Land of Opportunities: America

K S Sivakumaran

If one wants to enjoy a productive lifestyle in the land of opportunities that is America ,then one has to have the minimum requirements to enter the country. The obvious ones are that one should have a valid passport and visa. But if you want to work legally then you must have a resident status and a social security.

And if you are prepared to begin from a humble position you can quickly rise up to a respectable higher position in employment. You must have specific skills to find a job to your liking.

Having hopes I entered the U.S. via the southern state California in 2002 as a sponsored PR (permanent resident) status. Thanks to my eldest son Ram, I began one of my happiest days in Cincinnati in Ohio State. With my social security assured I began to search for suitable jobs. My daughter in law Michele helped me find a temporary job in the first instance. The position was a data entry clerk recommended by the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons). Fortunately for me I was deemed a retired person from the U.S. Embassy in Colombo for having worked for them as the Information Assistant in mid 1980s.

My first job was a temporary one working five days a week for four hours each day.This was in the Recorder’s Office in Cincinnati. What I had to do was to enter in the computer the Deed numbers registered at the office. This was a simple job but one should be at ease on working using the Word Processor. I was paid the minimum salary of $ 5 per hour. All this was possible because my daughter in law Michele introduced me to the Director of the AARP ( American Association of Retired Persons) who in turn found me an option to work in the Recorder’s Office.

But I sought a permanent job with a higher payment. I applied for a position with the largest store in Cincinnati, Lazarus,.I didn’t have any response for quite some time. Then I thought of ringing the Human Resources and find out what had happened to my application. The lady at the other end then asked for my name. She couldn’t pronounce my name. I asked her name and it sounded Polish. An idea struck me. I asked her whether she has seen films of Roman Polanski. That did the trick. She immediately put me on to the sales department chief. I spoke to him in an intelligible English. He asked me to call over for an interview. He didn’t ask me any questions except to explain the hours of work etc. I agreed. It was set. A permanent job.

Five days a week, and an eight hour shift with $ 8 per hour.

That was great for an unemployed person I was.

So if you have the right qualifications, skills and drive, sure you can be a winner.