Modern Slave Labor by Alberta Parish
August 19, 2008
Today’s job market can be very complicated for individuals with no education beyond high school or minimal education. This is why it is imperative that parents instill in their children the value of a good education, because it could mean the difference between working a dead-end job, having a decent-salary career, and even being a business owner. There are so many people that have jobs that they absolutely hate. Either they hate the salary, job environment, the labor involved, or their sociopathic bosses. Instead of them going back to school, they’d rather work two or three dead-end jobs. Then sit around and complain about how much they hate working where they are. Some of these same individuals don’t possess any goals to do anything with their lives other than what they’ve already been doing for years, which is NOTHING.
The reason I became an author with my first self-published book in 2002 is because I knew that this was what I wanted for my life. I knew that I didn’t want to continue working a 9 to 5 until I retire in my sixties, if I even lived long enough to do that. I had big dreams and aspirations for my life. Still do. This is why I become discouraged sometimes with my present situation, because I know that I’m not in a good financial situation to just walk away from my day job. The economy is in a recession right now, so it wouldn’t do me any good to walk away from my current position when I don’t have adequate employment lined up someplace else or when I have very little money saved up in my bank account. Luckily for me, I have the skill set to apply for better employment with the company I currently work for; better employment that will pay me a decent salary and that I can have normal hours with.
In today’s slave labor market, you should have at least several options. What I mean by this is learn skill sets that you can apply in different job fields. For example, if you’re a truck driver and you hate your job, start taking computer courses such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Graphic Design, etc. Apply for an administrative job with the same trucking company you work for. Don’t just complain all the time about how much you hate driving. At least do something to change careers and possibly earn far more money than what you earn now. If your job is emotionally and physically draining, then perhaps you should go into a different field of employment. Sometimes this may require you going to a city college, and getting an Associate’s or Bachelor’s Degree so you can move forward with your life. Perhaps you may need to capitalize on the talent that you keep overlooking. That talent could be anything from entrepreneurship to writing, from baking delicious cakes to producing clothing. Sometimes people just need a little encouragement to follow their dreams and to put them into action. A lot of people don’t know how to put their dreams into action, because they lack the proper education on how to do so. This is where books come into play. If you want to know something, read a book.
Just recently, I purchased Dan Poynter’s book entitled Self-Publishing Manual, because I realize that I’m ignorant when it comes to the business of being an author. Writing and publishing the manuscript is easy. But how to market it and sell it is an entirely different ball game.
Today’s modern job market can be a beast at times. Depending upon what kind of job a person has, it can even be a distraction and/or hindrance to your own business. As an author with a day job, I’ve found this to be very true. There are just too many jobs in Atlanta that I feel are straight slave labor jobs. There are far too many slave plantations here, which is why I am looking desperately for my writing career to really take off. I want my career as a writer to take me to a different place in my life. Because what I’ve learned all these years is you won’t really get too far in life working for someone else and not having other income options.