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I am still careerless and lost, after getting my useless $60,000 BA degree 10 years ago and no job out of it. Looking for high/highest pay jobs to fix my damn life, already. Currently still stuck in the Buffalo area, and HATE it... Want to get to WA or OR, eventually, probably.
Personality:
* Shy/Quiet/Timid/Unsocial
* PBD(Pretty Basic Dude) - No real skills/abilities, outside of general labor & computers
* Not a genius, but got a 3.85 GPA in high school
Good With:
* Hands-on / labor work
* General computer(use, maintenance, building & repairing) & technical work
* Solo work, or small team
Bad With:
* Extremely boring/dull/slow work (including truck driving)
* Highly repetitive, fast-paced work (ie, small parts assembly)
* Frantic workplace/operations
* Excessive danger/health hazards (electrician? welder?)
* Classroom-like workplaces (too social)
* Standing in place extensively
* Programming/Intense computer use
Location(s) Willing To Go:
* Lower 48 states
* No harsh, long Winters
* General area preferences: WA/OR > CO/AZ > New England-ish area
* Ideally living outside a city, to maximize income-to-expense ratio
Miscellaneous:
* Ideally no college required, or 2 years max at low cost
* I have $42K debt left and no significant income/savings currently
* I have tried getting high-pay(up to $25/hr) manufacturing jobs here and in Alabama, but failed (because of no experience?)
* I have a vehicle (small SUV)
* Ideal pay well over $20/hr
* I have no automotive/engine experience, and do not wish to spend thousands on tools
* I only have warehouse, janitor, general labor, and computer experience (basic jobs to get by)
* I have a Career Readiness Test Certification, of Platinum level, and a BA in Game Design(useless)
Based on this post, your degree wasn't useless. I suspect there are other reasons why you've not been successful. What have you been doing the last 10 years? What's on your resume?
Based on this post, your degree wasn't useless. I suspect there are other reasons why you've not been successful. What have you been doing the last 10 years? What's on your resume?
Not useless? How do you mean..?
During and since college, I spent about 5 years doing unpaid internships as a 3D Artist, trying to gain skill enough to be hired. After getting nowhere with that(from burnout, or aiming too high, or limited freedom of software use at companies back then), I got my first payroll job as a part-time Janitor. Did that for 5 years, bought my first car, and immediately got a job upgrade as a full-time warehouse worker. Did that for 2 years until June 2018, and quit due to new company ownership and everything going to Hell there. I spent the last of my saving flying to a big money manufacturing job interview in Alabama, and didn't get it(I suspect due to no manuf experience). I suppose I could have aimed my sights lower as a 3D Artist, but I was already working with low-level companies/games, for my first bit of actual game experience. My life has pretty much fallen apart now, with all of this debt and failure buildup hitting me, so my social anxiety has become quite bad, as well as some degree of money-related depression.
My resume lists:
- Name, address, email, phone
- Objectives("Seeking engaging, rewarding, healthy/honest work that enables me to closer meet my potential, where useful, transferable skills are gained")
- High school info
- College info
- The 5 main jobs I've had, from high school to warehouse
- Hobbies & interests
- Languages
- References
When job searching, I've mainly only used Craigslist and recently Indeed, not applying for jobs that seem unrealistically beyond my current experience. My experience with job recruiters has been quite poor, leading to jobs with undesirable work and static, low pay.
Last edited by Browniesaurus; 01-19-2019 at 08:22 PM..
Don't got to Seattle or other high cost of living areas. You won't make enough to make ends meet. AZ is good, so is NM, and most southern states.
So let's take a look at the list:
Quote:
* Manufacturing
As what?
Quote:
* Mechanical Assembly?
You don't like boring things, so no. After assembling the same object 4,000 times you'll fall asleep on the job.
Quote:
* Locksmith?
Need training, and licensing. Research if there are apprenticeships in this, not sure.
Quote:
* Lineman/crew?
Of what?
Quote:
* Coastal shipping freight container HVAC Tech?
Research apprenticeships. If none exist in the areas you're looking in, game over.
Quote:
* Civil Service/Government?
As what?
Quote:
* Surveyor/Road Construction Crew Member?
Does this require apprenticeships? If yes, research them and find out.
Quote:
* Transmission/Small Engine Repair?
Requires training, certification and experience. You better get an internship and get a job with the company you're interning with or else your internship becomes worthless.
Quote:
* Garbage Truck Helper?
Private sector usually has one driver and automated the rest. Public sector requires connections.
Don't got to Seattle or other high cost of living areas. You won't make enough to make ends meet. AZ is good, so is NM, and most southern states.
Yeah, definitely not interested living directly in any city, due to cost. Was thinking Vancouver/Tacoma/Olympia, for WA.
