Who’s Too Old?!
The writer’s strike has really put a damper on television as of late. Luckily for me, I have a ton of DVDs to keep me busy in between work projects and until my shows return.
One of my all-time favorite shows is Friends. As I watched season nine last week, I came across an interesting episode. Chandler had been unemployed for a while and finally needed to get moving on some sort of job. He had been unhappy in his previous career (for which most of his friends did not even know what his actual job was). Finally, he secured a job at a marketing firm… as an intern. **Cue dramatic music… Of course, Chandler goes through some funny bouts, especially when on his first day an intern offers to get him coffee and calls him “sir”. He replies to this saying that he’s an intern too and that there’s no need for the formalities. The intern looks at him, laughs at him, and accuses him of being too old for an internship.
Now why would you need to be a certain age to complete an internship? Isn’t the actual definition of an intern, someone who is starting out and learning at a company? Oftentimes, career switching is thought of as not the best of ideas because it is a major life change. In fact, many people decide not to switch their career because it’s too much of a hassle and they have already settled nicely within another career. But why not take the plunge? There are many resources to help you through this venture.
You’re never too old. In fact, my mom was just telling me about a segment she had recently seen on the Oprah show. One woman never did anything in her life and just muddled through a mediocre existence. One day (in her fifties) she decided to start writing and turned into an instant success. She now owns her very own publishing company! Now, while this type of success may not be available to everyone, it doesn’t hurt just to try. What do you have to lose?
I always say that if you don’t have experience, interning is certainly the way to go. And while that may not pay that much or at all, it will give you the knowledge you need to go forward. Make something of your new passion or old interests. And no, interning does not necessarily need to include fetching coffee. So get out there, laugh with them, and make a better life for yourself!
-Amanda Fornecker