Lammastide said:

I'm doing an Associate of Arts degree right now. It's just a general degree though, so not worth a whole lot unless I carry on with university afterwards. I'd hoped that going to school would kickstart me and help me pick at least a general job direction but so far I'm in the same position I was when I started.

What I love can be pretty much summed up by the classes I was good at in high school: Art, English, Psychology, and History of Rock n Roll. If I can find a way to combine those loves and get paid for it I'd be set.

If I had the time and the money all I'd do for the rest of my life is travel and do self-directed study. That shit won't pay the rent though.

JustErin said:

seriously??? don't tell me.... for who??? for the insurance companies? don't play; or then you are very inexperienced

Depends. It took me 7 years before I started to use my college degree within an occupation. Currently I run my own business in natural therapies and also part time tech crew with an airline. Both pay extremely well and have found my balance within 2 career paths at the same time. I enjoy the interaction and thrive on the daily challenge. The top dollar is a real motivator too!

meow85 said:

If you have no ambition or goals, you need to get a second job in the same field to be able to make ends meet.

meow85 said:

sorry about your situation, and I can relate to it. But looking back at my own similar reaction when I was young to all the good advice given here I have to say it's only not useful to you if you don't use it.

It might take a while to get the wheels rolling, but basically you're saying "oh, there's no use." so in a few years, rather than have started on something that has led you somewhere better, you'll still have the same type crappy job.

You DO have a goal! You want to break out of the retail cycle. So it sounds like you want an office job (sure you can start a business but I don't think that's as easy as getting an office job). Well there are plenty of steps that can help you get one.

You're a smart person, you are qualified. you just need to be determined.

NDRU said:

When I returned to school to finish my degree, I was 32 years old - and had been in the professional workforce for 10 years. I looked at what I'd need to do to finish the degree and thought, "Geez...I'll be 35 before I finish this! "

After thinking about it a bit more, I gave myself a shake and said, "Y'know what? You're going to be 35 anyway. You can be a 35-year-old with a college degree and better prospects. Or you can be a 35-year-old without a degree and a less certain future. Which is it going to be?"

You have to control your own destiny.

damosuzuki said:

I think you need to stick with a job 2-4, even 5 years. I have worked at every job I've had for at least 1.5 years and when I was looking for a job last year people would ask me why I had worked so many places for my age (10 years office/professional experience).

JustErin said:

It's not that I don't have ambition, I just don't know what I want to do with that ambition or where I'd even begin to start. Career counsellors at college have been less than helpful. All they do is tell me take personality tests that tell me whether I'm an introvert or extrovert, and question me on why I like nomadic movement so much, as if having a fondness for travelling is weird.

NDRU said:

Oh, Christ, no. An office job is the last thing I'd want to be doing. Thousands of years of human evolution to be trapped in a cubicle all day? No thanks.

At least I know what I don't want to do. Maybe I can find a place to work with from there.

meow85 said:

working by elimination is definitely better than nothing.

But I will throw this out there. You're original post really only mentions breaking out of low paying, low level jobs. An office job sounds horrible, maybe, but is it worse than what you're already doing? Trapped behind a register all day instead of a cubicle, making less money?

When you're talking money, you're talking selling yourself in some way. It won't be perfect, even if you're a rock star.

But certainly you don't have to work in an office (and I knew that you didn't want to as soon as I wrote that up above it was inevitible)

Things I am good at that may come in handy with a job:

Public speaking
Writing
Leading and participating in group dialogue
Time management

Flaws that may get in the way:

Highly distractable
Contrariness
Extremely poor math skills

NDRU said:

The job I have currently pays next to nothing, but it's not too constraining for what it entails because I get to move around a lot, even leave the building if I feel like it.

What could I do in an office? I've seen job postings for office assistants, a job I know I'm capable of, but they all seem to want only applicants with courses and training -something I'd have no resources to pay for. I've job shadowed for secretaries before, there's nothing they do that requires a degree.

Are employers just trying to weed out lazy asses?

meow85 said:

I don't know. It's not easy to find a job (even a retail job can be hard to get, right?), but I have a huge amount of freedom. I work for a non-profit, so I don't make a fortune, but I am working for a cause I can believe in. I have an office, not a cubicle. It's not perfect by any means, but it's still the best job I've ever had.

I have no degree, and studied Music at that, and no specific training other than what I received on the job as well as writing/computer skills I honed in college. But on this job I've learned specific skills that will transfer to an even better paying job if I ever get the motivation to go for it.

I'm actually right where you are, just one step ahead. That is sort of why I joined this discussion. I am trying to motivate to get to the next step, myself.

