Choices
I may be faced with a very difficult choice in the near future. That is to either stay in my current position or move to another city with a promotion. This is something that I brought on myself, as I was the one who initially sought the promotion. Now I face the potential reality of my choices. This is after I have studied whether or not the pay and benefits will be acceptable to my situation.
On the surface, there's little to worry about. After all, most anyone would jump at the chance to improve their situation. As a stagehand, it makes me concerned to jump into a new market. Three years ago, I made the move to a new city and state, and that was a huge undertaking on my part. I had spent the previous decade and a half building relationships in the community and had little to worry about when one employer didn't have work for me. I'm not saying that it was always easy, but one summer when I had been laid off, I was able to make a few phone calls stating that I had availability and was soon back to work. But, when I moved to a new city, I no longer had those contacts. In fact, over the past three years, I have not really made any new ones outside of my current workplace. Not that I worry about the show, but as with some of my co-workers who worked for some famous magicians, you never know what may happen tomorrow.
So, there's an opportunity to move somewhere where the cost of living is greater, and the community is saturated with quality crews. What happens when the unfortunate happens? That's a lot on me. Every stagehand should prepare for the possibility that their current job may not be there. After all, we work in a field that is highly dependent on outside forces, look at the recent economic downturn as a big example. If you are known as a talented and well disciplined worker, you will be better off than those who are not, but you also need to make sure that you are known and your skills are desired.
Then again, I may not have to face the choice and I can breathe easier for the time being. After all, I have one of the best jobs out there and I love it. Change isn't what I desire, but improving myself is always my goal. So, we'll see what the future holds. Such is life.
On the surface, there's little to worry about. After all, most anyone would jump at the chance to improve their situation. As a stagehand, it makes me concerned to jump into a new market. Three years ago, I made the move to a new city and state, and that was a huge undertaking on my part. I had spent the previous decade and a half building relationships in the community and had little to worry about when one employer didn't have work for me. I'm not saying that it was always easy, but one summer when I had been laid off, I was able to make a few phone calls stating that I had availability and was soon back to work. But, when I moved to a new city, I no longer had those contacts. In fact, over the past three years, I have not really made any new ones outside of my current workplace. Not that I worry about the show, but as with some of my co-workers who worked for some famous magicians, you never know what may happen tomorrow.
So, there's an opportunity to move somewhere where the cost of living is greater, and the community is saturated with quality crews. What happens when the unfortunate happens? That's a lot on me. Every stagehand should prepare for the possibility that their current job may not be there. After all, we work in a field that is highly dependent on outside forces, look at the recent economic downturn as a big example. If you are known as a talented and well disciplined worker, you will be better off than those who are not, but you also need to make sure that you are known and your skills are desired.
Then again, I may not have to face the choice and I can breathe easier for the time being. After all, I have one of the best jobs out there and I love it. Change isn't what I desire, but improving myself is always my goal. So, we'll see what the future holds. Such is life.
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