okay, need some career advice

Okay so the past 2 weeks, I have been futzing around post job loss. I took the kid to the psychiatrist today and we were talking. She says I look different, happier! She asked me what had changed, so I told her I had finally lost my job (I had been doing counseling so she already knew my issues with this job). So how crazy is that, that she can tell how much less stressed I am like that LOL. Anyway I really am less stressed for now, but definitely I have a kid and a senior citizen to raise so I cannot stay jobless forever.

Here are my options:

I can apply for a job doing the same old same old at a different place.
Pros: there are actually many jobs available (not necessarily around me), pay is usually good, if I can find a drama free environment maybe I would finally feel fulfilled in the career I actually wanted to be in.
Cons: I am scared of the drama! No joke-this career has about worn me out mentally and physically, I am burnt out in it and tremendously disappointed and just plain mad however if I found a place committed to growth and high standards, but it is a stretch to find places like that. Plus I would probably have to relocate and while some places would help I would have to do the actual work myself. Also it is hard for me to get around for interviews in other states since I have the kid and senior to take care of.

Career change/school
Pros: if I can get into pharmacy school then in 5 years I can be making 6 figure salary easily and pay off my debts and have serious savings, I can learn something new and exciting (for a while), I can even find a way to combine my degrees and start my own business by 50 if I plan it right! I would not have to relocate though.
Cons: having to go to school for maybe up to 4 years and trying to raise kid by myself at the same time would be very hard, debt would be high (unless I can go in under a pharmacy program like Walgreens or CVS and have them help to pay) and it would be really really hard with school/job/kid/senior citizen.

AirForce (military)
Pros: pay and benefits would be sick! If I can do it for 20 years I would be set before I am 60. I have never gotten to travel and I would like to travel and see new things and meet new people. I would not be "active" military either.
Cons: it's military! I'd definitely have to relocate (but they do pay for all that and pack your stuff-plus!) which would be very hard with kid and senior but there is a slim possibility I could remain where I am since I am near a Air Force base, and traveling would be hard trying to find someone to take care of kid and senior while I am gone.

The hardest part is I am the sole provider to kid and senior and I have no backup right now but depending on which route I choose I caould possibly move back up north and have a little family support. I really should move anyway since where I am is boring as hell and I basically hate it! But I do have slight support here or back home and I just don't want to move somewhere where I have no support at all.

Aaargh!!! I should be glad I have my options but my lazy ass just don't want to work at all LOL. Anyway, I am kicking around my choices so I can know which way to swing by New Year's. Luckily kid and senior have their own SSI benefits so we won't technically starve while I futz, and I had put money in a savings plan and have a little PTO that they will pay me (we'll see if I ever get the money I am really owed )

My :

1: Go back to school and hide out until the recession is over. In five years, hopefully things would have turned around. The only thing is, I heard it's harder to get school loans these days. But if you can, it's an investment into yourself and well worth it.

2. If you do the military, I'd do the Navy before any other branch.

3. Girl, you better get in the job hunt ASAP cuz it's BAD out there.

Good luck, mama!

I'm from rags to riches n*ggas I ain't dumb, I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't 1 ~ Jay-Z
Motivation: [Bitches] fakin' only gonna inspire; All yo hatin' is fuel to my fire ~ TI

BklynBabe said:

One vote for looking for a similar job to what you just had.

It's not normally like me to vote against education, but in this situation I think you should take what you can get and just focus on getting through one month/year at a time because like SCNDLS and PunkMistress have pointed out, a lot of people are using this recession to go back to school. There is no guarentee that the job market is going to bounce back enough to absorb all of those new graduates* (as well as all the currently unemployed) who are looking for jobs. You'll be in the same situation as now (unemployed), but with thousands of dollars of student loan debt.


*I currently work with a lot of law school students. They told me that this year, out of 450+ 3rd year law students in their program, ELEVEN were offered jobs. (And this is at a top 100 law school.) I recently applied for a job that I'm perfect for (of course! ). They auto-replied that they had over 600 applicants so processing is going to take longer than they expected. Those are the kind of numbers you might be competing against. (I'm in NYC by the way.)

Also, do you even know if you like pharmacy? That's a big committment (time and money wise) if you're not sure.

well right now I'm a little chunky so I don't expect the military to hire me for a while. On the plus I did start back at the gym so I can beef it up and at least get talks started and see what they can work out for me with my situation. Also since you have to be gone for 4 weeks for training and that means I could not go anywhere until summer because of the kid. I am the only means of daily transportation in my household, otherwise it wouldn't be so bad. The run thing scares me because my knees are really really bad.

I am still going to put in an application at the place up the block...just in case.

The pharmacy test is in February so I couldn't get in probably until next fall so no rush with getting to school. I haven't heard anything from the online applications so I will go in tomorrow in person and see what the deal is.