This job list is my little quick list I came up with. Open for whatever's out there, that seems a good match. =p
* Manufacturing - As...an entry level worker, in food/product manufacturing? I assume there are a couple common types of machines that lots of places use, that I'd be trained on, or have to learn elsewhere first. This may be my best bet, for now, as there are apparently entry level, no experience needed openings(apparently).
* Mechanical Assembly - This caught my eye, as a decently high pay job($17/hr) that's got more to it than braindead Small Parts Assembly work or beer breakage, though it looks like I'd need training from somewhere. Hard to tell the Boring Factor on this one, without seeing it first-hand. I've been trying to contact a job recruiter about an opening.
* Locksmith - I've been recommended this job by a few folks. Training is short and only about $600, IIRC, but not sure what to expect for pay.
* Lineman/crew - You know, those guys who fix up the power lines after storms? Maybe they are all Linemen, without secondary assistants. Danger Factor here, but perhaps much less than Electrician. I assume this would be done by a local/state power company.
* Civil Service/Government - As...I have no idea. Quite a slew of jobs and job variation here, so I should definitely give this another good look.
* Lab Tech - Some kind of basic Lab Assistant/Helper, I guess. There was a big company in Phoenix that hired people with non-related degrees, but this is probably not that high of pay anyway.
* Snake Rancher/Breeder - Not sure where something like this exists, haha. Probably somewhere hot, like Texas or FL. And probably a real obscure job to get/find...
Last edited by Browniesaurus; 01-19-2019 at 10:06 PM..
During and since college, I spent about 5 years doing unpaid internships as a 3D Artist, trying to gain skill enough to be hired. After getting nowhere with that(from burnout, or aiming too high, or limited freedom of software use at companies back then), I got my first payroll job as a part-time Janitor. Did that for 5 years, bought my first car, and immediately got a job upgrade as a full-time warehouse worker. Did that for 2 years until June 2018, and quit due to new company ownership and everything going to Hell there. I spent the last of my saving flying to a big money manufacturing job interview in Alabama, and didn't get it(I suspect due to no manuf experience). I suppose I could have aimed my sights lower as a 3D Artist, but I was already working with low-level companies/games, for my first bit of actual game experience. My life has pretty much fallen apart now, with all of this debt and failure buildup hitting me, so my social anxiety has become quite bad, as well as some degree of money-related depression.
My resume lists:
- Name, address, email, phone
- Objectives("Seeking engaging, rewarding, healthy/honest work that enables me to closer meet my potential, where useful, transferable skills are gained")
- High school info
- College info
- The 5 main jobs I've had, from high school to warehouse
- Hobbies & interests
- Languages
- References
When job searching, I've mainly only used Craigslist and recently Indeed, not applying for jobs that seem unrealistically beyond my current experience. My experience with job recruiters has been quite poor, leading to jobs with undesirable work and static, low pay.
You are not the only person that has gotten a degree in game design. The problem was you did too many unpaid internships after you graduated. Five years? You made a common mistake made by new graduates. When you found out that your unrealistic expectations didn't work in the real world, you choose not to course correct. Instead of looking for other "professional" type jobs one could get while leveraging a computer science type degree, you went the "bottom" route and stayed there. Then the years passed.
-Take the objective off your resume. It's meaningless.
-Remove high school and references
-Remove hobbies, interests. Only include languages besides English in which you are fluent.
-Create two separate resumes. One for your lower end warehouse type work and one for your professional IT type work. Add a professional skills sections highlighting your specific computer related abilities.
-Try to get a quickie IT cert of some sort. Look to see if you could land a low end desktop support job. It's a foot in the door.
When you found out that your unrealistic expectations didn't work in the real world, you choose not to course correct. Instead of looking for other "professional" type jobs one could get while leveraging a computer science type degree, you went the "bottom" route and stayed there. Then the years passed.
Yeah, I kinda fell out of love with computer work, after doing so much of it. Got bad dry eye from it, too. I may definitely give it a shot again later, when I've got more spare money and life stability for it. There are definitely confidence issues here, as well, concerning trying to get some other professional job(s) I have no experience with. :\ Just having some stability does a lot for me, as a big step in the right direction mentally and financially. And I'm not really sure what use my degree has, other than to rank up in the military, or to potentially skip some classes while getting a new degree. I think this area is a big part of my problem, as far as pay goes, though online work is definitely possible.
Last edited by Browniesaurus; 01-20-2019 at 07:41 AM..
Start with what you like to do... the 5 most favorite.
Pick ONE. Stick with it. Develop some expertise. Charge what your time is worth.
(in that order)
As to "maximizing"... that's mostly on the spending side of the equation.
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