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After reading several posts regarding higher education it compelled me to respond. I have basically been unemployed for almost 3 years. I write that with a caveat, a few things here and there but never resulted in continuous employment. I have graduated from college 4 times, yes 4 times. My GPA was 3.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 4.0 and the 4.0 GPAs were in two separate graduate degree programs. I have a Liberal Arts degree with a minor in Math which wasn't really ever going to get me far, but then I graduated from Nursing School, then a Graduate Degree in Organizational Management and then a MBA. It is unfathomable to me how much I have chased the elusive American Dream to stay on this road to nowhere. I did what people told me to do, "Educate yourself!";"Don't worry about the debt, a good job will return the investment many times over your lifetime!", "You're such a bright woman, you are going places!" Ha! I am now more than $100K in debt and the government doesn't care one iota about whether I have a job, or live up to their false advertising of accomplishment and achievement through a degree-they just want their money.
I left nursing to complete a graduate degree so I could help not only be a role model to my son as a single parent, but to financially be more viable to him as he grew. Now, after 1o years out of nursing, no one in the healthcare arena will hire me stating, "You've been away for too long."; "We can hire new grads cheaper"; "You don't know what nursing is even like anymore". The 10 years I spent away from nursing was working primarily as a consultant to the cut throat side of corporate America teaching them how to save $$$ by becoming more efficient in the ways of cost, quality, safety, delivery, and morale. In return, I spent several uncomfortable moments being suppressed by the "Good Ol' Boy Club", not being taken seriously (I am a 5'6", petite blonde), or worse-in sexual harassment situations that happen more than we will ever acknowledge (because we made laws about that in the 80's-therefore it doesn't happen anymore).
So, now, when I actually apply and get interviewed for full-time employment, I repeatedly hear, "You're over-qualified!" So that ladies and gentleman is the kick in the teeth.
Which university did you get each of your degrees from?
You said you worked as a consultant? Was in management consulting? Which firm was this?
After reading several posts regarding higher education it compelled me to respond. I have basically been unemployed for almost 3 years. I write that with a caveat, a few things here and there but never resulted in continuous employment. I have graduated from college 4 times, yes 4 times. My GPA was 3.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 4.0 and the 4.0 GPAs were in two separate graduate degree programs. I have a Liberal Arts degree with a minor in Math which wasn't really ever going to get me far, but then I graduated from Nursing School, then a Graduate Degree in Organizational Management and then a MBA. It is unfathomable to me how much I have chased the elusive American Dream to stay on this road to nowhere. I did what people told me to do, "Educate yourself!";"Don't worry about the debt, a good job will return the investment many times over your lifetime!", "You're such a bright woman, you are going places!" Ha! I am now more than $100K in debt and the government doesn't care one iota about whether I have a job, or live up to their false advertising of accomplishment and achievement through a degree-they just want their money.
I left nursing to complete a graduate degree so I could help not only be a role model to my son as a single parent, but to financially be more viable to him as he grew. Now, after 1o years out of nursing, no one in the healthcare arena will hire me stating, "You've been away for too long."; "We can hire new grads cheaper"; "You don't know what nursing is even like anymore". The 10 years I spent away from nursing was working primarily as a consultant to the cut throat side of corporate America teaching them how to save $$$ by becoming more efficient in the ways of cost, quality, safety, delivery, and morale. In return, I spent several uncomfortable moments being suppressed by the "Good Ol' Boy Club", not being taken seriously (I am a 5'6", petite blonde), or worse-in sexual harassment situations that happen more than we will ever acknowledge (because we made laws about that in the 80's-therefore it doesn't happen anymore).
So, now, when I actually apply and get interviewed for full-time employment, I repeatedly hear, "You're over-qualified!" So that ladies and gentleman is the kick in the teeth.
Sorry you're going through this. Don't blame the "American dream" or the government. No one told you to get multiple degrees. It sounds like you bounced from one area to another without a real plan.
Anyway, I would suggest you redact your resume to only include the amount of experience/education listed in the job posting. Also, create multiple targeted resumes. I'm assuming you are looking nationwide.
It doesn't matter if your auto-didactic. you need a college degree
get a student loan from the government. Yes, it will put you in debt, but you will be able to work towards a bright future. If you say you can learn calculus by yourself, you should be able to handle most majors. Pick something that can get you employed right after undergrad. You don't have too many options here, but there are some. Accounting, Education, Engineering, Finance, Management Information Systems, Nursing seem to be the only ones. Unfortunately, things like Finance will probably look at your background and think you're unreliable.
or if you are good at computers, go for an Associates in computer tech. These jobs aren't the most glamorous, but you will be able to work as a computer repair person. It seems like the computer field is one of those that values your skill above anything else. So that is another option.
