That's me, I have been lucky enough to land a job, the role of campaign assistant with a national NGO. It's the first rung on the environmental career ladder that I've been dreaming and working to follow for two years or more. It may not be the job I want to do in the distant long term (but who knows what they want to do in the long term?!) but it's absolutely amazing to be involved in things I am so passionate about. A month in and everyday I'm still looking up in surprise to see it's 5pm and time to go home already, I guess time really does fly when you're having fun. To some extent I'm being paid to do what I do in my spare time anyway.
I'm not trying to gloat, I wanted to give an update on what I've been up to and I guess I'm trying to show that it is possible to get the job that you dream of.
I'm part of the generation of millennials, we've all got the same qualifications clamouring for the same jobs, of which there are very few. I've seen so many people jump on the first dull graduate scheme they could find or simply abandon the career they had set out to do. The career that their degrees and masters had prepared them for. You hear of so many people driving themselves into the ground whilst undertaking unpaid internships.
I was doing a (wonderful) internship that I couldn't afford with a 2 hour each way commute into London to get there. It was part time which made it survivable. Most of the people who worked there were lawyers or had years of experience and PHDs under their belt. Similarly, the job vacancies I saw advertised (from the one good environmental jobs search website that exists) needed so much experience and qualifications I did not have. The panic and misery began to set in, one day I would just have to give up and settle for a corporate grad scheme that would kill my soul. I despise capitalism, how could I be happy working to increase profits instead of working to change the world for the better?
But then I stumbled across a job advert on a obscure website I barely used, and the deadline was the very next day. Sounded perfect for me and my experience and it was close to home! I had 4 hours to write the application. And BAM, out of nowhere, got a job!
I was very lucky. I was lucky in that I was able to do an MSc in a relevant subject (as my undergrad wasn't very relevant). I was lucky that my dissertation from that got me an even more relevant internship straight away. The internship, hands down, got me the job. It's all I talked about in the interview. I know I'm so lucky in the opportunities I've had that others simply don't have. But I worked hard too and I stuck to what I wanted. I've worked towards a goal, volunteering at uni and writing blogs and following my passion got me there. I also searched the whole internet for a job.
So what I'm saying is, if you really want your dream job fight for it. I know I cannot speak for many career tracks but for environment or charity jobs I do believe it's possible to get there. I have friends in both these sectors who have got there, some after a year or so of doing other jobs (eg temping) and/or volunteering/interning, but they got their dream jobs. They didn't all do masters or even internships. So don't give up hope.
A lady who works at one of the Wildlife Trusts told me she would take someone with 2 years of charity volunteering over someone with fancy qualifications. But of course the fancy qualifications can help too, which is why it's exciting government are thinking about giving student loans for masters next year. Also charity internships are very often designed to be valuable for you and part time or even paid (it's almost as if they have an interest in being ethical!) so they could be your answer in a difficult job market where internships make all the difference. You can also qualify for jobseekers support if doing part time internship.
So don't give up on your dream just yet ... Motivation and patience may just be the answer.
P.S. To all the older generations who do not have any grasp of the harsh reality of today's job market (I couldn't even get a cleaning job that required no experience) and think us youths should all get off our backsides and do internships that amount to slave labour ... You can all, politely, 'do one'.
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