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I lost my job last April, and the US job market still sucks in California. I read stories on reddit, facebook, etc about people with multiple degrees struggling to find slightly higher than minimum wage shitty office jobs that they will loathe just to survive. The aforementioned job I lost, was one of these crappy office gigs.
That being said, I'm 29 and while my resume has plenty of sales, artistic, computer, and customer service related skills they are not actual tangible, consistent, important, skills imho. What I mean, is that while they have a superficial use, they don't really have a real value as far as a career for me.
I am 100% committed to learning/training into something at this point. Preferably a skill that people always will need and can be powered into with dedication and work ethic to be proficient in within 1-2 years. I am even willing to work for free in exchange for this learning provided it eventually pays off or supplies me with that career.
I like to work with my hands, electronics, wood, metal, print, tradesman kinds of things have always been something I was interested in but never knew how to get into without nepotism.
Community/Junior College is a joke and a waste of my time, so please don't suggest that.
I have no money, no car, and barely getting by on EBT and some social support and random art sales.
At this point I am ready to drop any semblance of ego and taking some minimum wage shithole job (if I can even find one).
I was just looking into USCG and it is somewhat ambiguous on age requirements to enlist. I tried to join the airforce about 10 years ago and they said I had to get like 12 college credits or something (because I took the CHSPE early instead of graduating normally) before they would even consider me because I have screws in my ankle and a minor past record with the law. Neither of which are a problem at all, but I never bothered to follow through and just started working shit jobs instead.
Anyone have any advice for vocational school or something I can do? I am completely useless right now, and I would like to be a contributing member to society and hopefully make a decent living doing so.
PS- I am willing to relocate anywhere as I have nothing tying me down.
 
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I've heard working in plumbing is a good career in terms of pay for the amount of training needed. Not very romantic though, that's probably why the pay is good. But if you're looking for a skill people will always need, that's definitely one.
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I'm not exactly sure what your situation is... you mentioned needing 12 more credits since you took the CHSPE (not sure what this is..). Do you have a college degree?
If so, then go teach English in a foreign country. I came to Korea almost 2 years ago. I love my job, I get paid well, and everything is pretty much taken care of for you. You don't need a car, obviously, and whichever school picks you up will pay for your plane tickets and living accomodations. The only thing you'll need to front for is food for your first month and some paperwork costs at the beginning. Also, you will likely only be working about 30 hours a week, so you can make some good money to pick yourself up while still having plenty of free time to develop yourself in a more professionally oriented direction.
It's a HELL of a lot better than a "minimum wage shithole job".
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On January 12 2014 14:16 Fighter wrote:
I'm not exactly sure what your situation is... you mentioned needing 12 more credits since you took the CHSPE (not sure what this is..). Do you have a college degree?
If so, then go teach English in a foreign country. I came to Korea almost 2 years ago. I love my job, I get paid well, and everything is pretty much taken care of for you. You don't need a car, obviously, and whichever school picks you up will pay for your plane tickets and living accomodations. The only thing you'll need to front for is food for your first month and some paperwork costs at the beginning. Also, you will likely only be working about 30 hours a week, so you can make some good money to pick yourself up while still having plenty of free time to develop yourself in a more professionally oriented direction.
It's a HELL of a lot better than a "minimum wage shithole job".
No. It was some arbitrary requirement. http://www.google.com/search?q=CHSPE&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a It's like an exit exam but harder and I went into CC a year later (17) but dropped out.
I don't know korean. And I've always heard people talk shit on english teachers there. How do you get into that anyways?
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Netherlands6181 Posts
That is a good suggestion. I wanted to do that, but I could not on my current passport. You would do a TEFL course on their website www.tefl.com/ (I think that is the correct one) and I think you only really need to know the basics of hangul - greetings and shop names etc for you to be okay down there, which shouldn't be a problem if you are 100% invested.
