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I'm bottoming out. I can't deal with applying to a hundred jobs in a week and never hearing back any more, I don't want to go work retail because I've done it and it nearly made me kill people and wouldn't pay me enough to matter anyway (see next paragraph), I couldn't keep my business going solo and couldn't find anybody to become a partner in it, I have trouble with working for an rear end in a top hat boss, and I'm tired of doing amorphous design/editing poo poo for people's personal blog or website. I'd love a job where I'm treated like an actual human being, but the last time that happened was when I worked part-time on a radio show, at age 18. I'm kind of stuck. I've lived in the Bay Area essentially my entire life, I'm 28 and stuck living at my parents because at this point the Bay is so expensive that I can't find a job that even makes me enough money to move out, let alone move to some other location in the country that's cheaper. I've tried working jobs that pay less, but I end up needing to spend money on coping mechanisms just to let me get through the lovely job, and then I end up with less left over than I'd get on unemployment. I'm considering martime transport (I posted in the thread asking some questions about it), but I don't know if there's a better option for me. I'm kind of desperately grasping at whatever is in front of my face. Is there some skill I can learn where I don't have to jump through a thousand hoops to try and prove that I can do the job people need done, instead of just doing the job they need done? I've thought of learning quickbooks since people always need help with their books, but I don't know if that's the best way to go. This post feels all e/nish to me, which I hate, but I'm at my wits ends trying to figure out what I can do where I'll actually get work, and be paid enough for it to matter. If anybody has suggestions, even if they're super harsh and about me being retarded in some way, I would appreciate them. 
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Jan 6, 2016 20:08
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I'm actually currently in/using Robert Half and OfficeTeam (which is a sub-thing of Robert Half I guess) as temp agencies, and have had a pretty poor experience with them, outside of one job 3 years ago where I was doing data entry which worked out well and was good. Since that one job they've essentially blown off any time I reached out to them for placement, and I just periodically get put on a chain email for "come stack boxes for 4 hours for $10 an hour, an hour and a half drive from where you live", which means that like half of that money would be eaten up in transport. Or sometimes they contact me for a position that I am wildly unqualified for that requires expert knowledge of some programming language I have never touched. I don't think it was a performance/personality issue at the data entry job or anything either, the people I was working with there told me they'd loved having me, and would specifically be asking RH for me if I was available when they needed more data entry in like a month, and that if they could swing the cost with their bosses (They'd have to pay RH some bounty on me or whatever since temp agency), wanted to go for a work-to-hire route with RH for me.  That is a point though, I should probably be trying to find the smaller temp agencies. Everybody I talk to about it only knows Robert Half, so I haven't really considered other agencies. E: spwrozek posted:Welder, electrician, carpenter, plumber, roofer. Honestly if you want a skill that you can just use those are great. Thanks! I've thought about doing the electrician thing before (My dad/a bunch of guys I grew up with were contractors who all told me doing contracting that wasn't electrical is their biggest regret), partly it seems like that would be something that would be 3-5 years down the road if I started on it. I might be being unrealistic, and just have to buck up and make the commitment, but I'd really like to find something that could be generating me income sooner. E2: Or actually I think I'm an idiot and that's a great idea, I forgot the whole 'you get paid as an apprentice' thing. I don't remember how much schooling you have to get before you can become an apprentice, I'll definitely look into it, and talk to the contractors I know about it. surc fucked around with this message at 21:00 on Jan 6, 2016 |
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Jan 6, 2016 20:28
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I'm currently asking around in my circle of known-contractors to figure out the best way to go about the whole thing (apparently I no longer know any electricians directly, which would be the one I'd be most interested in  ). From what I've seen, there's the "just go get a certificate" route, and the "go get educated for like 2 years" route. I assume it depends entirely on region and is different between trades, but anybody have insight into which is considered more bullshit? (For example, in the food industry you don't go to culinary school if you want to be a chef, because you learn bullshit and then have to unlearn it).Basically, I would prefer to do the two month thing, but am unsure if really it makes more sense to just commit to the longer (formal) education path. Also, how's the plumbing on your knees/back? I've done some plumbing work on my parents house, and it has definitely been interesting work, I'm just trying to think long-term body health here if I can, instead of like 10 years down the line. surc fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Jan 8, 2016 |
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Jan 8, 2016 23:05
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Doghouse posted:Being that you are in the bay area anyway, have you considered the obvious choice? I am worried those photographers may want me to do more than just pop a balloon by sitting on it naked though. In seriousness, I'm looking for work in cheaper parts of the country, but it's just more of the same horrible soul-crushing application process. I did finally get a phone interview from one of my applications though I had a lot of different things hit at once, and had an intense, panic-y meltdown, which lead to the whole tone of the OP. I'm feeling a bit more collected about the whole thing now, and am looking in multiple directions for possible jobs/skills to develop. All of them definitely involve me getting out of the area. Also one of the issues has been actually having money to move out of the Bay Area, but it looks like I might be able to get some grunt work around here to help pay for initial moving costs.
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Jan 9, 2016 00:20
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Thanks for the suggestions, I have worked for tech companies in the past, and they have all involved people treating me like I'm sub-human scum. Also they're contributing to the destruction of all existing culture in the bay area, which I do not like. Similarly, the military would also be a last resort for me, as it would go against essentially all of my beliefs. I'm thinking the trade route is probably the way for me to go longer term. At the moment I've actually had some responses from bullshit officework jobs in the northwest, and have people up there I could stay with for a bit. I have a plane ticket for next Wednesday, a few interviews lined up, and I'm going to just cram as many in-person applications and interviews in as I can before I wear out my welcome crashing with friends and/or get hired. E: Nostalgia4Murder posted:This is a good explanation that applies to most states. I would assume other trades are similar in how you get started. Thanks! This talks about a bunch of stuff I was wondering about. I assume there will be some differences between trades, but I had no idea what the process is like at all, no experience with unions in my life so far. 
surc fucked around with this message at 23:54 on Jan 16, 2016 |
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Jan 16, 2016 23:35
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