I seriously love books. When I first met hubby, I joked to him that I had a book infestation in my apartment and when I turned on the light books would go scampering under the bed or in the closet like cockroaches. To try to avoid books taking over every surface and stacks climbing the walls, I give away lots of books to people I know. I donate them to small and poor libraries from where I come from. I especially like to help people discover books that they love that they didn’t even know existed. I’m not sure if I have any skill for it, but I try. My oldest friend and her husband tell me that they really love the books I give them. “Towing Jehovah” went over especially well.
I have an education in Finance. I like math, which is a big reason why I thought I’d like Finance. But, Finance is really a bunch of superficial and political jockeying that I really hate. If I had any idea of the political world I was preparing myself for, I wouldn’t have touched Finance with a 20 foot pole. I would’ve just been a math major or become a social worker instead… something I could really enjoy and believe in. I quit my job in big corporate/huge multinational finance in February. I don’t miss it. It paid well, but it wasn’t worth it. It was soul crushing.
I am lucky to have a husband that doesn’t need me to work. I’ve been healing the wounds of burn-out all summer and I may be starting to discover some jobs that might actually let me be me, rather than pressuring me into some person that I’m not and that I don’t even like. I wonder if I’d be happy in a bookstore… The pay won’t be what it was in big corporate finance, but do I care? I’m not sure yet. It is a huge reduction in pay to start with, but it could lead somewhere better like my own store or managing a store or something. Goodness knows I am passionate about books. I like to be around books that I don’t even want to read, but mostly I like to read books. I have no idea where this book-love of mine comes from, but it has strong and I can’t remember not being like this. As a very young child, I would take stacks of my Golden Books outside to read and I would get lost for hours. One of my favorite splurges has always been to go to a bookstore and buy a dozen books at a time. It is just so exciting to me…
So, I applied at Borders. I have an interview on Friday. But, part of me is not sure if I even want to go through with this. I fear getting burned out again. I wonder if being around something I love will continue to feel more important to me than making a lot of money. I remember workplace politics and don’t miss them… and I fear getting back into that ring again.
On the other hand, the job would be part-time, which would limit my exposure. If I don’t like this path, I can always get back on the finance path or something related. My skills in finance are still considered very
“hot” and I don’t doubt that once there are job openings again that I could get a job in finance. Apparently expertise in SAP, such as mine, is rare and desireable. SAP is a big, complicated software used by 80% of the Fortune 100 (I believe… I may have this stat slightly wrong). It’s nice to know I have other things to fall back on.
Then… there’s ya know… my ego. Will it cause me a lot of pain about the pay-cut and not working in a white-collar environment? I hope not. When I notice superficial thoughts like that, I like to challenge them. Maybe this is just the sort of challenge that I need to put my ego further in check… who knows. Well, not that I NEED a white-collar environment. I would give up white-collar jobs all together to get a good non-profit job. I seriously love non-profits more than anything else. But… Borders is no non-profit. Maybe this job could just be something to do until something I like even more comes up? Maybe I will fall in love with it and climb the ladder of the bookstore and end up making some decent money in time?
I think that I think too much. Maybe the best course is to just take one moment at a time, listen to myself, make the best decisions I can and then go from there… Deep breaths…
Yes, I definitely do let overthinking get the best of me – especially when it comes to work. Now that is something to chew on…
–AngryGrayRainbows
Angry Gray Rainbows 
Books!!! YESSS!!!
I have always loved reading and just recently discovered the joy of books since I’ve had to go to the Library for internet (laptop got fixed for only 20 dollars, Thank Goodness!). I would srsly LOVE suggestions for books.
I suspect your love for books comes from the same reason as mine (even though I’m not as intense about it) is b/c it’s a form of escape from reality. I know that’s why I liked to read so much when I was younger before boys, drugs and internet. Yeah, sounds trashy, I know. ;(
Lol!!
Also, thinking too much, that is my problem, too. I loved reading this post, it was very refreshing and I am very happy for you even though I don’t know you personally and am usually jealous of ppl who seem to have better lives than me. But I srsly wish you the best and my thoughts are with you.
Also, I am serious about book suggestions b/c ever since I DID get back online, I still am reading some books I checked out.
Peace.