I would say the best options for you are either nursing (if you can handle the blood) or Education with a Math major. Math teachers are still needed in some areas of the country, and also in high-poverty regions. Based on your work history, i'm going to assume you wouldn't turn down a job just because it was in a low-income neighborhood. So that is a valid option for you.
Yes, these will take a long time. And yes, you will have to take out a loan. But at least you will have a shot at a better future. Right now, it seems like you don't have that option. So, is that chance worth the years of sacrifice and personal debt? In my opinion, yes it is.
With all due respect, and it's a stretch... BS.
I took out that government loan ($36K) and got that business degree (MARCOM/PR/Corp Comm) at age 33 in 2000.
Since then I have gotten ONE interview... even using "professional" resume/job "help".
I have yet to have anyone hire me for a job that even comes close to paying the INTEREST (8.25%) on that loan... which, BTW, is up to over $50K now while I am "lucky" to have yet another Part Time labor job.
Once you hit 30+ and do not have a solid 5-10 years here or there in employment NO ONE WILL HIRE YOU. Simple as that. You are seen as damaged goods. Too old and too much of an HR liability.
...Anyway, I would suggest you redact your resume to only include the amount of experience/education listed in the job posting. Also, create multiple targeted resumes. I'm assuming you are looking nationwide.
Good luck.
Great advice.
Too bad it doesn't work... and FWIW, I am essentially bankrupt from "looking nationwide" - because most employers are not interested in moving employees to them (unless on H1-B), so I've moved to 3 Major Markets in the last 14 years looking for professional work... and only getting hired on temp contracts/agencies.
Of course, since I am not "allowed" to go bankrupt (Thank You Sleazeball Politicians & SallieMae), it's pretty much a moot point.
Wow, this is a long bump. I don't do facebook, so can't really comment on your photo. Can't you host it somewhere else?
I guess I should update my progress over the past 2 1/2 years. I ended up employed at a company that was paying $10 / hour, doing some online selling, a ton of Excel, and eventually, just took it upon myself to convert all that work into a database. What took a week all of a sudden took 2 hours.
I was basically tossed into the fire, told that I was the manager for a small piece of the company, and told to do as I saw fit to make the area expand and be profitable. There was a lot of responsibitity, and I'm grateful for the trust (albeit random) that was bestowed upon me. My department grew from about $50k / year in sales to over $12M / year in sales. It took covering all aspects, from assisting the warehouse, logistics, customer service, and putting out fires every single day.
Well... there is a reason that some companies have one-star ratings from glassdoor. To call it cloak-and-dagger, toxic, and horribly ran would be an understatement. The stress brought down on my head was horrible to put it lightly. I often joke that I didn't get the whole griping around the Amazon horror stories, and to be honest, it was true. I looked around and saw how upset and angry everyone was (to the point that one coworker actually got counseling to deal with the job). I had a scary night where my heart wouldn't stop racing and, I'm sure, nearly died. It got to the point that no one would show up to work on a regular basis, no one could get assistance for their ever-expanding work (there was assistance, but that is a totally different topic), company outings just caused massive arguments, and people were quitting to work at random jobs because that sounded like a better opportunity. Granted, I got a few raises and I was the among the highest paid employees at the company, but you can only sit by and watch and take so much racism, sexism, and general abuse.
To make ends meet better, I started selling on eBay (top rated plus), but that ended after about 6 months since I eventually had to dip into my bankroll for all the life issues that popped up.
I simply but my head down and interviewed as much as I could, but couldn't land another job after a year and a half of trying. I ran into many issues at home, moving 3 times in less than a year, and eventually called it quits on the city I was in. I moved to another town with, what I thought, was more opportunity, and things went okay for the first few months. I eventually landed a job at a company I truly believed would "make" my resume. It was an interesting job in an interesting field, but it was only contract work, though it paid well, much better than any other job I've ever had (75k / yr).
A very bad life decision combined with my contract completing early caused my whole world to shatter into a million pieces. The next few months were pure hell, sleeping in a shelter, two stays in the hospital, bouncing from creepy home to creepy home, losing most of my friends, etc. I'm now working in a restaurant earning minimum wage and sort of eeking by paycheck to paycheck, which is something I haven't experienced for quite some time now. It would be humbling if I didn't experience all of this **** before, but it's now frustrating and confusing. To cope, I stay at home and study as much as possible and continue working on my projects. My work mode is pretty much all waking hours, though I take a break now and then.
There is no work where I am and I'm trying to head out. I know I have the ability and base-knowledge to do better than what I'm doing, but it's hard to figure out a good plan that won't cause another full-on collapse. I've been effectively unemployed for over 6 months now. I've been building out my own massive projects and just seeing where that will take me, if anywhere. Everyone advises me to give up the job hunt and just start my own, but that's insane with no money and no desire to do it. Plus, what the hell, I know I'm not the dumbest person who sits across from every interview table. I just want a low-stress, stable life and settle down.
Long story short, I "made" it and watched it vaporize in quick time.
