Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Q: I am a recent college graduate, but I am working nights at a convenience store until something better comes along. I don’t usually see people I know, but a high school classmate seemed smugly surprised to see me at the cash register. I mumbled some excuse about travel plans falling through, but it sounded lame. How should I handle these embarrassing run-ins? BRETT, GAITHERSBURG
A: Never be embarrassed about honest work. Do you think Brad Pitt is ashamed that he started out delivering refrigerators, or Kanye West is blushing that he folded sweaters at the Gap? We all begin somewhere.
Ignore smug looks. Life is generally long enough for all of us to have ups and downs. One of the marks of nice people is not being snooty about our ups (or superior about other people’s downs). If someone asks, “What are you doing here?,” you can say: “Working until something better comes along. Got any leads?”
Had an encounter last night in the grocery store where I now work. Someone from past workplace where I made twice as much in an office job but was laid off.
She confessed to still being at this hellish office, and looked tired and depressed. She said she was surprized to see me working here.
I said, well it came along, was close to home, and I like the people I work with and for and I am happy, though I don't make a lot.
She said, ''well it's all that matters''. I couldn't help but feel bad for her as I knew 2 years ago that she hated where she was, as did most of us there.
Sometimes a ''lesser job'' is ''more'', depending on your needs and circumstances.
I agree you shouldn't be ashamed of working. But that's easier said than done. I experience this sometimes when I see someone I know. It'd be different if I were "starting out" like the Brad Pitt and Kanye examples given, but it's more embarrassing when you don't see yourself on any particular path out of the crap jobs and you realize some people never do get out of them.
I worked as a low level manager in charge of the "Work Parties" when they occurred. I also was under the supervision of an anal twit who was constantly picking at things (Label on shelf is crooked, stack of CRT's is touching yellow caution lines) and small stuff like that.
When I was laid off, I went out dancing and tossed my Prozac and Lithium....I have NEVER accepted another management position due to this and will happily be a "Peon" because I come in, do my job and LEAVE and all this is 8 hours, not 12 hour shifts anymore...
I have seen 5 people who I worked with, one is a manager elsewhere and looks ragged, the others were unfriendly back then and when I saw them again, they were bright and happy. They too admit life was better after that hell of a company.
Had an encounter last night in the grocery store where I now work. Someone from past workplace where I made twice as much in an office job but was laid off.
She confessed to still being at this hellish office, and looked tired and depressed. She said she was surprized to see me working here.
I said, well it came along, was close to home, and I like the people I work with and for and I am happy, though I don't make a lot.
She said, ''well it's all that matters''. I couldn't help but feel bad for her as I knew 2 years ago that she hated where she was, as did most of us there.
Sometimes a ''lesser job'' is ''more'', depending on your needs and circumstances.
I'm also of the opinion that people need to get fulfillment from more than their careers or money. Oftentimes the best things in life are either free or inexpensive.
I think this speaks more volumes of how BROKEN our education system is.. No college graduate should be working at a convenience store. Its a sad of affairs when you have more college graduates underemployed and working at a dead end place than you do college graduates with a good career.
I think this speaks more volumes of how BROKEN our education system is.. No college graduate should be working at a convenience store. Its a sad of affairs when you have more college graduates underemployed and working at a dead end place than you do college graduates with a good career.
What the hell has happened to america?
Worthless college degrees are the problem.
While in college, working and obtaining experience should be as much of a priority as earning the degree.
No employer will want to pay a 22 yr old who's never worked in his/her life $50k+ simply because they earned a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. They'd rather hire the other guy, the 27 year old who took 4 years to earn an A.A. due to time spent working at the factory to support himself, and who has a proven track record of consistent hard work valuable to the employer.
I think this speaks more volumes of how BROKEN our education system is.. No college graduate should be working at a convenience store. Its a sad of affairs when you have more college graduates underemployed and working at a dead end place than you do college graduates with a good career.
What the hell has happened to america?
There are not enough jobs to absorb all the graduates that are being pumped out of the diploma mills nowadays. In the past if you had a degree that was a sure bet to a professional level job. Now that a bachelors degree is the new HS diploma it's just not as valuable. Reality is we don't have enough grads in areas in demand, such as computer science or engineering.
We must also not forget that college is not a vocational school with guaranteed job placement. Someone who is going to get an education strictly to get a job is better off pursing a skilled trade than a degree in gender studies.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
