Ok, I am in a pretty pissed off mood. So everyone beware. My rant today children is going to be about working, getting jobs, and the double standard.
Alright lets talk about getting a job. Which ties into the double standard. As you all know, I want to be a photographer. I worked my butt of at school, competed all the way to States in a photography competition. Did all I could do. And now I am trying to get a job at a studio so that I can co-op during school and gain more experience.
I managed to get an interview with a studio in the town next to me. They wanted me to do computer work. I was fine with that. Seeing as I had done some work on the computer with pictures and they used the same program I am familiar with.
However, they needed me to be able to tell the differences between good color and bad color, so that I could fix it. I had already told them that I had really only worked with black and white pictures. But they still gave me a package of color photos, and had me put the pictures into two separete piles. Good color and bad color.
I failed shamelessly. And knew that I had screwed it up bad. If I had known they were going to do that, I would have went back and talked to my photography teacher first. Now I can be prepared.
Another problem occured when I told them I wanted to co-op. They have never done co-op and asked me some questions I could not answer until I went to my school registration and talked to the teacher who runs co-op. So I did.
I called the place back, and he said he wasn't sure if they wanted to hire a trainee which would be me, or someone with experience. So that pretty much told me that I didn't have the job.
In a way I was sorta relieved. Because I would rather work in a darkroom. But it still upset me that they were not willing to train someone. How the heck do they expect photographers to stop being a rarity, if nobody is willing to train them?
This same situation has happened to me before. I tried getting a job as a waitress, but became a dishwasher. Why, because I had no prior waitressing experience. Now how the hell can I be a waitress without experience? Simple I can't. And since nobody was willing to train me and give me a chance I was forced to become a dishwasher. I got "fired" a few days later. Why? Because the owner needed someone who could work weekends. I need that weekend off. It was homecoming weekend, I was marching in the band during the football game, and the day I went in for an interview I told him I needed Sat. off for the dance.
Ohh well his loss not mine. Anyway. I told a friend of mine what the photo studio did to me. He thinks it is unfair, and that you have to be young and pretty instead of old and ugly to get a decent job now a days. I couldn't agree with him more.
This is where the double standard comes in. A man can be old, fat and have no teeth and get a job as a photography. (Sounds like I am describing the guy who works at the place that turned me down hehe.) But a women, (and trust me all the girls there looked just like this) has to be young, no older than 30, pretty, with a waist line that makes Britany Spears jealous! They ALSO have to be better than the guys! The women have to work 110% better, faster and more efficent than the men!
And ladies its like this EVERYWHERE! Not just in the photography business. And it sucks! Now no offense, but I walk into a 7-11 and see and old man, and a really ugly lady working. Why because that is the only job a women can get! They can't get good paying jobs without looking good. Sure I have seen some pretty scary women doctors, but thats a whole different story.
So anyway, right now I wash dishes at a different place. Its a lot better than the first place I mentioned. The people are great, which makes the work a lot better. Dishwashing is a crappy job. Ok? Anybody who has every washed the dishes of 1,000 people in one night, knows what I mean. But my manager is totally awesome, his name is Tic. The cooks are cool too. The other dishwashers crack me up. Its really a cool place, until the owner shows up! He is a jerk!
Well thats it for now. Right now I have a 2 year old on my lap says "I want to see this..." and taking off all my bracelets. (I have like 30 of them!) So I better go. Later.
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