And thanks for reminding how BAD the job sitch is yeah, wasn't very brilliant of me to lose my job LOL!

Shit, gurl, I got 2 fucking degrees LOL. Somebody had better fucking hire me or else

BklynBabe said:

well right now I'm a little chunky so I don't expect the military to hire me for a while. On the plus I did start back at the gym so I can beef it up and at least get talks started and see what they can work out for me with my situation. Also since you have to be gone for 4 weeks for training and that means I could not go anywhere until summer because of the kid. I am the only means of daily transportation in my household, otherwise it wouldn't be so bad. The run thing scares me because my knees are really really bad.

I am still going to put in an application at the place up the block...just in case.

The pharmacy test is in February so I couldn't get in probably until next fall so no rush with getting to school. I haven't heard anything from the online applications so I will go in tomorrow in person and see what the deal is.

And thanks for reminding how BAD the job sitch is yeah, wasn't very brilliant of me to lose my job LOL!

Shit, gurl, I got 2 fucking degrees LOL. Somebody had better fucking hire me or else

I'm from rags to riches n*ggas I ain't dumb, I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't 1 ~ Jay-Z
Motivation: [Bitches] fakin' only gonna inspire; All yo hatin' is fuel to my fire ~ TI

jone70 said:

BklynBabe said:

well right now I'm a little chunky so I don't expect the military to hire me for a while. On the plus I did start back at the gym so I can beef it up and at least get talks started and see what they can work out for me with my situation. Also since you have to be gone for 4 weeks for training and that means I could not go anywhere until summer because of the kid. I am the only means of daily transportation in my household, otherwise it wouldn't be so bad. The run thing scares me because my knees are really really bad.

I am still going to put in an application at the place up the block...just in case.

The pharmacy test is in February so I couldn't get in probably until next fall so no rush with getting to school. I haven't heard anything from the online applications so I will go in tomorrow in person and see what the deal is.

And thanks for reminding how BAD the job sitch is yeah, wasn't very brilliant of me to lose my job LOL!

Shit, gurl, I got 2 fucking degrees LOL. Somebody had better fucking hire me or else

On Beyonce being "the next MJ"....: The J5 Motown audition tape alone runs Yonce and that horseweave off the Kentucky derby track.

SCNDLS said:

Shit, gurl, I got 2 fucking degrees LOL. Somebody had better fucking hire me or else

You two???

SCNDLS said:

My :

1: Go back to school and hide out until the recession is over. In five years, hopefully things would have turned around. The only thing is, I heard it's harder to get school loans these days. But if you can, it's an investment into yourself and well worth it.

2. If you do the military, I'd do the Navy before any other branch.

3. Girl, you better get in the job hunt ASAP cuz it's BAD out there.

Good luck, mama!

BklynBabe said:

well right now I'm a little chunky so I don't expect the military to hire me for a while. On the plus I did start back at the gym so I can beef it up and at least get talks started and see what they can work out for me with my situation. Also since you have to be gone for 4 weeks for training and that means I could not go anywhere until summer because of the kid. I am the only means of daily transportation in my household, otherwise it wouldn't be so bad. The run thing scares me because my knees are really really bad.

I am still going to put in an application at the place up the block...just in case.

The pharmacy test is in February so I couldn't get in probably until next fall so no rush with getting to school. I haven't heard anything from the online applications so I will go in tomorrow in person and see what the deal is.

And thanks for reminding how BAD the job sitch is yeah, wasn't very brilliant of me to lose my job LOL!

Shit, gurl, I got 2 fucking degrees LOL. Somebody had better fucking hire me or else

missmad said:

SCNDLS said:

My :

1: Go back to school and hide out until the recession is over. In five years, hopefully things would have turned around. The only thing is, I heard it's harder to get school loans these days. But if you can, it's an investment into yourself and well worth it.

2. If you do the military, I'd do the Navy before any other branch.

3. Girl, you better get in the job hunt ASAP cuz it's BAD out there.

Good luck, mama!

that is what my pals did. worth it!

I'm from rags to riches n*ggas I ain't dumb, I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't 1 ~ Jay-Z
Motivation: [Bitches] fakin' only gonna inspire; All yo hatin' is fuel to my fire ~ TI

missfee said:

jone70 said:

BklynBabe said:

well right now I'm a little chunky so I don't expect the military to hire me for a while. On the plus I did start back at the gym so I can beef it up and at least get talks started and see what they can work out for me with my situation. Also since you have to be gone for 4 weeks for training and that means I could not go anywhere until summer because of the kid. I am the only means of daily transportation in my household, otherwise it wouldn't be so bad. The run thing scares me because my knees are really really bad.

I am still going to put in an application at the place up the block...just in case.

