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I will be 31 next week. I have a BA in English and TEFL Certificate and I feel like I will be stuck in Detroit or MI for the rest of my life. I still live with my mother as I am trying to go back to school to get a Teaching Certificate (which they are making it darn near impossible to get one and it's a heck of an expensive 3 year haul to get it thanks to No Child Left Behind) or an MA in TESOL (which I am leaning more towards). My long term career goal is to work in the creative industry, but I am trying to be realistic by getting something that can provide me my own place again and a better living area.
I despise this city and it depresses me. I work one PT at home but that isn't enough. I have an older car that is sometimes not reliable but I would like to get more PT jobs. I do NOT want to ride the buses in Detroit if my car breaks down or whatnot. I am a single female with no gun (I have to get one). I don't mind riding public transportation in a safer city but DETROIT is one city where I will NEVER ride public transportation.
Now I am pretty much facing having to take out more and more loans to pay for some stupid prerequisite courses. I do not want to be stuck in Detroit for 3+ more years earning a certificate because of some sickening new law that is driving teachers to quit their jobs.
I hate the DAY my grandparents moved to Michigan!
How can I get out of this hellhole???? Anybody who moved have advice? I have family in Arizona and Florida. I don't want to live with them but how can I find jobs/get places in AZ? Someone please tell me how you did it! I can say, however, I am thankful that I have no children or a husband or a mortgage, so I have some freedom.
SOMETIMES you simply have to take it on FAITH, and make a complete break.
That means possibly you should just pack up your stuff right NOW, and get out of Dodge!
Create a listing on LinkedIn for yourself, and start connecting to people. Then drive to wherever you think you'd like to live, and start networking with everybody to find a job. Tell EVERYBODY that you are looking for a job. You never know who might be needing somebody, or knows someone... Be willing to take nearly anything right at first, until you can get enough money for a place to live.
Once you've made the break and got your head clear, things might really start going positive for you!
I hate to break it to you, but English Major is the stereotypical unemployable degree. About on par with the degree in Medieval French literature.
Have you thought about getting a job in sales, retail, anywhere they need a literate person they are willing to provide with on-job training ? Long, long time ago I tried to get into writing technical manuals, but the field was full of people with your kind of degree - perhaps this could be another avenue to explore.
You wouldn't be any better off in Atlanta or Chicago, let alone NYC or LA. Your problem is that you don't have a marketable skill. Sorry, I am not being mean, just trying to help.
You need to think about switching fields and trying to get into a job that would give you skill and experience. Also, are you really stuck in Detroit ? Can you find cheap accommodation in Warren, Oak Park or Southfield ?
First of all, NCLB is no longer in effect. It was repealed.
Second, you will never make it as a teacher if you are going into for this reason. Also, English is the second most saturated subject, after social studies and jobs are hard to come by in the majority of the country.
Third, why are you only working part time at 31? I was working two jobs, 50+ hours per week, at 17. I put myself through college by working full time (it did take me 5 years, but that was with working full time). I have worked two full time jobs at a time, twice, to support myself. I moved out at 19 and have never received assistance from my parents, with the exception of the few months that I lived with them because the sale on my house fell through. (I was in MI, job was in MI, house was in NC. I bought the house at 25, BTW). I taught for a decade, left because of the increasing restrictions on creativity paired with the decreasing pay. For 8 of the 10 years I taught, I worked retail to make ends meet (20-40 hours per week). I now make over double my teaching salary working in the corporate world with an elementary education degree. I am 33 for the record. Basically, quit whining and do something about it. Go to Quicken's website and start applying for any of Dan Gilbert's companies. They typically don't care what your degree is in. My step-brother's friend works as a processor and he has an English degree. There are many other companies that hire. Kroger will accept any college degree into their managerial program. Go to their website.
If you really want to live in AZ, post on their forum. When I moved to North Carolina to teach out of college, I mailed out HUNDREDS of resumes, if not more. I bought many rolls of stamps. This was in addition to the online applications. I followed up with the resumes and cover letters to show I was truly interested. I went on three interviews and received dozens of offers (one interview was for the district in general), including the on-the-spot offer I accepted. That was in June, and I turned down many more interviews. Who knows how many offers I could have had.
Change isn't going to happen for you or to you. You need to do something to make it happen.
Since you already have the TEFL certificate, you could just go teach ESL abroad (I taught in Korea for a year). Surely you have researched this already, maybe even already done it for a while. If you haven't, then WHY NOT? Why'd you get the cert if you aren't going to use it? There are also ways to teach online, which you could do from anywhere, including Detroit, or AZ or FL if you prefer.
