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I recently left a call center job that didn't pay that well ($150-$180 per week). I worked there for two weeks, six days a week for about six hours a day. My mom says I should have stayed because I have bills to pay. I have a college degree and don't understand why I make so little money. I figured the NYC area would be better in terms of salary, especially for a college graduate.
I always end up getting interviews for jobs that pay about $7-$11/hour or so. I think that's really low for a college graduate in NYC. I figured by now I'd be in a different place. Right now I freelance write a little bit, but unfortunately it doesn't pay, but I'm building a portfolio.
I originally wanted to work in television as a production assistant, but the competitiveness of the industry makes jobs extremely hard to get. When I first left school in 2007, I got about 3 or 4 interviews a week, now I'm lucky if I get a couple a month. I work part time for a tutoring company that only runs during the school year.
I've had so many jobs that have nothing to do with my major (journalism). I notice customer service jobs are always available. I was wondering why I went to college to get a customer service job.
I recently left a call center job that didn't pay that well ($150-$180 per week). I worked there for two weeks, six days a week for about six hours a day. My mom says I should have stayed because I have bills to pay. I have a college degree and don't understand why I make so little money. I figured the NYC area would be better in terms of salary, especially for a college graduate.
I always end up getting interviews for jobs that pay about $7-$11/hour or so. I think that's really low for a college graduate in NYC. I figured by now I'd be in a different place. Right now I freelance write a little bit, but unfortunately it doesn't pay, but I'm building a portfolio.
I originally wanted to work in television as a production assistant, but the competitiveness of the industry makes jobs extremely hard to get. When I first left school in 2007, I got about 3 or 4 interviews a week, now I'm lucky if I get a couple a month. I work part time for a tutoring company that only runs during the school year.
I've had so many jobs that have nothing to do with my major (journalism). I notice customer service jobs are always available. I was wondering why I went to college to get a customer service job.
I suggest you get some help determining what type of job you can get with your degree, if you hadn't noticed, work - any kind of work is hard to come by right now.
1. Try your college career center
2. Go to the DOL career center
3. Do some 'net research
At one time a degree - any degree was a ticket to ride to a job. That is no longer true. If you have a degree in Journalism, I'd look for an internship. No job is going to pay well right now unless you have one of the "golden" degrees (medical/engineering etc.) and even then starting pay will be much less than it used to be IF you can even find a job. There are 6 people for every job available right now - take what you can get and be greatful.
People with more experience and education than you are fighting for their lives just for a job that pays 7-11 an hour.
It definitely sucks, but unfortunately you have to just find something to pay the bills. I would work on trying to land an internship in the meantime, although I don't know how people do that when they aren't in school anymore, so maybe we can both learn something.
Perhaps you could do office work in the meantime? I totally understand having a crappy job with low pay that you hate and then quit as that what I've done. I wouldn't recommend quitting a job unless you don't have bills to pay and even then it's not a good idea.
It's frustrating because some of my classmates have jobs in the industry and they actually like their jobs so they stay there longer and they build a track record. I figured after three years something would happen. I'm going to keep trying. I don't want to be 24 years old settling for something.
If I had a mortgage and kids, I would try to suck it up....Right now I'm looking for something else. I'll probably end up in a customer service rep job again because I have bad luck with job hunting.
It's frustrating because some of my classmates have jobs in the industry and they actually like their jobs so they stay there longer and they build a track record. I figured after three years something would happen. I'm going to keep trying. I don't want to be 24 years old settling for something.
If I had a mortgage and kids, I would try to suck it up....Right now I'm looking for something else. I'll probably end up in a customer service rep job again because I have bad luck with job hunting.
Can you contact these classmates? Perhaps an old professor that you got along with very well? They might be able to offer you some leads and/or advice as to how to break into the field.
Try your school's career center, too. I don't think you'll be stuck in this situation forever as long as you keep trying. In the meantime, I'd take a job so that a) you can pay your bills, and b) you have something on your resume.
Open your own website (really really really cheap) and spend 2 to 4 hours a day writing and publishing that which you would really like to write and publish.
The market will tell you if you are any good at it or not. Money comes after that.
Meanwhile do a This-Job-Sucks job -- like you had -- to pay the bills.
Here is the real deal -- even the best job in the real world sucks about half the time. You can have all your sucky portion during the part of the you are paying the bills with the This-Job-Sucks job, and all your good part of the day on Journalism Website Self-Employment job.
Side benefit is that the This-Job-Sucks job is much easier to swap and replace than a really good job.
A year or two of doing that -- again, if you are actually good at Journalism -- and you will be way ahead of your friends (and somewhere along the line also figure out that does not really matter).
Sometimes, even though we have to stick with jobs that we don't care for for the sake of keeping the bills at bay many people try to start their own business in doing what they really want to do. With so much competition in many work fields today it does make it tough, but anything is possible if you apply yourself to get it done. Many times people who do work on the side end up going into it full time (and being self-employed) and in most cases having alot of fun while doing so.
It's definitely possible, don't give up on sight of your goal. If many others in past times have gotten there then you can too. Keep in the fight.
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