What The Hell Do I Do Now?

Three weeks before Christmas I got the news that everyone working in the tech and/or editorial industry fears: I was out of a job.

It didn't seem to matter that I'd been working there for almost a decade, never said "no" to a task, never created any issues with the quality or quantity of my work. It didn't matter that I was the "go to guy" for new editorial projects, since my manager knew that I would just roll up my sleeves and figure out whatever needed figuring out.

No, none of that mattered. To some CEO I'd never met, in an office a few thousand miles away, I was just a name on a payroll spreadsheet.

"Too experienced, too expensive," I can imagine him saying to himself, as he crossed my name off a list without a care. Some of my oldest friends found themselves in the same boat that day too, all because some financial executive over-forecast quarterly revenue and a share price didn't meet expectations.

So what the hell do I do now?

I haven't had to job hunt since... well, forever. And before anyone reading this rolls their eyes about that, I am acutely aware of the insane privilege I've had. When I finished University, I started working in a manufacturing plant that my Dad was a minority owner of. So yeah, the cliché "work with Daddy" stereotype fits. Except it was 60 hour weeks, working the midnight shift, in a plastics plant that was stifling hot, extremely dangerous, and filthy. It was far from a cushy corner office nepotism-baby type of roll.

After that, one of my best friends from high school recruited me to switch careers. He was in online publishing and they wanted to start a sports site. He knew that I was a strong writer, a self-professed computer nerd, and a rapid sports fan. It was the perfect fit for everyone.

I said goodbye to my career as a thermoplastic extrusion operator and started fresh as a paid writer. Over the years, the company would evolve. I tackled sports news, longer opinion and magazine-style pieces, and even quizzes and videos. Later, we started another new website, this one focused on all things pop culture. I was writing about video games, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Game of Thrones, and everything else. It was some of the most fun and rewarding work I'd ever done.

That company was eventually bought by another company. I remained an important asset for every editorial need. I jumped from writing about automotive to finance to parenting to technology, and everything in between. I planned and managed a huge editorial calendar and kept a dozen freelancers busy with various assignments across multiple verticals. Basically, I did whatever was needed, because my bosses knew I could do it.

And now, after all that, I find myself without work for, really, the first time in my life. It sucks. I have a mortgage to pay and a family to feed, and the financial insecurity looms large. I'm sure everyone else likely knows this stress, in some form or another.

Dust off my resume? Please, my resume is so old it might as well have been written on parchment paper with a feather quill. I had to start that bad boy from scratch. In fact, it feels like I'm starting from scratch in a lot of aspects right now.

But that's okay. Honest.

I'll wade through the masses and find whatever comes next. That's partly why I'm creating this blog. Maybe it's time to spend more time writing for myself and less time writing another dumb article about "Best Credit Cards for People With Bad Credit."

(Spoiler alert: if your credit is really that bad, don't get a credit card at all. You're welcome, I just saved you ten minutes of reading time.)

Despite having that all-too-common Millennial infliction of Imposter Syndrome, where we never quite feel like we're as good at things as we probably are, I do know this: I can write. I can write about almost anything, especially when given the time to properly research and edit my work. And based on some of the content I see published around the internet, a lot of sites and editors could use someone like me.

So what the hell do I do now?

I push on. I keep writing.

Maybe I'll find a full-time gig somewhere. Maybe I won't. Maybe I'll just freelance my way through life, writing about VPNs one week and why Canadians should be concerned about abortion rights the next. It certainly would make life more interesting.

So welcome to my blog, I guess. I'll be posting here whenever the mood strikes me, about whatever topic moves me. Come along for the adventure.