UM used to have a M.Ed. program that combined the M.Ed. with a teaching certificate, and there were various ways to get this paid for. It might still be available. I met an English major many years ago who did this and didn't pay a cent for it.
But do you really want to teach at all? If you want to work in "the creative industry", then do so. Not sure what you mean by that -- do you want to work for someone else, or do you want to be a self-employed artist of some kind? Either way, if you are 31, only working part-time, and living with your mom, you should already have a portfolio of completed work by now (canvases or manuscripts or whatever), even if you haven't been able to sell any of it yet. If not, then whose fault is that? (Hint: neither the city of Detroit's nor your grandparents'.)
I have done what MikeBear advised above more than once in my life (not as precipitously has he suggests -- I planned and saved for a while -- but I did it). It can be done. The only thing keeping you in Detroit is YOU.
An English major isn't bad, but you have to get experience in whatever field you decide to go into to get a lot of income/career stability.
Despite the ignorant comments above, aside from engineering, programming, nursing etc., it's no worse than a degree like business or economics. Most employers with a brain in their heads don't really care that much what you studied as an undergrad.
An Emglish major with five years of job experience working in, for example, communications or PR or marketing, is very employable and can make a very good living. Writing is a valuable skill because communication is important on a multitude of levels in the corporate world and elsewhere.
That being said, I would encourage you to pursue something lucrative. Purely creative fields can be brutal and you sound like you are already getting bitter.
I agree that getting a teaching degree is not likely to be satisfying for someone doing it solely as a backup.
I've worked in a lot of fields...its way, way better on the corporate/lucrative side. You are treated well, compensated fairly, generally assisted with a career path.
In industries that are really creative employers tend to ruthlessly exploit the army of young people dying to break in. You can find yourself living barely above the poverty line for years and seen as completely expendable by your employer.
Make a jump and get into a field where you can make cash.
You can get a realty license for less than $500 and make hundreds of thousands in a few years if you're properly motivated.
Do your creative stuff in your spare time; if you're good enough and want it bad enough, you will get where you want.
First of all, NCLB is no longer in effect. It was repealed.
Second, you will never make it as a teacher if you are going into for this reason. Also, English is the second most saturated subject, after social studies and jobs are hard to come by in the majority of the country.
Third, why are you only working part time at 31? I was working two jobs, 50+ hours per week, at 17. I put myself through college by working full time (it did take me 5 years, but that was with working full time). I have worked two full time jobs at a time, twice, to support myself. I moved out at 19 and have never received assistance from my parents, with the exception of the few months that I lived with them because the sale on my house fell through. (I was in MI, job was in MI, house was in NC. I bought the house at 25, BTW). I taught for a decade, left because of the increasing restrictions on creativity paired with the decreasing pay. For 8 of the 10 years I taught, I worked retail to make ends meet (20-40 hours per week). I now make over double my teaching salary working in the corporate world with an elementary education degree. I am 33 for the record. Basically, quit whining and do something about it. Go to Quicken's website and start applying for any of Dan Gilbert's companies. They typically don't care what your degree is in. My step-brother's friend works as a processor and he has an English degree. There are many other companies that hire. Kroger will accept any college degree into their managerial program. Go to their website.
If you really want to live in AZ, post on their forum. When I moved to North Carolina to teach out of college, I mailed out HUNDREDS of resumes, if not more. I bought many rolls of stamps. This was in addition to the online applications. I followed up with the resumes and cover letters to show I was truly interested. I went on three interviews and received dozens of offers (one interview was for the district in general), including the on-the-spot offer I accepted. That was in June, and I turned down many more interviews. Who knows how many offers I could have had.
Change isn't going to happen for you or to you. You need to do something to make it happen.
Retail management can actually pay decently in many chains once you hit assistant manager, and in many companies, you can laterally transfer to another region once you hit a certain job level. There are people who live in Hawaii because Walmart or Costco had an opening for, say, auto department manager and they ran the numbers and figured they could make it work transferring to the islands fro mtheir current store in Nebraska.
