Job update

So I got called in for an interview at Dream Job last week. 

EEEEE!!

Now, I haven't interviewed for a job since... wow. What century is this?

Was I nervous? Yes. Did I comport myself well?  Seems so. I don't think I stuck my foot in my mouth too often. I handled all questions well, except for the two I wasn't expecting: current salary and expectations, and when I could start.  The first was awkward because this job was a serious step-down in hourly salary. But I let them know I was okay with that. After all, I was moving from a part-time job to a full-time, and the money in my pocket would increase for doing more of easier work.

The second question I had no idea. I tentatively offered them an average two weeks' notice period, only to learn from my current HR that because I've been at my current job for over a decade and a half, my notice period really needs to be four weeks. (I updated Dream Job with this info as soon as I got it.)

Sidebar: From the very beginning I was open with my current job that I'd applied for Dream Job, because that's how we roll. Everyone knew what was going on and were following the adventure.

So, today I'm in a big important departmental team meeting when my phone rings.  (Bad me, for failing to put it on silent in a meeting.)  I had one look at the number and my supervisor goes, "Is that The Call?!"

I slip out to take it.

Alas, I did not get the job. Everyone they'd interviewed was more than qualified to do the work, and they went with the person who would have been the best fit.

Went back into that meeting to a dozen expectant eyes.  "Nope. You all have me for another couple of years."  Commiserations all around.

ETA: I requested and got feedback from DJ's HR. Nothing wrong with me or how I interviewed. Just for their selected candidate, a couple of things were a better fit, like salary expectations and geographic location, etc. Ah, well. 

Coincidentally, my Annual Performance Review was this afternoon. There, I learned that a proposal to make my position full-time was included in the Annual Budget, pending approval. Should that happen, I'll most likely take it up, and comfort myself over not getting Library Dream Job with the 50% more salary I'll get.

(Also, my review let me know I was doing pretty good in my job and am seen as an asset to the team. Good to know.)

Now, I also made it clear that I didn't plan on staying in this job forever. They know my ambitions towards being an author, but also that I'd love to get back into the Library system. I'm in my current role by accident.  Happy to do well while I'm here, but it's not the career track I want to be in.

But these things happen. Most people spend some time in a job that's not their dream career. It's normal and not a sign that one's life has gone wrong. We end up in these jobs because they were needful in the moment. Sometimes this side quest take a bit longer, but might be necessary to keep us alive until we can get back to where we wanted to go.

To that end, I'll have career news in the upcoming Quarterly Newsletter. If you're not subscribed to the QN, do so now before 30 Dec so you can get yours.

Octavia Butler once said...

"I will be a bestselling author."

Yeah. Mee too.

Dreams (ain't they grand?)

When I first went to uni (college for you 'Mericans), much of my tuition was paid for via scholarships and grants.  I was very grateful for those people and foundations who enabled me to gain a higher education.  So impressed was I, one of my greatest dreams was to start a scholarship fund, should I ever find myself with a million dollars.

Back then, the idea that I would ever have a million dollars, much less one I could spend on something like a scholarship fund, was mildly ludicrous. But since when should ludicrousness ever stop one from dreaming?  (After all, I also dream of getting a nice, memorable kiss from Richard Armitage.)

In the early stages of my dreaming, I even researched what it would take to create a scholarship foundation.  To register as a charity, I had to fill out this paperwork and that paperwork, and fill these forms and pay those fees and jump through a bunch of red-taped hoops that laid a very wet blanket on my plans. Bummer. A goodly portion of my funds would go towards something other than scholarships.  That put a damper on my plans.

Ah well, it was just a dream, so I ignored those issues by tucking them firmly away in the back of my head, and dreamed instead of bestowing scholarship cheques on everyone who applied for one.

I thought, should I make my scholarship a specialist one?  Should I create a scholarship for fans of Science Fiction and Fantasy?  Or should I create one for writers?  How about those who were not great scholars in High School, who only just got into college by virtue of sheer luck (and high test scores)?  For that class of student, scholarships are harder to come by, than, say, your 4.0 student. That would be groovy.

And so, the fantasy goes.

Then, while researching ways to fund my own grad school, I came across crowdfunding as a way of funding education.

Crowdfunding for education?  B R I L L I A N T !!

A dream that had been a long shot, suddenly became a very real possibility.

1.  Goodbve registration of a charity and red tape and other legal restrictions.  I can donate as a private citizen.
2.  Goodbye needing a million dollars before I can contribute to this dream. I can get going for only $5K.
2a.  Forget hundreds and hundreds of dollars, as I originally thought a scholarship handout would ahve to be.  I can bless a student with a mere $25.
3. Given enough capital, I can contribute to hundreds, if not thousands of students, thereby enabling so many, many people!  The more capital I've got, the more people I can fund.  (Okay, a million dollars would be nice.  Invested wisely, with a 4% withdrawal rate, I could either fund ten thousand students per annum with Funds of Significance, or I could share it out among nearly a quarter million students with smaller amounts. In perpetuity.)

Do you know how earth-shatteringly wonderful it is to realise that a once-distant dream is now a very close reality?

Wow.

Such wow.

Many delirious happy.

So yeah. Once I get sufficient capital, I'll start crowdfunding education as a way of paying forward the generosity of those who funded my own education through scholarships and grants.

My dream is coming true!

Wanna help?  Go crowdfund someone who needs tuition money.  Wanna help me in my dreams?  Go buy my novella "As Good As Gold".  And then when future novellas and novels come out, go buy them as well.  The income from my writing will fund my capital that will provide continuous income which I can devote towards future crowdfunding scholarships.

____________________________
Her Grace is a strong proponent of higher education, not only for increasing income opportunities, but also for the sheer joy of learning.  This is why she's indulging in an MFA at the moment, and hopes to pursue a MS in Astronomy next.  P.S.  Richard, if Her Grace succeeds in this dream, will you come give her a kiss?