"Writing You're Way Out of It"

Ah, the life of an academic.

I left my job at Office Ghetto in 2002 for numerous reasons, not the least of which was the volatile world of retail. Tales of long-time managers at other companies, such as K-Mart and Toys R Us, suddenly receiving poor evaluations and giving way to young kids fresh out of college were legion. I didn't want to work my way up to a near-six figure salary only to lose it so the company could save costs by replacing me with someone making 40-45K.

Turns out, Office Ghetto is closing 112 stores this year and heavily cutting back. Their stock price has journeyed from 3 a share to 2. My old colleagues are all sweating and some believe the company won't make it through summer without hitting Chapter 11. Looks like I made the right call.

But this whole professor thing isn't easy either. Sure, I don't have to spend my days filing the copy bond bulk stack, stocking the file folders, or helping accountants buy new office furniture, but there are different challenges. The job market is a killer and this year, in the midst of the economic crisis, it is even worse. While I have one job interview this season and an "in" on another, it still looks grim.

With that being said, the surest way to find a job is to have a long list of publications. With that in mind, I am going to "write my way" into a job. This is a long vaunted tradition in the academy. If you don't like your job or your current rate of pay, you write you're way out of it.

The current goal is to spend at least one hour each day writing something. Whether it is for a blog post, an academic article, or just putting notes on paper to perfect the craft, the only way to survive in this market it to write a lot.