Failing that, you should work in ESPORTS! + Show Spoiler +Sounds like Quantic need a new manager anyway.
sometimes a minimum wage, shitty job is what you need for that boost into working your way up though. Look into things that interest you and see what opportunities come with each one. Would you be able to teach with your new found knowledge? etc
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On January 12 2014 14:46 dravernor wrote:That is a good suggestion. I wanted to do that, but I could not on my current passport. You would do a TEFL course on their website www.tefl.com/ (I think that is the correct one) and I think you only really need to know the basics of hangul - greetings and shop names etc for you to be okay down there, which shouldn't be a problem if you are 100% invested. Failing that, you should work in ESPORTS! + Show Spoiler +Sounds like Quantic need a new manager anyway. sometimes a minimum wage, shitty job is what you need for that boost into working your way up though. Look into things that interest you and see what opportunities come with each one. Would you be able to teach with your new found knowledge? etc
How much does that cost? Are their grants? I have zero money.
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Netherlands6181 Posts
On January 12 2014 14:49 MarlieChurphy wrote:Show nested quote +On January 12 2014 14:46 dravernor wrote:That is a good suggestion. I wanted to do that, but I could not on my current passport. You would do a TEFL course on their website www.tefl.com/ (I think that is the correct one) and I think you only really need to know the basics of hangul - greetings and shop names etc for you to be okay down there, which shouldn't be a problem if you are 100% invested. Failing that, you should work in ESPORTS! + Show Spoiler +Sounds like Quantic need a new manager anyway. sometimes a minimum wage, shitty job is what you need for that boost into working your way up though. Look into things that interest you and see what opportunities come with each one. Would you be able to teach with your new found knowledge? etc How much does that cost? Are their grants? I have zero money.
I'm not sure, there were special offers a while ago. But by taking even a minimum wage shitty job, you could at least save some money for this investment in your future.
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I've been reading up on the site and it all seems sort of scammish. Like they say that you don't need the degree, but to be competitive you do, and they market the whole scheme as an exotic all expense paid trip but no guarantee of work. And then I saw something about not including the world 'online' in the certification.
Found the costs: http://go-tefl.com/cost.html
Anyone know what all this stuff means? And are there any recourse for information on this other than their site? Also what are the costs of all the other paperwork and stuff needed to do this? Are there any costs to find jobs? How do you find jobs? I'm pretty skeptical.
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On January 12 2014 14:16 Fighter wrote:
I'm not exactly sure what your situation is... you mentioned needing 12 more credits since you took the CHSPE (not sure what this is..). Do you have a college degree?
If so, then go teach English in a foreign country. I came to Korea almost 2 years ago. I love my job, I get paid well, and everything is pretty much taken care of for you. You don't need a car, obviously, and whichever school picks you up will pay for your plane tickets and living accomodations. The only thing you'll need to front for is food for your first month and some paperwork costs at the beginning. Also, you will likely only be working about 30 hours a week, so you can make some good money to pick yourself up while still having plenty of free time to develop yourself in a more professionally oriented direction.
It's a HELL of a lot better than a "minimum wage shithole job".
This is something I have casually considered in the past. It would certainly be an opportunity for me to improve in all aspects of my life. I'd appreciate a simple step-by-step on how to go from anytown, USA into that position in Korea. If I knew the general idea of how to get there, then maybe it would become a real option for me.
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well...money creates opportunities. YOu have no money, hence you have no opportunities.
It wuld be nice to relocate, but you need money for that.
You need money to go to school.
You need money to do something with your hands (buy equipment and have a workspace)
so you should probably get a minimum wage job and try to save up some money or find an interest in skills that are relatively free to learn or where there is a wealth of information to market yourself
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On January 12 2014 15:37 Smurfett3 wrote:
well...money creates opportunities. YOu have no money, hence you have no opportunities.
It wuld be nice to relocate, but you need money for that.
You need money to go to school.
You need money to do something with your hands (buy equipment and have a workspace)
so you should probably get a minimum wage job and try to save up some money or find an interest in skills that are relatively free to learn or where there is a wealth of information to market yourself
The problem with this is you can't save money on minimum wage.
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On January 12 2014 15:44 MarlieChurphy wrote:Show nested quote +On January 12 2014 15:37 Smurfett3 wrote:
well...money creates opportunities. YOu have no money, hence you have no opportunities.
