Out of the box

Following a conversation this morning with my Writing Camp partner I was motivated to look up a post previously written, do a little editing and re-post. Here it is for your reading pleasure and thanks B.J. for the inspiration; we make a great team!

Out of the box

If you have an impressive title following your name does it make you any more important than anyone else or does it just put you in a box with like people?

Obviously some jobs generate more income than others. For instance, a small town doctor is not going to earn as much as a big city doctor who adds a specialty. Those extra titles mean a lot financially, but in many cases the cost of obtaining it will never be repaid. There are a lot of unemployed college educated people out there today in that boat who still have humungous school loans to pay off.

Titles are funny. I recently spent time on the phone trying to find out why my internet service was cutting out. I finally gave up and told the person I was attempting to communicate with to send a repairman a.s.a.p. I was told that a "technician" would be scheduled. I was told the same thing when I had a furnace problem. Apparently there are no more repairmen. Trash collectors are now called sanitary engineers.

This started me thinking about the jobs I have held during my life and their titles, most of which had no pay attached. My first job, while still in high school, was a sales clerk at a local dime store. Now it would probably be a dollar store. It was followed by a file clerk job for the Teamsters Health & Welfare Department. Then the biggie came along; I was a wife and mother for 40 years, now referred to as a domestic engineer (long hours definitely no visible pay involved). During this time I also held jobs as a Cub Scout Den Mother and Mother Advisor for International Order of Rainbow for Girls, costumer for a theater group (no pay, but interesting experiences) and others to numerous to name.

Other job titles that did involve some pay were: Independent Avon Representative, Independent Contractor for two marketing companies, Resource Development Coordinator for a nursing home and a columnist. Just look at all those titles! I am worn out just thinking about them.

The variety of titles I have held probably doesn't mean much to most people and granted they would be too much to put on my grave marker, but they describe who I was and who I am. Job titles don't make me any better or worse than anyone else. >P/> My current job is Motivational Writer and it allows me many hours of freedom to spend as much time as I please doing whatever makes me happy. It also allows me to get out of the box built by others and be the me I came here to be.