Llewellyn's 2012 Witches' Companion by Llewellyn (chrome ebook reader TXT) 📗

Lack of education, lack of training, and lack of experience are the three biggest barriers that stand between you and your next job. Yes, we can all flip burgers or push carts down at the local big box store, but is that what you really want to do with your life? Is minimum wage going to pay for the clothes on your children’s backs, or the food on the table? Do you really want to stand in a line and wait for handouts?

We may be at a starting point to recovery, but this isn’t the end. I am going to outline how to get the three things you need to put yourself back into a good-paying job that you may actually enjoy: education, training, and experience.

Lack of education, lack of training, and lack of experience are the three biggest barriers that stand between you and your new job.

In Magick in Theory and Practice by Aleister Crowley, magick is defined as “the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with will.” This is one of the most profound and yet simplest explanations of magick ever. And it establishes very clearly that we all can do magick if we put our Will into it. As they say, where there’s a Will, there’s a way.

Education

First, how far did you go in school? Did you graduate high school? If not, now is the time to go back and get your GED. It really is not all that hard. There are tutors within the schools and libraries, online, and I bet within your own Pagan community if you ask around. You really need that GED. Most good-paying jobs are just not accessible to you without a diploma. If you are unemployed and drawing an unemployment check right now, go to your local Job and Family Services office and see which schools are offering free GED programs. Also look online. Besides free GED classes in most cities, there are also free practice tests online. Use the magick of the Internet and of the Social Services Department. You can get more lasting help than food stamps and job listings from them if you ask the right questions.

If you have graduated high school, the next step is a college program. Do you know what the Federal Pell Grant is? It is a gift for low-income undergraduates that doesn’t have to be repaid. You score big if you are the main provider for a family situation. Federal Pell Grants are big magick if you apply for them.

What? You don’t have time to go back to college? Well, yes, actually you do. Besides classes in the college proper, most major colleges (and even some not so major ones) offer online or distance learning classes you can take from the comfort of your home computer. Teenagers off to school? Go sign in and take a class. Kids off to bed? Go sign in and take a class. Need to take some of your courses in the actual classroom? Schedule a day or evening course, one every semester or quarter. You can also look for lunch hour tutors if you find yourself needing some face-to-face guidance. Some college students are actually paid to be tutors to nontraditional (older) students, so you will always find someone on your level who will address your educational needs. Or you can search the local bulletin boards for low-cost paid tutors.

The first steps of magick are happening. If you work it just right, the education at this stage of your life will be paid by grants. If you’ve done military service, now is the best time to cash in on your GI benefits. You should also apply for scholarships. There are scholarships for nontraditional students and for personal needs. There are many kinds of supplementary income opportunities available to the unemployed. You will have to work to find them, though—you’ll need to pick the brains of the counselors and social services agencies and discover every opportunity you can. This is the process of magick, the process of change.

Training

So you’re back in school, or maybe you are coming up on your last year in school and you encounter the next issue: lack of hands-on training. You know the theories and facts of your chosen professional, but you don’t know how to actually do it.

Many schools offer programs that partner with local businesses in internship programs, some of which pay a salary (but many do not). Check with your school to see what’s available. Whether you think you can do it or not, all they can say is “No.” However, persistence pays, and you will eventually find a “Yes.”

The next step is to look for a job that may pay you minimum wage to work in your chosen field. Finish school and work part-time in the field you are aspiring to build a career out of. This is a great strategy and I highly recommend it. A part-time job at the entry level will often allow you to do a little bit of everything, giving you some of the best training you can get . . . and a modest income while you’re at it. (Editor’s note: This editor started in publishing by answering the phone and filing paperwork.)

No one starts out on the top. You have to work up to it, no matter how talented you think you are. This is the “process” of magic, bringing about the change. You are slowly changing yourself. You are improving your chances of landing a good-paying job by working the rituals of education and job skills.

Experience

Entry-level positions with on-the-job training are a “two-fer” bonus. Besides getting the hands-on training that you will need to be good at your job, you also gain job experience. Ask any graduate who has a degree what message they are getting at job interviews, and they will tell you that prospective employers have the pick of the best of the best, and they