This doesn't make sense. You were out of work for 10 years. You eventually got a decent job and the stress bothered you? Was that stress worse than...being unemployed for 10 years?
OP - your posts often refer to "many issues at home", "very bad life decision", etc. Please don't take this in a bad way, but have you talked to a mental health professional? One of my brother-in-law can't hold a job, can't get along with anybody and lives as a hermit; yet the guy has an EE degree and worked on avionics for one of the big airlines, so intellectually he's no dummy. We finally convinced him to get checked out, and it turned out he has Asperger's syndrome.
Do you have a family member or a trusted friend that you can use as a sounding board, when you need to make an important decision? This may help you avoid some of the bad decisions you seem to be running into. I think the answer is "no", but I had to ask.
OP - your posts often refer to "many issues at home", "very bad life decision", etc. Please don't take this in a bad way, but have you talked to a mental health professional? One of my brother-in-law can't hold a job, can't get along with anybody and lives as a hermit; yet the guy has an EE degree and worked on avionics for one of the big airlines, so intellectually he's no dummy. We finally convinced him to get checked out, and it turned out he has Asperger's syndrome.
Do you have a family member or a trusted friend that you can use as a sounding board, when you need to make an important decision? This may help you avoid some of the bad decisions you seem to be running into. I think the answer is "no", but I had to ask.
That's fine and nice but you still have to explain to prospective employers your previous employment history and saying you recently got diagnosed for aspergers may not resonate positively at a future job interview.
I myself have ADHD and need to take a multitude of medications to be able to focus at all at your average corporate job. I will never bring it up and will just to lie about my past and on my resume
This doesn't make sense. You were out of work for 10 years. You eventually got a decent job and the stress bothered you? Was that stress worse than...being unemployed for 10 years?
Yes, it was worse! I was responsible for a very large part of the company, and there were many forces actively and accidentally looking to see me fail. On any given day, a mishap could end up costing the company thousands of dollars a day. If I failed to act on many things and my entire department closed down, I would have to answer to 60 people why they lost their jobs. This is not the stress you want to have.
What do you mean by "decent" exactly? One of my roommates works in fast food. Incidentally, he has been working at this restaurant for 2 years, which is about as long as I was working at this company. He is now earning about as much as I was earning, has paid vacation, paid sick days, and full benefits.
You can say obamacare all you want, but I was going to get charged about 20% of by bring-home for it. I also spent nearly $3,000 out of pocket for dental care (not included in obamacare). Any company over 50 employees has to supply health insurance. The company I worked for fired 70% of the crew and made them temps. Ironically, they all got raises and benefits. I was kept as a regular employee and didn't have any of that.
Laying on the floor from midnight to 4am, writhing in chest / arm / head pain, while foam is coming out of my mouth, was a massive wake up call. It is no longer about finding something to make ends meet (I can do day labor and make ends meet) or the pride of doing work that is apparently above fast food. I had another heart incident a few months back. I'm only 37 now, and I'm not entirely sure that, without health insurance, that I will make it to 40.
I'm willing to take any risk at this point in my life. Part of the reason I left LA was that, well, living on about $10 / hr in that town isn't living at all, and I had some other opportunity to work, earning good wages, as long as I was willing to relocate. When I was booted from my apartment (no fault of mine), I was faced with the decision to spend over $3,000 moving down or spending $1,000 move to an intermediary city. I took the latter choice.
Sadly, I honestly have no clue how to parlay my work experience into something better.
Quote:
Did you quit that job or were you fired?
I quit. In fact, they called me a few times to get my advice on various items that popped up, and even asked if I was willing to move back to LA to return to work for them. I had my good job at that point, and declined, of course.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2nccoast
OP - your posts often refer to "many issues at home", "very bad life decision", etc. Please don't take this in a bad way, but have you talked to a mental health professional? One of my brother-in-law can't hold a job, can't get along with anybody and lives as a hermit; yet the guy has an EE degree and worked on avionics for one of the big airlines, so intellectually he's no dummy. We finally convinced him to get checked out, and it turned out he has Asperger's syndrome.
Do you have a family member or a trusted friend that you can use as a sounding board, when you need to make an important decision? This may help you avoid some of the bad decisions you seem to be running into. I think the answer is "no", but I had to ask.
I mean, there are things that are a bit "off" about me, I suppose, but I'm definitely not mentally ill (long story short, I've had more psychiatric evaluation than pretty much anyone you know). Most people who know me call me kind and it appears people like me. I've had quite a few long-term friends and been acquainted with many thousands of people. I have friends I've known for 15 years or so. I'm sort of an ambivert.
The struggle I have, and unfortunately, I don't have anyone in this living state, is trying to navigate myself in a non-poverty world. I don't understand middle class at all. My "very bad life decision" was thinking I finally made it out of poverty, which ended up costing me. Lesson learned.
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Here's unemployable, I don't know why
