Christina watched her adjunct spots, and tentative career plans, evaporate as the Great Recession exacted its toll on higher ed. 

Faced with fewer classes and less income, she opened her job search to larger cities where she’d have a better shot putting her MA in public address and background in graphic design to good use outside academia. And far outside academia she went.

Christina landed an entry-level marketing position at a motorcycle aftermarket accessories manufacturer. Self-described as “the least likely person to work for a motorcycle company,” she did make an earnest go of it. In time, the industry (unsurprisingly) didn’t stick. But marketing did. 

Since then, Christina has found her niche as a content marketer, a subset of marketing that educates and entertains people whether they buy the product or service in question. She’s now a marketing manager at an environmental services firm. 

And every work day she applies her knowledge of rhetoric, deciphering what the technical experts she works with offer—and what the people who need their help respond to. 

Books & other resources mentioned

Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

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