Those of you who have me on Facebook probably saw my ecstatic status yesterday:
Amber is over-the-top excited that she’ll be staying on at her internship part-time in the fall.
Yup, that’s right, I got offered a part-time job when I go back to school in the fall, which I am so freaking excited about because I absolutely love my internship. It’s everything I’d hoped it would be, it’s exciting and interesting, I learn a lot, it challenges me, it’s flexible, it’s all-around fabulous!
So, now that I know I will be there for awhile, I’m going to use this post to talk more about it and all the things I’ve been doing over the last two months. Some of my j-school buds have started up blogs talking about their internship and I’ve loved reading about them so I figured I’d elaborate about mine a bit too (are you fellow j-schoolers out there?).
It’s at an award-winning marketing and PR agency here in Kamloops, check out their website here. These ladies are fantastic, they do tons of work for businesses in and around Kamloops and they have won several national PR and business awards for their work. I feel really lucky to have such a great group of mentors!
Basically I do a little bit of everything. I’ve done tons of research, I’ve sat in on meetings with clients, I’ve wrote articles/copy, I’ve done some design and I’ve done website content management. It’s really, really fun stuff. I do something different every day, nothing is ever repetitive, and the days go by SO fast.
One thing that I’ve found really interesting looking at it from the consumer side is how much work goes into the branding of a product. You don’t think twice when you see or hear something like “McDonalds, I’m lovin’ it”. You don’t realize how many HOURS a team of marketing and PR people spent developing that brand. It takes tons of research and brainpower to think of something that will appeal to all different audiences and will still be short and catchy.
From a journalism perspective, I’ve learned how much work goes into the way some things are portrayed to the media. When I worked in a news room I felt like I had the “upper hand” whenever I got a press release because I knew about something before the public. What I never thought about is, sometimes, an entire team of marketing/PR people knew about this long before I did. And they spent hours doing research and figuring out a way to present it to the media that would show the best angle. Obviously, this doesn’t apply to breaking news, but think about that the next time you get a press release stating a politician is making some sort of announcement or appearance, or a new building is going up in your community!
Some things are similar to journalism; I get to write, and it’s more creative writing than journalistic writing (website copy etc.). I learn something new every. single. day. Something I hated about my previous jobs was the repetition of them, I like to be doing and learning new things all the time!
My favourite thing is the flexibility, which I think has a lot to do with my bosses. I can choose to work from home, I can choose to come in later and leave earlier. I pick my own hours and as long as I get the work done they don’t care what hours I work. I love that. One day I want a career that has that same kind of flexibility. I’m not a 9-5 type girl.
Of course my ultimate job would still be living on the beach, writing every day and making millions–but this is a close second. People can dream, right?!
What line of work are you in? Do you love it or hate it or are you somewhere in between? What’s your dream job?
{ 20 comments }
I’m a business support representative for an engineering group. Basically, I make copies, takes notes during meetings, and enter data into the computer. It’s not something I want to do forever, but the pay is good. It started out as a temporary position, but they’ve extended it through to at least October, so it’s nice having stability.
Dream job? I’d love to work from home … as a writer or a counselor.
i wish i loved my job. i have my days and moments with it — my dream job is to work as an art director for a magazine (preferably glamour, but from home base - DC! hahaha! even real simple would do!) i’m a graphic designer now, but now we’re taking on so much more, it’s almost angst on a day to day basis, we’re constantly working with tight deadlines. we’re trying to set up some form of protocol, but it’s tough when you’ve got a whole team of sales executives all over the States that are pretty much stuck in their own ways. ACK!
and yesterday — I made a remark that ever since we switched to salary, it kind of sucks because we don’t get any overtime pay, but lately, we’ve been gtting comp time, honest to goodness, i rather the extra money. and my boss made the remark that we get more than what we were making an hour, plus the overtime. PFt. I went and looked it up, my salary is in the bottom 25th percentile. don’t tell me i’m making plenty. *gah!* I’ve been in this design field for 7 years, and yeah i feel like i should be making much more than this.
sorry for the rant.
anyway if you made it this far, congrats on the position!
Wow it sounds like you’ve got a really great thing going on with that job! I’m glad you’re learning so much and doing something different each day!
It’s so exciting to actually love what you do! I miss those days! Congrats! I too am in the marketing industry and while my current job doesn’t allow me the creative freedom I once had I still love being a part of the process. Enjoy everyday of it and rub it in every chance you get!
So cool that you love your job. Currently I write Policy for schools and basically it’s a lot of reading, then copy and pasting. Sometimes we get to work on other projects but mostly its a lot of the same thing day in and day out.
