All My Gettings

I'm on the hunt for a job. I know, I'm not officially a librarian until April (or June, depending on whether you count the piece of paper or the successful completion of courses as the stamp). However, I stress out about everything and the prospect of graduating without a job offer makes me nervous. Very nervous. Most people only feel so uneasy in the face of impending brain surgery or by the thought of being left in the Rub' al Khali if you're Petra. But stressing out is my hobby.

I've applied so far in places that I would rather not live, at least not long term (Lincoln, NE, anyone? How about State College, PA? I'm sure Waco, TX isn't as bad as it's cracked up to be). I'm toying with the idea of sending off a vitae to South Dakota and the job's not even in Sioux Falls or Rapid City. It's in Pierre. I'm just not sure how I feel about living in a state that is one third as densely populated as Utah (SD boasts 9.9 people per square mile...only Alaska, Wyoming and Montana can claim to have more land for every man, woman and child).

I think part of this random search has to do with a somewhat flawed belief that none of these things would really ever come to pass. I'm not actually going to get a job, so it's sort of fun to pretend. I reckon I'll be taking a very different approach when March rolls around and I'm still hunting. Truth be told, I probably would pack up and move to Pierre if that's all I had going for me. Or Lincoln or Waco or Cheyenne or Milwaukee. I'm not entirely sure where I want to live (though the Wasatch Front ranks high), but I do believe that I could only be happy in a place that is served by an international airport (suspend your disbelief for a moment and imagine that I could be happy, at least theoretically).

The most surprising aspect of this whole situation though, is what I find myself being disappointed by. For instance, I'll get excited when I see a position for Humanities Librarian at some college in the midwest only to learn the have as minimum qualifications reading ability of Latin, Classical Greek and one modern European language. And, almost as an afterthought, they throw out that knowing another ancient language, like Hebrew, wouldn't hurt. Where can they dig up people for these jobs? Granted, this job does pay between 40K and 50K, unlike one in the midwest a while back that wanted two masters degrees, reading ability in French and another European language and was willing to start you at 34K.

But my most recent disappointment was this: seeing a job at Boise State and then learning that I am not at all qualified to take it. It's even a reference job. I just don't have the experience they're angling for. It's a sad commentary on your life's ambitions when not being qualified for a job in the Gem State bums you out.