If living through The Greatest Depression has taught me anything, it's how to be underemployed. Underemployed; A word, barely uttered before, now a common household word. You can't talk about unemployment, without also mentioning those who are underemployed.
Underemployment can mean different things to different people. Dictionary.com defines the undermployed as;
1. employed at a job that does not fully use one's skills or abilities.
2. employed only part-time when one is available for full-time work.
3. not utilized fully.
I met a fellow journalist a couple of years ago who was in-between jobs, and he considered himself, underemployed. I didn't fully understand the concept, until now. Just the other day I told my friend Dan Davis, "You can take the man out of the newsroom, but you can't take the newsroom out of the man." Or in my case, woman. It's true. A journalist, like me, who truly loves their craft, is never off duty, or for that matter, unemployed. We may not have a newsroom to call home, and a steady paycheck, but our ears are always to the ground and our radar is always up. We are always looking for the next story, big or small. Since losing his job a year ago, Dan has remained so loyal, not only to his love of news, but to his viewers. He now produces the wildly popular Dan's Segment out of Studio G (aka, his garage).
When I joined the ranks of the underemployed journalist, Facebook became my newsroom and my friends, my audience. I am writer, editor, producer, and news director. When I'm in "news mode" my status updates read like news briefs. I find news on the Internet and add it to my rundown, or in Facebook terms, the aptly named news feed. I determine my ratings based on viewer feedback; comments made about my status or a story I've shared. A few days after the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas, I posted something, to which one of my friends responded, "I had not heard about this." That's when I know I'm making an impact; bringing information to people who may not otherwise get it. I'm a news junkie. Seeking out the news is what I do. Finding the best stories and bringing them to everyone else is what I enjoy. Lucky for me, Facebook and blogging provide me with an opportunity to do that. All the while I'm underemployed.
Underemployment can mean different things to different people. Dictionary.com defines the undermployed as;
1. employed at a job that does not fully use one's skills or abilities.
2. employed only part-time when one is available for full-time work.
3. not utilized fully.
I met a fellow journalist a couple of years ago who was in-between jobs, and he considered himself, underemployed. I didn't fully understand the concept, until now. Just the other day I told my friend Dan Davis, "You can take the man out of the newsroom, but you can't take the newsroom out of the man." Or in my case, woman. It's true. A journalist, like me, who truly loves their craft, is never off duty, or for that matter, unemployed. We may not have a newsroom to call home, and a steady paycheck, but our ears are always to the ground and our radar is always up. We are always looking for the next story, big or small. Since losing his job a year ago, Dan has remained so loyal, not only to his love of news, but to his viewers. He now produces the wildly popular Dan's Segment out of Studio G (aka, his garage).
When I joined the ranks of the underemployed journalist, Facebook became my newsroom and my friends, my audience. I am writer, editor, producer, and news director. When I'm in "news mode" my status updates read like news briefs. I find news on the Internet and add it to my rundown, or in Facebook terms, the aptly named news feed. I determine my ratings based on viewer feedback; comments made about my status or a story I've shared. A few days after the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas, I posted something, to which one of my friends responded, "I had not heard about this." That's when I know I'm making an impact; bringing information to people who may not otherwise get it. I'm a news junkie. Seeking out the news is what I do. Finding the best stories and bringing them to everyone else is what I enjoy. Lucky for me, Facebook and blogging provide me with an opportunity to do that. All the while I'm underemployed.
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