I worked in book stores for ten years. Even the year and a half spent in the corporate hell of Waldenbooks was better than most other jobs I’ve had (until I realized my dream of being an actual paid writer myself). You’re right that there will be corporate shenanigans and bureaucratic nonsense at Borders. Still, there are all those books. And every once in a while there’s the joy of knowing you got precisely the right book to precisely the right person. For ten years, whether I was working in a massive corporation of a bookstore, a small chain, or (happiest of all!) a second hand bookstore, those were the moments I lived for.
Ten years of introducing people to Anthony Trollope, Robertson Davies, Jane Austen and Margaret Atwood; ten years of helping people find the cookbook that would explain the mysteries of Thanksgiving dinner; ten years of offering advice on the best book to give an avid little lover of teddy bears; ten years of sharing the wonder between the covers of books. Those were ten wonderful years.
The pay in monetary terms was not much, but the rewards were rich, indeed. To this day I remember the looks on the faces of those who found exactly what they needed most, and I’m rewarded again. There’s nothing in the world quite like it.
As a lifelong biblioholic with no intention of EVER attempting to recover, I can tell you that some of us just belong in book stores, whether we’re getting paid for it or not.
I see this as a good path for you. Just don’t spend your whole paycheck on books. That’s what Whole Foods is for (snerk).
You should also consider library sciences. I have heard the MLS degree is in demand. You would be a great reference librarian.
I don’t get the part about missing white-collar workers. It doesn’t sound like you will miss them. You will probably have fellow employees who are book lovers which will be fun.
Good luck on your interview.
Books are so deeply wonderful. ❤
Have you ever checked out Book Crossing? It is a most whimsical, magical way to share books. You put a sticker on them and "set them free" for people to find to read, it's such wonderful fun!
Their website is bookcrossing.com if you want to look into it! Finding a Book Crossing book was the highlight of my day once years ago and I highly recommend the whole concept! 😀
Good luck on your interview! Hope you enjoy the job richly if you get it (and I bet either way you'll enjoy the employee discount, heehee!).
So who knows…it might be a great fit or it might not. The only way to find out is to try. I honestly believe that anything you would choose to go for, you could do. However, being able to do it and enjoying doing it is two different things.
Two or three years ago, I would think that you might go for something for the money or the “status” but I don’t see you doing that anymore. I think you’re a lot more intuitive about what you want now. You are blessed to have the options you have before you or even the option to remain at home a while longer.
On a personal note: I could SO see you as a bookstore clerk. You like to share your knowledge and I can definitely see you sharing with someone else what you gleaned out of a particular book. There’s a passion about the way you communicate and I don’t think that being just any old sales clerk would work for you. (that was meant as a compliment) I also see you working in a library. Oh yes, I definitely see that.
I say GO FOR IT!!!
Okay- I work for a large corporate bookstore chain that starts with the letter B. I have done so for the last seven, nearly eight years. I do like my job, but working in a bookstore is not the dream job that many people make it out to be. Also, the pay sucks. I bring home approximately 1/10th of what my husband brings home with his corporate job. I am part time, no benefits, with a flexible schedule, which means that I am flexible for them, not that they are flexible for me. Be prepared to work nights and weekends. Be prepared to work a different schedule every week so you can’t plan anything in advance.
Anymore, working at a bookstore, especially a large corporate chain, is _not_ about loving books. Really. It’s a retail sales job primarily. It’s about selling stuff, which in this case, happens to be books.
I think a lot of people have unrealistic ideas about what it’s like working in a bookstore. Maybe they picture themselves flitting about, shelving a few books, chatting about books with the clever interesting people that come into the store. I dunno, maybe it’s like that in one of the few independent stores left, but its not like that in the chains.
Here’s what working in a chain bookstore is. You run around, trying to greet every person that walks in the door within less than a minute. Pester them to let you help them find their item so that you can then press on them whatever book the corporate overlords have decided is the important book this week as an upsell. Because working in a bookstore is a sales job, just like any other retail job.
Or, if you’re on the shelving team, like I am, you’re expected to shelve a whole library cart of books in about an hour, while keeping up the alphabetization of the section you’re in, plus keeping it up to corporate merchandising standards. While still greeting any customer that comes within twenty feet of you and helping them as if you work at the info desk. Because everyone who works at the bookstore is considered primarily a bookseller. Yup, it’s still a retail sales job.
