that requires nuts and bolts, and sell it. I find myself, as a post grad school graduate, wanting to be able to build systems that benefit others, that streamline business and that solve world problems.

The Road Well Traveled
Copyright 2015
Joshua C. Robinson

So with a business degree under my belt, the heart of a writer, and enough contracts to sustain myself, I am going to continue and sharpen my journey of becoming a life long student. I was just re certified to belay on indoor climbing equipment, I’m jumping back into learning and performing improvised Shakespeare, I want to learn software development, then maybe, finally learn some mechanical engineering, then maybe one day build a robot that’s good at copywriting (I’m not joking about any of this).

As trite as it might sound, life requires me to be a student, and life changes and expands rapidly, so even if I don’t get another degree, I plan to progress with life by studying as hard and as fast as I can.