--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After graduating, I'd moved to the…" description: "\"“After graduating, I'd moved to the Washington D.C. area to see what I could do with the skills I'd picked up from a creative writing degree. The chief..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/796/jeff-deck-33805_creative-writing_after-graduating-i-d-moved-to-the-washin_1758382.jpg" --- # After graduating, I'd moved to the Washington D.C. area to… ![“After graduating, I'd moved to the Washington D.C. area to see what I could do with the skills I'd picked up from a creative writing degree. The chief export of the nation's capital is, of course, paper work, so I reckoned I could land some kind of writing or editing position at one of the many…” quote by Jeff Deck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/796/jeff-deck-33805_creative-writing_after-graduating-i-d-moved-to-the-washin_1758382.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/796/jeff-deck-33805_creative-writing_after-graduating-i-d-moved-to-the-washin_1758382.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/796/jeff-deck-33805_creative-writing_after-graduating-i-d-moved-to-the-washin_1758382.jpg) > ““After graduating, I'd moved to the Washington D.C. area to see what I could do with the skills I'd picked up from a creative writing degree. The chief export of the nation's capital is, of course, paper work, so I reckoned I could land some kind of writing or editing position at one of the many nonprofits and associations in the area.”” [Jeff Deck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-deck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author reflects on leveraging a creative writing degree to find work in Washington D.C., noting the prevalence of paperwork and nonprofit opportunities. **In simple terms:** Seeking writing jobs in D.C. after graduation. Key Takeaway Use your degree to target local nonprofit writing roles. Themes career writing nonprofits urban life Mood hopeful pragmatic Type career advice personal narrative When to use this quote - job search - career planning - writing freelance - nonprofit volunteering Key Concepts skill application job market networking Questions to Reflect On - What niche writing skills can you develop to stand out? - How can you network within D.C. nonprofits? A Different Perspective Competition for writing jobs can be intense; experience may be required. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creative writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-writing/) [Export](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/export/) [Export Nation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/export-nation-1670555/) [Graduating Moved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduating-moved-1670554/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Moved Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moved-washington-709873/) [Nation Capital](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nation-capital-1233603/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [One of the enduring truths of the nation's capital is that bureaucrats survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-r-ford/one-of-the-enduring-truths-of-the-nation-s-capital-is-that/) [Gerald R. Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-r-ford/) > [I came to the United States to chase my American dream, and fighting at the nation's capital is a dream come true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-ortiz/i-came-to-the-united-states-to-chase-my-american-dream-and-fighting/) [Luis Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-ortiz/) > [I was born in Berlin, and when I was 6, my mom passed. When I was 9, I moved to near Washington, D.C., where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bibi-bourelly/i-was-born-in-berlin-and-when-i-was-6-my-mom-passed-when-i-was-9-i/) [Bibi Bourelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bibi-bourelly/) > [When the Supreme Court moved to Washington in 1800, it was provided with no books, which probably accounts for the high quality of early opinions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-the-supreme-court-moved-to-washington-in-1800-it-was-provided/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Like the Wizards, Madame Tussauds has become a fixture in the nation's capital and one that I'm proud to be a part of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-arenas/like-the-wizards-madame-tussauds-has-become-a-fixture-in-the-nation-s/) [Gilbert Arenas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-arenas/) > [After I graduated, I moved to Washington with a packed car and the promise of an eight-week internship at the Daily Caller. Things turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlan-collins/after-i-graduated-i-moved-to-washington-with-a-packed-car-and-the/) [Kaitlan Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlan-collins/) > [My family moved - first to Washington, D.C., and then, in the spring of 1975, to Lebanon, where my father worked as a diplomat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-kinnear/my-family-moved-first-to-washington-d-c-and-then-in-the-spring-of/) [Greg Kinnear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-kinnear/) > [Well, I moved to Washington, D.C. when I was just fresh out of college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-pavlich/well-i-moved-to-washington-d-c-when-i-was-just-fresh-out-of-college/) [Katie Pavlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-pavlich/) > [ “I know where a lot of them \[the elite or elitists\] live. Where's that? Well, in our nation's capital and New York City. I've… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/i-know-where-a-lot-of-them-the-elite-or-elitists-live-where-s-that/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [There seems to me nothing very bad about a nation's capital having good intentions - and when the intentions are magnificent, so much the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-graham/there-seems-to-me-nothing-very-bad-about-a-nation-s-capital-having/) [Katharine Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-graham/) > [The near-term attacks ... will either rival or exceed the 9/11 attacks... And it's pretty clear that the nation's capital and New York city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-ridge/the-near-term-attacks-will-either-rival-or-exceed-the-9-11-attacks/) [Tom Ridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-ridge/) > [“(When the company was finally broken up in the 1980s to satisfy antitrust regulators, it was worth more than the combined worth of General…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/when-the-company-was-finally-broken-up-in-the-1980s-to-satisfy/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [After my mother and father separated when I was 5, my mother moved to Washington, D.C., and my father remained in North Carolina. Later,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tyree-henry/after-my-mother-and-father-separated-when-i-was-5-my-mother-moved-to/) [Brian Tyree Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tyree-henry/) > [These guys from the nation's capital - now they do a lot of thinking. Referring to boxers from D.C., not politicians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/these-guys-from-the-nation-s-capital-now-they-do-a-lot-of-thinking/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [Many reporters, when they go to work in the nation's capital, begin thinking of themselves as participants in the political process instead of glorified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/many-reporters-when-they-go-to-work-in-the-nation-s-capital-begin/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) ## More by Jeff Deck > [“My typo-sensitivity has no off-switch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-deck/my-typo-sensitivity-has-no-off-switch/) [Jeff Deck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-deck/) > [“Consider this argument another wedge served from the malodorous pie known as "My way is Right," the dessert of choice for politicians, religious leaders,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-deck/consider-this-argument-another-wedge-served-from-the-malodorous-pie/) [Jeff Deck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-deck/) > [“What a pleasant shift, we thought, from the latent hostility we had suffered yesterday in the Mobile mall.