OK, so it was my second job, not my main gig, but I finally quit.
Dance, Snoopy! Dance! Fling Woodstock like you just don't care!
I started working for this company that has a real mixed bag of a reputation in the education world about five years ago. I shouldn't tell you, but it rhymes with Tearson. I applied for the job as one of my New Year's resolutions to explore other employment opportunities. One of those "10 Things You Can Do to Earn More Money" articles suggested becoming an online writing tutor. I figured it might give me some good additional money as well as a possible job to transition into once my student loans were paid off. I applied and got it.
Smug Goat has got this.
It did give me some nice additional money that allowed me to do things like go on belly dance trips for workshops, buy belly dance gear, pay down my credit card, & get through the holidays without panicking. The cushion was particularly helpful last year when my husband had to take time off to care for his mom. It wasn't a ton of money and I never got a raise in those five years, but sometimes money is not enough reason to stick with a gig.
No Goat! Don't look back.
During my time as a writing tutor, I got familiar with some of the challenges of global education. I reviewed all kinds of essays from dissertations to literary analysis to simple paragraphs. The doctoral candidate papers were some of the hardest. The content could be so completely cerebral that I simply struggled to follow the thread. The company insists on a 30 minute review time, which presents a whole new level of what-the-fuck when trying to offer useful feedback on a dissertation. It's kind of like applying Dominos' delivery guarantee to a six course gourmet French meal. Possible, but maybe not the greatest idea. I also had to be aware that some of my clients might be from Australia or England and not spell words the way we Americans do. Not only that, but I also reviewed a lot of papers for non-native English speakers. Again, breaking down the basics and the nuance of grammar for English language learners was more than a wee bit challenging when there's a time clock ticking away.
That's more my style, Cogsworth.
Despite the challenges, I did learn an awful lot in this job. I learned a lot more about MLA and APA styles. Having never worked with APA, I got familiar with the rudimentary bits of formatting for documentation and citation purposes. A lot of nursing student papers require APA. Countless nursing papers over the five years. Woof! I learned to look past the blatant and numerous and holy crap could you please just use a period instead of a comma just once?!? Ahem. I developed a better method of teaching writing and my feedback on essays is way more helpful than it used to be. I can break down the how's and the why's of thesis, introductions, and conclusions. I can provide ideas and suggestions to expand the development of a thesis. I'm a better writing teacher because of the five years as an online tutor.
I've got a cool 'do, too.
An important detail I won't miss? The friggin' 30 minute deadline or the emails telling me to watch my average review time for the month. I was usually between 30-35 minutes, but there were times when my average crept up to 43 minutes and I got a reminder email. Those longer ones usually happened after a break when I was trying to get back in the swing of things. Using templates and stock examples became an unavoidable must when it came to staying on top of my times, but then I also had to make sure that each review was personalized in some way. Consequently, as a tutor you have to find some way beat the clock, get all the right content in the right order, and make it not sound canned. It's exhausting for $11 bucks an hour with no pay raise despite your above average performance reviews. Seriously--I've been getting 4.5-4.8 out of 5 for the last year and a half and nothing. Nada. No monetary offering to acknowledge my hard work at successfully meeting and then exceeding expectation. That part makes leaving a little bit easier. Not showing gratitude to your worker bees is just bad management.
Shame on you, Tearson.
I'm also feeling more positive about my main gig this year, so a lot of my focus goes there. Since I'm no longer eagerly anticipating leaving my job, it's easier to let this side one go. Honestly, my regular gig is so demanding of my mental and emotional faculties that if I had not requested this semester as a sub only status tutor to recover from surgery, I'd be so drained that I might as well audition for The Walking Dead.
Honestly, I don't think it's just post-surgery fatigue any longer. I'm just exhausted. All. The. Time.
I guess at this point, my weekends are more valuable to me. I want to spend time doing or exploring or just vegging without feeling obligated to get my hours in for the week. When I come home after a day at work, I'm too groggy and foggy to click in to read even more essays. On the weekend, I like not having to set my alarm so I get my hours in and still have time to spend how I want to. I don't want to work seven days a week anymore. I can't.
Who am I kidding? I still have an alarm on the weekend.
Besides, I have other plans to earn some extra cash that don't involve timers. I want to explore more of the freelance writing end of things. I don't want to be locked into a schedule during my vacations. I want to look into opportunities to volunteer around my town. I want to sit on my ass and play Diablo III with my cats vying for my lap. Sometimes working more is not necessary. Being still has value, too. Just ask those crazy Scandinavians who want to decrease hours for a full time work week or the Spanish who take a siesta in the middle of the day. Americans sometimes just need to stop working so damn much and chillax.
No one is telling this Goat how to spend the weekend.
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