I've been going back and forth about staying in Seattle, or the US. For the past year, life has been so transient since graduation in June. I applied for 130 jobs, was offered a few second interviews in January, and got rejected by all of them in February. I made plans to travel or leave the country in March, while still applying for a few jobs that I meet almost all qualifications. Then I got interviews in April, and finally landed an ideal job in May.
Throughout the whole time, one thing I never stop doing is climbing and making/sustaining friends. Since job market has been giving me so much frustration and insecurity, I found climbing as the best activity for commitment, and friends that I share interests with are easier to stay in touch and give each other emotional support.
But I really, really never commit to anything but climbing. I moved around places, lived in different neighborhoods, changed several jobs, and was never ready to invest in stuff that I might not be able to take away if I were to move-like furnitures, outdoors gears, or relationships blahblahblah.
To work in the US as a foreigner is not easy. As currently I am on my student VISA, I can only work in my related field of study for a year. However, for those who study STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) we can apply for an extension to work for another 17 months in the US. As for now I have found an employer that offers me a full-time job with benefits, I can work till January 2015 as a science major graduate.
In April next year, the employer would have to apply for a work VISA for me, and that will give me a few more years to work in the US. I was lucky enough to be chosen out of 289 candidates for this job with SPF, an extremely forward-looking non-profit conservation organization based in Seattle. I was especially thankful because they have to go through an "e-verify" process with the immigration service to hire me. Obviously this is not a company like Microsoft and Amazon who have money and resources to hire foreigners.
The timing of this offer is great. I have worked for Environment Washington as a canvasser for two months, and was never sure how long I could stay working that job though I tried to stay positive. A week before I quit I cried after a frustrating day fundraising, I hated it when I tried to connect with people, and they just shrugged you off and told you they don't have money or time to protect forest.
I told the employer that I would love to have a job that put all my skills together-a job that involves creativity, interpersonal skills, working outdoors, and data management/project organization. Canvassing is more just interpersonal skill, while in grad school it was all about research/data. I used to intern for a conservation non-profit, while waitressing and doing a research assistant at the same time. Now I have it all in ONE job!!!
So yeah, commitment to Seattle. I never thought about it seriously before it happened. I remember when I first moved to Seattle from Taipei, a Korean girl sitting next to me on the airplane said "this will be your second home." I love Taiwan and have strong connections there, so I just smiled and said "ha, maybe". But who knows- about three years later I AM STAYING IN SEATTLE!
This is a big deal, eh? Getting your first real job in life in a place that you thought you'd never call home. After all, Seattle does have good things to offer besides the rain:
-Diversity: Seattle embraces diversity. It values multicultural communities to co-exist and live in harmony with each other. I enjoy the cultural life in Seattle where I can write for a bilingual newspaper, interview Asian restaurants, filmmakers, and actors, and attend concerts or film festivals that feature Asian themes. I can also make friends that value our cross-cultural friendship.
-Progressiveness: Seattle is very forward looking for sure. For a while I was joking about marrying someone so I can stay and go on adventures in the US. While relationships with boys can get complicated these days, I might as well marry a woman cuz it is LEGAL in Washington! But professionally, if you look at the numerous Seattle non-profits' websites, you can tell they are using facebook, twitter, multimedia extensively, and are constantly assessing if they are communicating information effectively. They also encourage a healthy lifestyle where employers, while interviewing, would ask you what do you do for fun.
-For the most part, I was just stunned by the fact that a local non-profit with only seven staff members would hire a non-US citizen to work with communities in Seattle on park projects. They are thrilled to offer me the position and are very willing to go through the complicated hiring procedures with immigration service. I don't know if this would happen outside of the conservation-focused and open-minded Northwest.
Here is a blurb of introduction written by my new employer, I am sooo excited to officially be part of the conservation community in Seattle!
"I’m delighted to share that we’ve just hired our new Foundation Coordinator, Kelly Huang. We are super excited to welcome her to the SPF team. Kelly will be filling the shoes of Greta and will begin her fulltime position on Monday. Kelly grew up in Taiwan where she received her BS in Geography. She moved to Seattle 3 years ago and received her MS in Environmental and Forest Sciences at the UW in 2012. She’s been extremely busy over the past three years working and interning for many organizations including Environment Washington, Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition and Forterra. She’s also been doing feature writing for Seattle Chinese Times. You can take a peek at one of her stories here: shark fin soup and shark conservation
We look forward to introducing you to Kelly at our upcoming meetings and events."
Many many thanks to all my friends in Seattle. I couldn't have done this without your support. And yeah I will finally be able to visit home later this year!!! Can't wait to see all my friends and family back home!!