Why I Started this Blog
I must confess that this blog serves more than on purpose for me. I created this blog because I love writing and would like to share my creations with the world.
The unfortunate truth is that I have also created this blog because I hoped it would bring in some money. South Africa is a bad place for new job seekers right now. In 2021 we had a youth unemployment rate of 63.3-66.5% with an overall unemployment rate of 28.77%. Meaning that only one in three new jobseekers will be able to find work. I am a qualified librarian but have not been able to find work for over a year now.
Naturally, companies prefer workers with experience. Because of the low employment rate virtually all companies in South Africa have a policy of only hiring those with a minimum of two years of work experience, making entry into the job impossible for those who have just graduated. I tried to volunteer to work for free at the library to get the needed work experience, but unfortunately, there were too many people doing so already.
I am very fortunate to have parents who are able to support me financially during this time, but this situation is not sustainable, especially seeing as my brother is also unemployed.
Because of this, I decided that I would have better chances looking for work online. I am currently doing a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language Degree) course with the hopes of finding work in English online. I am hoping that I will have an advantage here because I majored in English at university. I also majored in Afrikaans (a local South African language). I thought that I would find interest in learning Afrikaans overseas, but I might find some interest in local South Africans. But all this will have to wait until I finish my TEFL degree.
I have heard that blogging could be a good way to generate a small additional income. I thought that even if it would not allow me to support myself it would help lessen the burden I currently am on my parents until I finish my TEFL degree. I also tried other means of making money online. I also tried finding a job writing book reviewers, but have not been met with success yet. I am also thinking of starting a YouTube channel as soon as I teach myself how to edit videos.
I have always wanted to put my writing where people can see it. Creating a blog would therefore allow me to kill two birds with one stone. I have decided that I will continue blogging even if I find a steady job regardless of how little money it generates or how many people view it.
So far running a blog has been surprisingly good for my mental health. Being without a job for so long has left me feeling purposeless. By blogging, I know that I can make at least a small difference by providing entertainment to a small number of people.
Comments
Post a Comment