Also, prepare to be on your feet for multiple hours a day, minimal breaks. Prepare to have to buy $100 pairs of shoes every six months because that’s how fast you wear them out and how much you have to spend on a pair of shoes, otherwise, your feet hurt like hell at the end of the day. Prepare for the toes of your shoes and the knees of your jeans to get white and shiny from the kneeling or for your thighs to get very strong from squatting (I’m a squatter myself, I got sick of the toes of my shoes being white).
Not everyone who comes into the bookstore is pleasant. Some of them just want to steal the books. Some are mothers who want a place where their children can run around and tear apart them children’s department while they read a magazine. Some are creepy guys who think that just because you’re nice to them and talk to them, that means you want to date them. Some of them have short tempers or entitled attitudes and yell at you for no good reason. If your store is in an urban environment, like mine is, you might have panhandlers that you have to throw out. That said, most of the people who come in are very nice and actually very into books, generally very nice to help and to talk with.
Not trying to be a negative nancy, I’m just trying to present some of the realities of bookstore life, especially life at a large chain. It’s not the cakewalk job that a lot of people think it is. It has very little to do with sipping coffee and reading books like some people imagine. It’s just that all the time I get people telling me that working in a bookstore is their “dream” job and I have to wonder if they really have a clear idea of what it’s really like.
On the positive side, I do love my job. I wouldn’t still be there eight years later if I didn’t. I love books, always have. It’s nice to have a job where I handle a lot of books (and oh, do I handle a lot of books, like hundreds and hundreds in a day). My store has a lot of people who have been their for years, a solid crew of about ten or twelve of us who’ve been there more than six or seven years. We’re generally good work friends and I enjoy seeing them every day. Most of us are way overqualified for our jobs- myself, I have a degree in library science. My one friend very nearly finished a PhD in marine biology. So the people I work with are more interesting than any group I’ve ever worked with. I like helping people find books. I enjoy telling them about books. There is a gratification like no other in putting just the right book into someone’s hands.
Still, all in all, this is in no way, shape or form, someone’s “dream job”.
“You should also consider library sciences. I have heard the MLS degree is in demand. You would be a great reference librarian.”
This! Totally! I’m getting my MLIS right now in fact and can recognize a fellow Reference Librarian in “pre”-training from what you’ve written. Since the pay would likely be the same (low); why not consider looking around at local public libraries to be a page and see how that fits? You have a far better chance of getting to actually help people find books to read and love than as a cashier might at the B store. I love my public library job!!
No matter what you do though, definitely take deep breaths and relax. Remember not to “choke” and reply to the “So why do you want to work here?” question with simply “I LOVE BOOKS!” and concentrate on the skills and knowledge you bring to the table and see where it goes…I believe everything happens for a reason so who knows where this might take you! Good luck on the interview! 😀
There isn’t anything I can say that already hasn’t been said here. Well, except….where are you finding jobs? The job market out here (even for us peons) is pretty slim pickin’s.
I live in Vancouver, WA – it’s near Portland, OR. And seriously – if you can’t stand for 8 hours on end, or haggle over the phone with someone about their unpaid bills (or home phone service, etc), then there are NO jobs out there. Telemarketer jobs are usually in demand, because no one wants to stay in them. Same for the retail positions, except for more corporate blather.
My husband makes over 40 a year as a regional truck driver. The company does need a driver or two, but are they hiring? Nope. Not in this economy. Why train someone when you might have to lay them off later? A waste of time, and money.
Even my neighbor (A VERY educated computer guy) is another victim of outsourcing. I thought the economy was the #1 issue right now – not the crappy socialized health care bill that they are trying to push through.
Oh, boy. I’m getting political. I think I should get some sleep now. 😀
When I read this, I thought that you might be interested in working in either the non-profit or government sectors. It’s likely that your skills would be highly appreciated in non-profit (especially since they can’t pay well) and I’ve found that in my state, state agencies can be pretty nice places to work. The people who are the watchdogs over the financial industry can also probably use your skills.
Some workplace cultures (such as in finance) can be best described as “mercenary” — and these can be in any sector, but it is possible to find work in the field you were trained in, that really uses both your math skills and people skills, that is fulfilling and with people you enjoy working with. The state employees around here — many of them have diverse and positive interests outside of work.
Of course, in Illinois, it might be very different.
And I haven’t ever worked for the federal gov’t.
But it’s worth consideration, I think.