Where do people with no degree work in DC? (apartments, rent)
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Hello everyone, LONGTIME lurker with a few questions about your city.
I'm currently living in Richmond, VA and have been here for about 5 years having been born and raised in Lynchburg, VA. Looking for a fresh start, bigger city and more opportunity. The only good jobs in Richmond that offer benefits (ie health insurance, tuition reimbursement) and a nice wage ($12-$15/hr) without a degree are call center jobs. I've worked at Capital One (call center) and Virginia Premier Health Plan (call center).
I've read a lot about how hard it is to live in DC without a degree and hoping that's not entirely true.
I do plan on getting back into school now that I can claim myself as independent (FAFSA/I'm 24) and enrolling at a community college Arlington/NOVA. I completed a year at a community college here in Richmond back in 2012, but haven't been able to continue as my parents have refused to let me use their information for financial aid (for not taking school seriously, which is fair). I've always been interested in both journalism and the culinary arts and there seems to be a huge market for both of those interests in DC.
So my questions are: Where do people with no higher education work in the DC/METRO area? Are there any entry level jobs/companies that offer good benefits? Where do "broke" young professionals live?
I've also been waiting tables for the past 4 years, so if you can recommend any restaurants/bars/clubs that you think servers/bartenders make bank in, please let me know! I've always juggled two jobs and plan to serve at night as a second job.
Thanks!
Last edited by in search of...; 02-02-2015 at 09:52 PM..
i'd think long and hard about making the move up to DC. Without a college degree or some kind of specialized skill, you're looking at the usual industries: Food service, retail etc. Do you have any friends or family in the area you can stay with? The cost of living in this area is insane and will eat up whatever you earn, especially when it comes to housing costs.
If you're looking at going to community college, why not stick around in RVA and go to J. Sarge for two years? You'll be able to save more money and if you get your associate degree there, depending on your graduating GPA you could get automatic admission to any public university in VA, with all of your community college credits transferring with you. UVa, VT, JMU, and William and Mary grads all do really well up in DC.
i'd think long and hard about making the move up to DC. Without a college degree or some kind of specialized skill, you're looking at the usual industries: Food service, retail etc. Do you have any friends or family in the area you can stay with? The cost of living in this area is insane and will eat up whatever you earn, especially when it comes to housing costs.
If you're looking at going to community college, why not stick around in RVA and go to J. Sarge for two years? You'll be able to save more money and if you get your associate degree there, depending on your graduating GPA you could get automatic admission to any public university in VA, with all of your community college credits transferring with you. UVa, VT, JMU, and William and Mary grads all do really well up in DC.
Thanks for the reply!
Yeah the cost of living honestly scares me and it's depressing that I won't be able to save much per month. My closest family (parents) are in Fredericksburg, VA, and I actually have considered commuting from there to DC for work until I did find the ~right~ place to live, so to speak.
I went to J. Sarge back in 2012, but after not taking it seriously my parents refused to help me with student loans. Which is fair, but I've had to wait until 24 to claim myself for financial assistance. It's a nightmare and you have to provide so many documents and proof to justify claiming independent under age 24 (in my experience).
It sounds like you are looking for a bigger city with more job opportunities. Ok, makes sense. But the problem with approaching DC that way is what makes DC different from a lot of other places is that you pay a big premium in cost of living here due to all the high-paying, highly educated jobs here related to the government. Those jobs in 95% of cases require a bachelor's if not master's degree. So it seems to me you'd be making your life a lot harder here through higher cost of living without getting the salary boost to make up for it.
If you just want a bigger city consider places like Philadelphia or Chicago. Bigger even than DC but significantly lower rents. If your reason for considering DC is proximity to family, keep in mind that with the lower COL in those cities you could take several flights back home to Virginia to see your folks and still come out ahead relative to what you'd be paying just to live in DC. I mean, to make a very simplified comparison, you can still find studio apartments for like $800 a month in highly desirable neighborhoods in Chicago. In the highly desirable neighborhoods of DC, studios under $1000 to $1100 are practically unheard of. An extra $200-$300 a month can buy a lot of flights.
You can find pretty cheap rent in DC (like around $750) if you are willing to live in group houses with multiple roommates, but it's still going to be more expensive than versions of that living arrangement in other cities. Only NYC and San Francisco are more expensive.
DC makes sense for people in specialized careers that want to work in jobs that can only be found in DC (or at least, the best versions of those jobs can be found in DC). If you're just looking for a bigger city and not something specialized, I don't see the point in paying DC rents when you can find those same big-city amenities elsewhere for cheaper.
If you don't have a degree then you'll need some type of trade (electrician,plumbing,hvac,etc.) or marketable skillset. There are tons of folks in the DC area with no degree but have an in-demand IT skillset which allows them to do very well for themselves.
Hello everyone, LONGTIME lurker with a few questions about your city.
I'm currently living in Richmond, VA and have been here for about 5 years having been born and raised in Lynchburg, VA. Looking for a fresh start, bigger city and more opportunity. The only good jobs in Richmond that offer benefits (ie health insurance, tuition reimbursement) and a nice wage ($12-$15/hr) without a degree are call center jobs. I've worked at Capital One (call center) and Virginia Premier Health Plan (call center).
I've read a lot about how hard it is to live in DC without a degree and hoping that's not entirely true.
I do plan on getting back into school now that I can claim myself as independent (FAFSA/I'm 24) and enrolling at a community college Arlington/NOVA. I completed a year at a community college here in Richmond back in 2012, but haven't been able to continue as my parents have refused to let me use their information for financial aid (for not taking school seriously, which is fair). I've always been interested in both journalism and the culinary arts and there seems to be a huge market for both of those interests in DC.
So my questions are: Where do people with no higher education work in the DC/METRO area? Are there any entry level jobs/companies that offer good benefits? Where do "broke" young professionals live?
I've also been waiting tables for the past 4 years, so if you can recommend any restaurants/bars/clubs that you think servers/bartenders make bank in, please let me know! I've always juggled two jobs and plan to serve at night as a second job.
Thanks!
Find roommates tons of college students seeking roommates. Live close to metro or carpool. Study hard. Study something that is valuable and that will give u technical skills so a masters isnt necessary. Work your way up. If a recent immigrant speaking as a first gen immigrant who wishes that someone had advised her or newcomer can do it so can u.
Check some of the IT websites (indeed.com monster.com)and usajobs.gov. Some jobs (not many) might not require a degree. Someone mentioned IT, there are some jobs that are in the IT field (non help desk/call center) that pay well, but do require a skill set and probably a security clearance of some level. You need to really do your research.
There are a lot of educated people around DC but there are lots of uneducated people as well. Lots of civil servants--especially prior military---working in the government who do not possess college degrees. If you have other skills you may be able to find something entry level in one of the numerous Federal or local government agencies around DC. Community colleges are cheap around Virginia and MD. If you want something bad enough you can get it, with perseverance.
Forget journalism. There are lots of blue collar service industry jobs in DC for plumbers, electricians, etc. Also lots of restaurants for food service jobs. There is also lots of competition for these jobs.
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