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-deck/what-a-pleasant-shift-we-thought-from-the-latent-hostility-we-had/) [Jeff Deck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-deck/) > [“As human beings, how do we choose to react in that instant when someone walks toward us, smiles, and begins to speak?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-deck/as-human-beings-how-do-we-choose-to-react-in-that-instant-when/) [Jeff Deck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-deck/) > [“The world needed changing - that I knew. Global warming threatened to give us all a lethal tan; war and poverty decimated whole nations;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-deck/the-world-needed-changing-that-i-knew-global-warming-threatened-to/) [Jeff Deck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-deck/) > [“She described to us six lanes' worth of unadulterated fear, populated exclusively by motorists whose driving education had been paid for by the blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-deck/she-described-to-us-six-lanes-worth-of-unadulterated-fear-populated/) [Jeff Deck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-deck/) > [“To me, the iniquity inherent in typos was as plain as a swath cut through virgin forest, or dog feces upon a white beach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-deck/to-me-the-iniquity-inherent-in-typos-was-as-plain-as-a-swath-cut/) [Jeff Deck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-deck/) > [“the gratis token of appreciation had helped to make the distinction plain. This was what I’d hoped for, a friendly reaction to our quest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-deck/the-gratis-token-of-appreciation-had-helped-to-make-the-distinction/) [Jeff Deck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-deck/) > [“Prepare yourself for transpositions!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-deck/prepare-yourself-for-transpositions/) [Jeff Deck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-deck/) > [“Somebody needs to fix America.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-deck/somebody-needs-to-fix-america/) [Jeff Deck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-deck/) > [“The standard clauses of the American dream only included two weeks of vacation a year.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-deck/the-standard-clauses-of-the-american-dream-only-included-two-weeks-of/) [Jeff Deck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-deck/) > [“We speak, and write, in one of the most diverse, gloriously ecumenical tongues on the planet. In English, there is a word or phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-deck/we-speak-and-write-in-one-of-the-most-diverse-gloriously-ecumenical/) [Jeff Deck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-deck/) > [“We’re surrounded by typos.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-deck/we-re-surrounded-by-typos/) [Jeff Deck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-deck/) [Explore all 14 Jeff Deck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-deck/) ## More Creative writing quotes > [“There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-then-creative-reading-as-well-as-creative-writing-when-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Take care of your costume and your confidence will take care of itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/take-care-of-your-costume-and-your-confidence-will-take-care-of-itself/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I've always written. When I was in school, the only teacher who ever liked me was my creative writing teacher. I used to enter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-townes-earle/i-ve-always-written-when-i-was-in-school-the-only-teacher-who-ever/) [Justin Townes Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-townes-earle/) > [When I was at UCLA, a professor there encouraged me to write, and so I looked into specializing in creative writing in the English…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-park/when-i-was-at-ucla-a-professor-there-encouraged-me-to-write-and-so-i/) [Randall Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-park/) > [A creative writing workshop will contain students whose ambitions and abilities, whose conceptions of literature itself, are so diverse that what they have in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/a-creative-writing-workshop-will-contain-students-whose-ambitions-and/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [“In general, poor is polite and rich is rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/in-general-poor-is-polite-and-rich-is-rude/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“The smell of the sweat is not sweet, but the fruit of the sweat is very sweet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/the-smell-of-the-sweat-is-not-sweet-but-the-fruit-of-the-sweat-is/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Start dating someone who is funny, someone who has what in high school you called a "really great sense of humor" and what now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/start-dating-someone-who-is-funny-someone-who-has-what-in-high-school/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Creative writer has artistic sensibility. He observes the world like any common men. But his vision observes the world quite differently. He can perceive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/creative-writer-has-artistic-sensibility-he-observes-the-world-like/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [I really think that if there's any one enemy to human creativity, especially creative writing, it's self-consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus/i-really-think-that-if-there-s-any-one-enemy-to-human-creativity/) [Andre Dubus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus/) > [“We are taken through the pursuit of the American dream, the establishment of the American family, and a smattering of suspense and intrigue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-allgire/we-are-taken-through-the-pursuit-of-the-american-dream-the/) [Nikita Allgire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-allgire/) > [“Because at night when others are sleeping, I drown myself in poetry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/because-at-night-when-others-are-sleeping-i-drown-myself-in-poetry/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“Don't compare the size of your roof with the size of the sky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/don-t-compare-the-size-of-your-roof-with-the-size-of-the-sky/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Metaphors are not user-friendly. They're difficult to find and difficult to use well. Unfortunately, metaphors are a mainstay of good lyric writing-indeed of most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-pattison/metaphors-are-not-user-friendly-they-re-difficult-to-find-and/) [Pat Pattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-pattison/) > [All the elements of good writing depend on the writer's skill in choosing one word instead of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/all-the-elements-of-good-writing-depend-on-the-writer-s-skill-in/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) [Browse all 424 Creative writing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-writing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“After graduating, I'd moved to the Washington D.C. area to see what I could do with the skills I'd picked up from a creative writing degree. 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