Part 2 Moving

In order to have a “proper” quarter life crisis, I know I have to do something big. My big idea is to move to a new place and start over. I’ve narrowed it down to 2 dream cities with more dream locations to be added later:

Austin, TX
Raleigh, NC

Well I told my parents last week about this big move and they were ok with it. Both of them would really like me to come back to North Carolina where I’m from but I’m leaning more towards Austin. The other day, my mom calls because she’s freaked out about the guy flying his plan into the IRS building in Austin. She then proceeds to give me a lecture on how dangerous it is in Austin.

Whoa whoa whoa! Simma down!

  While the situation in Austin isn’t minor, there are a ton of bad people everywhere in the world. Regardless of where I go (unless it's Raleigh where most of my friends from college now are) I’m going to be a single girl in a new city with like no friends. Sometimes when I think about it, it feels like I’m going to have a target stuck on my back. Then I remember the power of social media.

I’m currently a member of LinkedIn, Brazen Careerist and Twitter but before these were around, I was a member of PartyEastCarolina.com (which is currently down) This was my original social media place because I didn’t even have MySpace then (I didn’t see the point of myspace) but this message board was THE place to be for East Carolina students. I pretty much made all my “in real life” good friends from this site including one of my best friends. I’m pretty much hoping that I can do this again with different networking sites. I plan on going to tweetups when I actually get to Austin and to try some new activities like actually going to a class at a gym to meet some new peeps.

I’m friendly so that must mean I can make friends right? Well we can only hope…


What do you think are good ways to make new friends when relocating to a new area?

I’m having a quarterlife crisis… Part 1

According to The Conference Board, U.S. Job Satisfaction is at its LOWEST LEVEL in two decades. See the press release  Here

For those under 25, satisfaction dropped 20% from 1987. I’m pretty sure I’ve been dissatisfied with my job since my honeymoon period wore off about a year ago. Why have a stuck around? Money and I can honestly say I’m scared to move on. Today I realized I’m really sick of my damn job.

I work in customer service. People call in to place classified ads with me and my job is to upsell them items that make their ads look better.

I have a freaking Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing. What am I doing adding bolds and color backgrounds to ads? I’m not saying that I should be running a marketing department but I am saying I could be doing much better. I’ve asked for more responsibility and was turned down.

I’m pretty much sick & tired of busting my ass and not being happy. This job was not the right one for me but my "panties were in a bunch” about actually getting a full time job right after moving to a new area.

It does teach me a lesson in job satisfaction. What does job satisfaction mean for me?

• Job isn’t monotonous - Doing the same thing day in & out and not learning anything is boring.

• Having authority over how my work should be done – I should be able to be online as long as I can get my work done.

• Obtainable job growth. – I should be able to picture myself in my boss’s position one day.

What does that mean for me? I’m hunting for a job with a company that WANTS me to be satisfied.

My next steps:

• Company Research

• More networking with people who are happy with their jobs

• Reading more blogs about job satisfaction

What does job satisfaction mean to you? And am I crazy for wanting these things?