The pharmacy test is in February so I couldn't get in probably until next fall so no rush with getting to school. I haven't heard anything from the online applications so I will go in tomorrow in person and see what the deal is.

And thanks for reminding how BAD the job sitch is yeah, wasn't very brilliant of me to lose my job LOL!

Shit, gurl, I got 2 fucking degrees LOL. Somebody had better fucking hire me or else

Okay, so it sounds like you have a plan and some time. I'd say keep looking for jobs, take the pharmacy test and then you'll still have plenty of time to decide whether you want to follow that path.

What does your heart tell you to do? This sounds corny, but sometimes when I am really worrying about a decision, I repeat this quote to myself, "Be patient towards all that is unsolved in your heart." Everything will work itself out.

On Beyonce being "the next MJ"....: The J5 Motown audition tape alone runs Yonce and that horseweave off the Kentucky derby track.

BklynBabe said:

Shit, gurl, I got 2 fucking degrees LOL. Somebody had better fucking hire me or else

SCNDLS said:

You two???

missfee said:

jone70 said:

BklynBabe said:

Shit, gurl, I got 2 fucking degrees LOL. Somebody had better fucking hire me or else

missfee said:

Girl I got my two degrees too and I'm looking for a better full time job.

Yeah, I have a BA and an MA, also. I'm what they categorize as "under-employed." I technically work "part-time" although I put in 35+ hours/week. (The org. just doesn't want to pay for health benefits.) I resigned from my previous job last fall because it was making me physically ill and six weeks later the economy collapsed. The job I have now is a million times less stressful, but it's not in my field and it's not a place where I can picture myself working for more than 2-3 years. (January will be my 1 year anniversary - originally I was hoping to leave at the end of this year, but the job market is not cooperating.) So I am just keeping my nose to the grindstone and trying to pick up more skills so that when companies in my field lift their hiring freezes I'll be even more qualified.

On Beyonce being "the next MJ"....: The J5 Motown audition tape alone runs Yonce and that horseweave off the Kentucky derby track.

well the last job had me so stressed over stupid I thought I would damn die and that wouldn't do my family much good either except to get some life insurance (I do have some good coverage though )

Have U perhaps thought about seeking the assistance of a career life coach? I know peeps that have and with that direction of a professional have achieved brilliant jobs out of it.

Plastics.

update: so I just applied for a pharmacy technician online course which I can do at the school right up the block, AND I applied for the PCAT test (now I have to review biochem, organic chem, calculus, and shit), AND I started my application for pharmacy school today, AND I remotivated myself!!! I committed myself to it!!!! Like money and shit

AND I am not going back to my old career beccause the thought of it makes me nauseous to the utmost degree!! Maybe once I can get this pharmacy thing done, I will find a way to combine all these degrees for some serious lucrativity, but for now, I have to walk away from the bullshit I have dealt with before I fall over from a heart attack. Shit, them mofos finally won an award for Best Of...and do you think they correlated that with all the work I put in. Naw, they are patting themselves on the back. Meanwhile every place I have ever worked in always has done better...made more money....educated the staff.....so I stay mad at being treated like shit!

If I am going to deal with folk and drama I need to get something out of it for me and my family too. I am too old, and too broke, to keep fucking around with ungrateful and hateful ass folk.

Good luck, mama.

I'm from rags to riches n*ggas I ain't dumb, I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't 1 ~ Jay-Z
Motivation: [Bitches] fakin' only gonna inspire; All yo hatin' is fuel to my fire ~ TI

omigod my head is gonna explode trying to remember this shit from 10-15 years ago

on the plus side at least I don't have to buy expensive books. Gotta love the internet!!!!

I really, really hope this pans out....

*don't mind me, I just feel good to lay it out for myself somewhere*

okay I got my transcripts sent out.

I got approved for a loan to take the online pharmacy tech courses (good thing I took time to get my credit back up and paid off my car and all!) I should be rocking and rolling by the end of next week. it's 300 hours and they have an externship with Walgreen's (where I coincidentally have already applied anyway LOL) so hopefully I can knock that out-I already have much of the knowledge needed anyway so I don't anticipate having to take the whole 6 months, thank God! Plus I have to study for the PCAT too ( ) My brain should be swollen with useless knowledge again pretty soon. I hope it's still in there just buried deep...

I cashed in my 401K (it wasn't a whole lot, I would have had to cash it anyway)

Set up my COBRA (health insurance, gotta have some when you have a kid )

Got my references! (sent an email to my professor from 15 years ago and he's all "no problem, I will always give you a good reference" it's funny how people that knew me years ago still have good things to say about me, yet I'm such a terrible person!

I've also started working out again and dieting, working on my weight and my stress levels. Feeling kinda optimistic and ready to get somewhere and live my life. I felt so stagnant in my career (it shouldn't have been that way, I kept learning things but could not find a place to upgrade themselves and get with the new millenium)