It wuld be nice to relocate, but you need money for that.
You need money to go to school.
You need money to do something with your hands (buy equipment and have a workspace)
so you should probably get a minimum wage job and try to save up some money or find an interest in skills that are relatively free to learn or where there is a wealth of information to market yourself The problem with this is you can't save money on minimum wage.
Frugal until you've saved enough to make it happen. Take 2 jobs. GRIND.
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You want all the reward but none of the hardships.
You dont get to start in the middle or at the top, you start at the bottom.
Stop whining about minimum wage jobs and get on with it or remain a bum.
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you live in california? try to get into the HVAC trade. the humming air conditioners in the hot california sun is the sound of money.
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On January 12 2014 15:00 MarlieChurphy wrote:I've been reading up on the site and it all seems sort of scammish. Like they say that you don't need the degree, but to be competitive you do, and they market the whole scheme as an exotic all expense paid trip but no guarantee of work. And then I saw something about not including the world 'online' in the certification. Found the costs: http://go-tefl.com/cost.html Anyone know what all this stuff means? And are there any recourse for information on this other than their site? Also what are the costs of all the other paperwork and stuff needed to do this? Are there any costs to find jobs? How do you find jobs? I'm pretty skeptical.
I've heard good things about tefl jobs, though its far from my area itself. I'm told its a fairly good career option to, with an advanced level qualification I hear you can expect never to be out of work. Also not knowing the home language for the country you are teaching in is not a problem, you're not expected to speak anything other than English. Apparently there are extreme opportunities for sex with students as well.
As I said, I've heard lots of good things about it but none of this is direct experience.
EDIT: also, do you show your art online? It would be cool to see it!
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You can learn to fix cars and then find job as a mechanic. Once you are experienced, you will never be without a job, and can open your own shop.
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Join the military. Man up and serve the country and then get an education on their dime. :-) that was what folks 25 years ago did.
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Teaching English abroad is good, but somewhat hard if you don't have a degree. Also don't bash on lower tier colleges. In the UK, getting an HND from a college (we call community college college) is a cost effective way of skipping the first one/two pointless years of a university degree.
Teaching is very easy money, and you can find placements that just require a TEFL qualification. In the UK a CELTA is the best I think, it's like 1 month intensive. But having a degree is going to greatly improve the amount of jobs you can find and the quality of them. In fact, often a degree is enough to get you a job by itself.
Besides that you need to find a career path that you think will be fun and just plough through it from the bottom. Usually would take you about 7 years to get anywhere decent.
I'd go and get a commis job in a starred restaurant if I wasn't getting a PhD and travelling about learning languages. That's what I enjoyed and pretty much the only series of jobs I had that didn't involve studying/teaching. The hours are horrendous though, start at 6-8 finish at 11-12 every day.
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Do some volounteering abroad!
Last year when I was kicked out of my uni I went to Scotland (chosen pretty randomly from ads from all over the Europe) and spent a month working in a hostel in exchange for accomodation and breakfast. This doesn't earn you money but you have free accomodation and no other expences than some food. It's not full-time so there's time for you to find a proper job.
Half of the folks there were specifically for finding "a place to live" and it was a great opportunity! Holiday season was starting and they would find a job in a day. There was even one girl from California. I remember her saying about her first months in Europe, that she felt very bad about Europe, it was weird and she didn't like it at all. Then something clicked and now when asked by her friends when she's coming back she laughs because why would she!
The site is called helpx.net, I would recommend Europe because I like it here : ) but it's worldwide. If you just need time for yourself to think about your life you can try something else than hostels, like homestay or farm stay where your host will cover everything for you (sometimes a small allowance, or straight up pay if you would work more than average.
If you want me to talk more about my experience send me a PM.
PS. Year after I'm still jobless and similar position to you and I'm seriously considering this again, this time not as holidays but as an opportunity to find a place for me. When you leave home, there's this freshness and things just go better.
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oh my, this thread is so depressing...
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EPT