NDRU said:

Just to add to that comment: general admin work can be a very effective entry into a career that you enjoy. Filing or answering phones may be a dreary way to pass the day, but if you show up for work every day & demonstrate that you're capable and reliable it will act as a spring-board to lots of other opportunities. The key is to find a role like that in an industry that will maintain your interest in the long run.

damosuzuki said:

yes, that's how I started at my job. Dull stuff looking back on it, but I was still nervous abut doing it well in the beginning. Once I proved I was capable, they gave me more responsibility & more money.

NDRU said:

I've been trying to a find a second job in retail or customer service for 2 1/2 months now, with no luck. My only callback said I was overqualified.

I'm thinking maybe I should dress up my resume a bit more, dig through my closet for something somewhat professional looking, and just throw myself into looking for jobs working as assistants, or at radio stations, or something. Someone's got to need staff they don't mind training.

It'd be nice though to at least have a direction. All my friends from high school are finishing up Bachelor's or working on Master's now and on their way to Serious Jobs.


Good luck on your search.
[Edited 6/11/09 13:42pm]

meow85 said:

So, you ask for "any" advice, many people go out of their way to share their own experiences with you giving you excellent information, but instead of being gracious you say it isn't useful to you. Then, when people tell you that an office job is a great way to get in the door and start a career, you shit on that too, despite having NEVER worked in an office. . .

Okay, well, good luck with all that.

SCNDLS said:

Nice to hear from you too.

I said why it's not useful -people were giving me advice as if I already had a place to start from. I appreciate the advice, but there's not much of it I can use for the time being. I will keep people's words in mind though for when the time does come I can use it.

Did you miss my post where I said I'd job-shadowed before in offices? I've done my time in those freaky little jail cells. I already know it's not for me.
[Edited 6/11/09 13:48pm]

meow85 said:

Regardless, telling people that are trying to help that their input is useless is unnecessary IMO. You coulda kept that shit to yourself and used what was valuable and kept it moving. And job-shadowing is not the same as working in an office and every office ain't the same. Aren't you the same person that didn't want to wear a uniform or some shit at your job and went on and on about it??? If that was you, then I'm sure with your outlook and disposition you'll go far in a profession. Again, good luck with that.

meow85 said:

I'm not sure how good you can be at "leading and participating in group dialogue" if "contrariness" is one of your "flaws."

Genesia said:

meow85 said:

It's important for you to network at your respective college, get to know all the professors in your division by name and make sure they know you by face and by name. The best advice I was given when I started out at university was, to select one/two of my professors /guidance counselors in my division as a mentor for my 4 years there. Meow, do as you've done here, tell a professor(s) of your concerns and issues, ask them if the could or would share their experiences or give you any advice. Maybe they could offer career path.. suggest somethings you've never considered. Most professors really do try to help their students see there way through and want them to succeed, if you care it's been my experience most will bust their but to help you. Besides, having them on a resume as a recommendation is a plus.

Make sure to check the bulletin boards around your college (within your division too) to see if companies and/or organizations are offering jobs or internships during holiday and/or summer breaks. Depending on your circumstances take a good offer whether it pays or not, it's a resume builder. Check to see if your college have any job opening for students too. Consider joining at least one club within the Arts Division: Do they published a monthly, quarterly, or yearly magazine/journal for example? Do they organized and/or give lectures or hold discussions about... "whatever"?

Hone up on your computer skills, if your college offers free computer classes to it's students of any kind take them, all! Knowing how to use Access/Excel/PowerPoint/Word and knowing a tad about database entry should be a given. You could also get basic certification for Vista, Apple, or Linux OS/Distro systems. You could study that on your own just purchase a book/CD ( specifically books written by former Windows, Apple employees or by those respective companies that say they'll are written for passing computer certification test) and go for it. Keep the faith and finish school, it will pay off in the future, big time.

SCNDLS said:

I'm just sayin'. Does she know what a facilitator does?

meow85 said:

I know what you mean about your friends. I feel about 10 years behind most of mine because I never picked a career direction, thinking it would distract from my music. The irony is that I only started performing regularly once I got more stability from this job!

anyway, thanks for the well-wishes, and good luck to you, too!

Genesia said:

You know what, I ain't saying another word.

You should sleep your way up the ladder. At least the first couple of rungs anyway.

mcmeekle said:

Anyone who has to waste it on the first couple of rungs has problems too serious to be solved here.
[Edited 6/11/09 14:38pm]

meow85 said:

Do you speak any languages other than English fluently? Maybe you should try to work at a travel agency, an airline company, or tour company. Travel agency you could maybe eventually write descriptions of vacation destinations. Tour company -- you can use public speaking and writing skills. Plus, depending on what kind of company it is, you may get to travel to fun places, meet new people, etc.

Do you like kids? You could be an au pair or a nanny...

I don't know what the pay is like in these fields, though.

.
[Edited 6/11/09 14:50pm]

Genesia said:

Well, it helped me become drive-thru assistant supervisor thank you very much!

mcmeekle said:

Or market a catch phrase. I am toying with "has anyone mentioned me yet?"