Excuses... I mean Reasons why it's so hard

Over the past months I've been working at a TV station here in Houston. It's an good job at a good company, but it's only a weekend thing.

A friend of mine wondered recently why I'm having a bit of a hard time finding a full-time weekday job here in the US. There are actually several reasons. Here they are below...


The recession

The US is experiencing a recession right now. People are getting laid off left and right so companies can cut losses. Of course if companies are firing, they won't be hiring.


US Radio is hurting

Why don't I go into Radio here? Well, it's hurting more than other industries here in the US. Listeners have so many more choices (mp3 players, satellite radio, illegal downloading/CD copying/file sharing, Satellite Radio, Internet Radio, Hi-Def Radio, YouTube, etc.). That's why...


I'm changing career paths

I'm using this move to the US as an opportunity to start fresh in a new field. I need to go somewhere that's more stable than Radio. Unfortunately, the drawback is that I need to find a company willing to take a chance on me. That's difficult given the economic situation here.


I'm from the Philippines

No, I'm not a victim of racial discrimination or anything like that. It's just that i don't have many local professional references. Most of the references i have are from the Philippines and may be difficult for companies to contact or confirm, due to time zone and distance obstacles.


It has been a big challenge looking for work. The process has tested me mentally and spiritually. I have had a few good leads though. None of them have panned out yet, but I have faith that I'll end up where I belong. I just have to keep looking for jobs as hard as I can.


(By the way, I do have one big job. Hopefully I'll find out by next week if they'll hire me. I'm done with the interview and they're currently doing a background check. I want this job so much that i don't want to jinx it by naming it here.)

DJs, money and automobiles

Most people think that announcers earn a lot of money. Well, they don't. It's not that radio Disk Jockeys are exploited or anything like that. The job actually pays pretty well, for a part-time gig. It's just that the monthly take-home amount isn't that much.

Since practically nobody gets rich in Radio, most announcers need to have jobs on the side. At Jam 88.3 we had Jocks different types of sideline work (voice talent, teacher, photographer, emcee, model, student, tv reporter, executive, etc.).

Most of the jocks in Manila are freelance voice talents and/or emcees, for obvious reasons. But because the work is freelance, the pay isn't steady. There are busy times when lots of projects come in, and slow times when income is scarce.

Due to this fact, believe it or not, many announcers there don't have their own cars. Banks just don't approve loans for people with unsteady income. Since the judicial system is slow to enforce laws, lenders need to be on the safe side.

Unfortunately, this situation is a common cause for embarrassment for DJs. Announcers need to maintain an image in front of fans of the station. But jocks often have to show up and leave events via public transportation. It's worse at high-class stations, where many listeners have their own cars.

I have been quite blessed. Sometime in the middle of my career as an announcer, I landed a few big voice over contracts all at the same time. This allowed me to buy my dad's car (at a discount, of course). I understood the situation of my workmates, so I tried to give rides as often as possible.

Last week I bought my first new car here in America. It's unbelievable how easy the process was. I couldn't help but think of how many things had to fall in to place in order for me to get my old car.

I know there are lots of my former comrades-in-arms going through what I went through before. WIth the worldwide economy not doing so well, it must be worse than ever. I pray that they will soon get as lucky as I once did.

What's up.

It's been a few weeks since I've written in this blog, so this will be just an update to what's going down with me. So what has been happening?

Well, my wife and I are currently looking at buying a car, so we've been check out our model and loan options. She's about to start at her new job here, so getting our own vehicle is now a financial posibility.

I'm still working weekends at a local TV station. Although it's an ok position that pays a decent wage, I've been looking for a regular weekday job.

A couple of weeks ago the Houston Chronicle, the largest newspaper here, interviewed me for their online advertising department. The the HR department emailed me last week saying that they liked me, but they're renovating their building and I'll have to wait for them to make room before they can give me an offer.

Thank God things are finally falling into place. The past couple of months have been a real test. Bless my sisters and my bro-in-law for helping us out.