Answer:
The author couldn't follow his dreams because of the job market failure. He was an English major and wanted to be a writer but couldn't get the job. He tried for several months to get a job with no luck until he heard about an opening in a newspaper business. Nobody wanted the job so he took it. He didn't believe he could be a reporter because he never thought about it before. He wanted to write, not ask questions.
The failure of the job market shaped a motivator externally in the short story. If the job market was thriving, he would have probably found a writing job somewhere else instead of the reporter job he took. He would have never found his true passion for reporting with the failure.
Notice the Irony?
What story are you talking about?
The subordinate clause is "you must start researching now"
