The word(s): don’t rain on my parade

Even though I’ve got a few years before graduation, I sometimes like to poke around job search engines.

Why so early? Whether I’m watching the news or standing in line at Wegman’s, I hear phrases like “in this economy” or “with the job market so bad,” or my favorite, “the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.”

It’s like a bucket of cold water for a young person eager to enter the workforce, to leave her mark on the world.

To prepare and stay positive, I conduct little practice searches.

The other day I went to Monster.com and looked up “copy editor.” Despite the specificity of my search, dozens of results popped up with links to applications for jobs all across the country. A media group in Harrisburg, Pa.; an IT corporation in San Francisco; a nonprofit in Colorado Springs, Co.; a legal firm in some place called Dulles, Va. – they’re all looking for qualified candidates who want to make a living doing what I enjoy doing right here at Edge!

That’s not to say job hunting is easy. I’ve learned from watching family members that it’s often arduous, frustrating, time-consuming and sort of a job in itself.

The better jobs require at least several years’ experience, and I won’t start out with my dream job. Before I become Sandra Bullock in “The Proposal,” I’ll have to be Anne Hathaway in “The Devil Wears Prada.” I’ll have to do a lot of grunt work before I’m running any publishing firms. That’s good, though. That’s how it’s supposed to be. No one starts out at the top.

In the meantime, I feel better knowing that opportunities do still exist, and I can’t wait to go after them.