The Biggest Story Ever Told

How much money

“How much does a job cost”? That’s what I asked my mom when I was about five or six years old. I saw people going to work religiously every day. My mom had two jobs. She worked at a government office Mondays through Fridays and at a children’s clothes store on the weekends. Clearly this had to be something she really wanted to do. And even at that early age, I knew enough to know that if you wanted something, you paid for it. I had overheard my mom talking about someone not having a job and I thought to myself, maybe that person couldn’t afford one. And that’s where the question came from. “How much does a job cost”? My mom’s response, of course “Nothing; you don’t pay for a job. The job pays you”. “Cool!” I thought. But that was the biggest story I was ever told.

Fast forward about thirty-five years and quite a few jobs out. I had been working since I was fourteen years old (many thanks to “Mayor for Life” Marion Barry). I had pretty much slid from one job to another, with all of my full time positions being in social services. I had racked up on years of experience in the field. Each experience led me to the next, and so on and so forth. I went from starting at $18,000 a year in nonprofit to zig-zagging my way to $62,000 a year in state government. Awesome, right?? Sure. How’d I do it? Experience.

Now, I never set out to do social services. It’s not something I went to school for a degree in. As a matter of fact, I don’t have a degree at all. I dropped out of college when I lost my financial aid and got a full time job. After about a year or so, I lost that job. Having another mouth to feed and rent to pay, I swallowed my pride and went to a social service agency as a last resort. I met with Mr. Waller, the person responsible for determining eligibility and approving needy individuals for emergency rental and utility assistance. (Yes, I was considered “needy”). Mr. Waller was very kind and nonjudgmental. He said “Unfortunately, at this time, we are out of funding, but I can offer you a job. I am in need of an assistant”. I have no idea what Mr. Waller saw in me at our meeting, especially knowing he’s seen numerous others under the same circumstances regularly, but I was very appreciative and took that $18,000 a year job like it was as golden as a winning lottery ticket. And truthfully, at that time it was.

And so began me “career” in the field of social services (or more truthfully, a series of random “jobs” that happen to be in the same field). I literally went from being the one asking for assistance to being the one giving out assistance and I was grateful. I stayed at that job for some time, even leaving for a higher paying job and coming back to work the same previous position at a higher salary. Eventually I left again for yet another higher paying job. I built upon my experience in that field and used it as a stepping stone to the next higher paying position and it was fairly easy. I mean, I had years of experience and that grabbed the attention of various agencies because they looked for someone with my level experience. Even further along, the qualifying requirements were “degree in a related field or work experience” and even at a younger age, no one could touch my work experience.

Now, I’ve reached a point where I’m making $62,000 a year at a job I’ve been in for 12 years now (and remembering thinking that would make me “well off” when I was surviving off of $18,000 years prior, not taking into consideration growing expenses and cost of living). How am I feeling? …Bothered and annoyed.

Remember, this wasn’t a chosen career field. Though I liked being able to help people, especially in that I was completely empathetic and could totally relate, it was really exhausting. This was a field where you took the work home with you whether you wanted to or not; and I sometimes did that literally, taking kids with no family to holiday dinner with me and my family. Concern for those you serve wears on you and I had had enough. My son was now grown and I was ready to jump in with both feet into my dream career, Music. I wanted to write, produce and do artist development. That was my passion and for that I needed time, a clear head and the energy to do so. (And no. motivation does not necessarily equate to physical energy. The body thrives off rest, food, water and oxygen; not passion and determination.). Waking up at five a.m. to work all day at a job that’s mentally, and sometimes emotionally, draining until five p.m., not to mention sitting in rush hour traffic another hour, coming home to cook, then preparing for the next day, (showering, ironing etc.) does nothing for either of those.

So I came up with a plan; find a “mindless” job that offered me the ability to come home with a clear head and not totally drained and beat down. Easy, right?? You can get that from Pizza Hut! …But Pizza Hut doesn’t pay the bills. So now I’m looking for my mindless, bill paying job, a job anybody can do; No Experience Necessary. And what do I find? …A brick wall. It seems times and qualifications have changed a lot since I first started my upward glide to 62k. Now there was no “degree in related field or”. Yep, my almost thirty years of works experience with twenty in social services alone now didn’t mean Jack. They now required a degree and a degree in damn near anything, or as a friend of mine in Human Resources would say, the ability to “check the box”. This is where that big, boldface lie my mom told me comes in. Follow me…

Let’s stay with my friend in Human Resources …WAIT excuse me, Human Resource Manager. (She makes waaaaaay more than $62,000 a year). How did she get there? The same way I did. We both dropped out of school roughly about the same time. She made her way into a random job that set her up with the ability to slide upward, building upon her many years of work experience in the human resource field. But now she was planning a lateral move to another company in the very near future. Being in human resources, she was well aware of the change of criteria. Now, in order to qualify for another job elsewhere in the same position, she needed to meet specific requirements. Because of her years of experience in her field, she met all the requirements …except one. They want a degree. So she was proactive. She enrolled in classes at a state university with the ability to take some online courses in work she had already been doing and programs she had already designed and implemented, some random math classes, and got her degree. She could now “check the box” that asked “Do you have a degree?”

Time considered, this is a doable plan if you can afford it. According to College Board, the cost of public four year institution including fees for the 2017-2018 school year, ranged from $5,220 to $16,070 in state and $12,480 to $38,990 out of state. Multiply that by four, optimistically assuming that the rate stays the same for four consecutive years, and you’re looking at a minimum cost of about $20,880 for your degree (of course, depending on your field of study). So when I asked my mother “how much does a job cost”, that’s what she should have said; or something to that effect based on that particular year.

Now granted, at that time, a job was free; experience still held a lot of weight. My mom herself didn’t have a degree and it costed her nothing. But for me at about age five, my future employment would not be free at all. I, unfortunately, would have the misfortune of engaging in a workforce that was transitioning into a system that requires a bachelor’s degree as a minimum in order to obtain almost any position that will allow you to live independently.

So here I am, miserable, annoyed and stuck at a job that now works my last nerve but with the passion and motivation to do something different. And again, all I want is a mindless job so that I can work towards my dream career, but I can’t afford it. So now in my forties and with over 20 years of work experience behind me, I am organized, smart, talented and completely unprepared. So for future reference, if by some chance some doe-eyed naïve, yet rightfully concerned child should ask you “How much does a job cost?” Tell them “right now, $20,880”.