Not sure what my dream job is really, I’d love to go back to tour planning or event planning - maybe for Sam Adams? I miss it.
wow sounds like an amazing opertunity/employment!
glad you’re enjoying the gig. every job has it’s ups and downs, it’s just a matter of time before you see a downside to it. i love this job, i only have to program, get total freedom, work from home…. but the social depravation gets to me and every time someone from the office calls or IM’s now i get paranoid.
watch out for the paradigm of creeping expectations. everyone expects your next project to be better than the last, and when it isn’t then you get slammed even if project #2 is still way better than the initial expectations. i’ve been catching that crap a lot lately. so it makes me currently despise my favorite job ever.
This is awesome, Amber! Like I said in my facebook comment, this will look so great on your resume and will really give you a leg up on your competition when you are job searching after you graduate. So congrats!!
I work in Finance for a large bank. This is definitely not my dream job, but there are some changes on the horizon for me. My dream job would be own a cute little bookstore… or to write a book. Something related to reading since that is such a passion of mine. sometimes I wish I would have gotten a degree in Library Science - then I could be a librarian, which would be an awesome job.
Your job sounds fabulous!!! Life is super great when you love where you work…since your spending most of your day there. Congrats!!
My job right now isn’t my dream job but it sure pays the bills and we’re quite fortunate at my company……we’re treated awesome here, the people are great, bosses are great….you definitely hear horror stories about companies within our industry. So I feel very lucky where I am. Steve’s work stresses me out and I don’t even work there!! LOL Not my dream job but I still like where I work
I could not be happier for you!!! I knew the move to Kamloops would be great, and to land this fabulous internship is even better!!!! You worked super hard on even finding an internship & it has paid off!! You should definitly be proud!
Want to Celebrate this weekend? hehe
My Job is So lame & I cannot wait to quit! HAHA
I dont know what my dream job is. Probably something along the lines of relaxing/socializing & making a HUGE paycheque….any ideas on what exactly that may be?
xoxo
J
Um yes, I’d like the close second (living and writing at the beach making millions). Where do I sign up?! Holla…jschool grad!
Congrats!
As you might know, I’ve been doing bookkeeping at the brewery that brews my favorite beer. Actually, today is my one-monthiversary! I love my job, I love the work, I love the people…and I love that as I increase my level of education and get my CGA there is room for me to grow here.
The job perks aren’t bad, either
Congratulations!!! Have you ever read Blink by Malcolm Gladwell? If not, you should totally check out the chapter on advertising. It’s the most interesting thing I’ve ever read! You’d love it!
congrats! i love the feeling of loving what you do and feeling like you are making a difference in a company!
I’m a marketing consultant for a company that makes hearing aids. I know, sounds boring, but I actually really like it! I work with the small business owners who sell the product and help them sell more through advertising and marketing, which is what I went to school for. I don’t think I’ll do it forever, but it’s a good stepping stone and I like it for now!
Wow! Your job is amazing!!! I am envious of the flexibility you are allowed.
I am in IT so I sit and stare at a computer all day. :s I wish I were traveling instead. My dream job would be something that involves food, health, travels, internet research (more blogs to read!), or own a cute pastry and book shop. Or I could grow all organic fruits and veggies and serve them at my own cafe or something. Oh, I love to daydream! 
Congrats on getting to stay on with your internship! And I’m with you on making millions at the beach. Where can I sign up for that job?
Congrats on the job. I always love to hear about people enjoying their job!
Right now I’m in school (almost grad school) to be a speech-language pathologist. While I’m not insanely obsessed with the prospect of the job, I think it will be a good fit (I’m hoping it will be a good fit). Honestly, I would love to just live in a little cottage somewhere, but that doesn’t seem likely without an income…
Awww, I love this! I absolutely cannot stand it when people complain about their job — we have to be there 40+ hours a week, shouldn’t you love it? I love that you love your internship, it sounds so fabulous and you seem so happy!
I’m managing a children’s clothing store that is one of the busiest locations out of the 900 stores in the chain. I’m working with kids and managing young people (many of whom this is their first job), teaching them how to have a job practically! There’s so much that goes into it that nobody even realizes and it’s never the same everyday!
I too love my job! I NEVER, EVER thought while growing up that I would end up working in the mall AFTER receiving a college degree, but here I am!
I’m so glad you love your job. It is the one thing we can hopefully pick out for ourselves. I was lucky enough to find a small company with amazing people that have gotten me into a role that I adore. At 25, my input on corner stone decisions is asked for and valued. It somewhat blows my mind. I wish that experience for everyone. The saying “love what you do and you will never work another day in your life” is completely true. It is more that you won’t mind what you are doing because you feel a sense of accomplishment and it’s fun. So hold on tight and learn as much as you can!
It’s so great that you love what you do!! I have to admit that I’m not quite sure I’m there yet, but it’s SO important so I do hope it happens…I don’t think I have one obvious thing at which I’m good at so it’s harder for me, I have to dig and find it.
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