Had you posted this about 8 years ago... I would have been more sympathetic because there were no jobs around here, but that's far from the case in 2016. Although you have a degree that's not in high demand, you do have a degree. You gotta get a full time job. Your current situation has nothing to do with Detroit or Michigan. Especially since most people I know in Detroit has a job paying at least $30,000+ a year and most of them don't even have a college degree. I'm 22 and don't even have a degree yet. I hit plenty of speed bumps in my life but I can still go out tomorrow and have a full time job paying roughly $30k a year (not including overtime) by next Monday at the LATEST. Even temp jobs offer you $11 or $12 an hour full time until you get hired in (which usually takes about 6 months depending on the company). After you get hired in they usually bump your pay a few bucks more an hour. You have a degree, you gotta get out here and make some moves, plain and simple. And you really need some positivity in your life. Your not going to be happy anywhere with that attitude towards things, especially by not doing much about your financial situation. All the palm trees and mountains in the entire state of Arizona isn't going to change that. Also keep in mind Arizona is cheaper than Michigan (especially Metro Detroit). AZ doesn't have an economy as big as Detroit's, there's not as many major companies as there are in Detroit and Michigan, and the unemployment rate is a little higher in Arizona than it is in Michigan. So what you need to do is work on putting yourself in a good situation to move. Get on your feet, buy a new car, and save some money first before you even think about moving because there is no guarantee that Arizona is going to work out... especially right away. And most importantly, find a job out there before moving. There's a big job fair tomorrow August 26, 2016 from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm at Wyndham Garden Hotel 39411 Van Dyke Avenue, Sterling Heights, Michigan. Hopefully you see this in time, get your resume together, print out about 30 of them, and make your way out there. This is the FB post I saw earlier
Quote:
Metro Detroit Job Expo happening Friday, August 26, 2016. Over 50 Companies Ready to Interview.
Hiring Companies Include:
Endeavor Airline, Detroit Police Department - Hiring Officers, AirBoss Flexible Products, Hudson Group - Detroit Metro Airport, Universal Truckload - Hiring Truck Drivers, Executive Car Rental, Global Information Technology, Village Green, International Trucking School, Big Boy Restaurants, Newton Services Foundation, New Horizon Computer Learning, Securitas Security Services, Applebee's, Krystal Kleen, Inc., Weedman Lawn Care, Olga's Kitchen, Sion Recruitment, Atlantic Precision Products, Trinity Transportation, Renewal by Andersen, WADL TV -38 | Adell Broadcasting, Team Schostak Family Restaurants, Allegiance Staffing, City of Detroit - Detroit Police Department, Otto Bock Polyurethane Technologies, ITT Technical Institute, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Minacs Group, Del Taco, Michigan State Police, United States Army, MOD Pizza, Little Caesars Pizza, Just Energy, Marine Pollution Control, KFC Michigan,GTA Professional Staffing, Dufry / Hudson Group, Independent Opportunities of Michigan, Noodles & Company / Pasta Per Trio, PIC, A Trigo Company, Ace Electronics, All About Driving, Michigan Department of Corrections, Michigan Civil Service Commission, E.W. Grobbel Sons, First Class Valet, Executive Car Rental, MATCH RX and many other companies.......
HUNDREDS OF POSITIONS AVAILABLE:
Engineering, Aviation, Airline Flight Attendants, Airline Pilots, Janitorial, Security, Warehouse, Shipping and Receiving, Information Technology, Skilled Trades, Manufacturing, Blue-collar Labor, Production, Industrial, General Labor, Customer Services, Retail, Management, Restaurant, Accounting, Banking, Office Support, Clerical, Seasonal, Holiday Jobs, Data Entry, Call Center, Installation, Technical, Machining, Electrical, Mortgage, Financial Planning, Insurance, Education, Truck Driving, Real Estate, Nursing, Rehabilitation, Human Services, and other career fields.
Job opportunities are available for experienced candidates, veterans, interns, blue-collar workers, college graduates and entry-level job seekers Candidates should prepare to interview with recruiters onsite, bring 50 resume copies and dress for success.
Metro Detroit Job Expo is “Free” for all job seekers to attend.
Must apply in person: August 26, 2016 from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm at Wyndham Garden Hotel 39411 Van Dyke Avenue, Sterling Heights, Michigan.
As for public transportation, what do you think is going to happen to you by riding the bus? I could kind of understand if you worked late and lived in the hood and had to walk at night by yourself. I used to ride the bus and trust me, ain't nobody even thinking about you. Your life is not in danger by using PT, you gotta do what you gotta do. Your more likely to get robbed at a gas station pumping gas.
The only thing that can change where you are in life is you. Straight up. If your not happy, you gotta work harder to change it. Oh and another tip, try to apply for companies that have jobs in both Detroit and Arizona so you can transfer. It's the easiest way to move. I never paid much attention to it because I love Detroit and Michigan and I'm never leaving, but there are companies that do let you transfer.
Yeahhhh, I don't know if you and I live in the same Detroit or not, but as I drove my brief 6 mile commute along 12 Mile, I see more "Now Hiring" signs than I care to count. Maybe you're holding out for a job in upper-management, Cousin Eddie, but unfortunately us 31 year olds often have to work some less than stellar jobs before we can get the chance at something that really excites us.
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