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I have a political science degree from a decent college and now every job I find interest in either wants more education (money out my pocket) or more work experience in the field (yet no one wants to hire me- I would like to intern or volunteer but I have to have income. Period. I got serious bills to pay.)
It's like 4 years of college and the mixture of soft and hard skills gained from my education and experience is not enough.
Some jobs I looked into or tried:
Teaching ( Masters degree or teaching cert & more $$ out of pocket)
Paralegal- Paralegal Cert (2 more years of study & more $$ out of pocket)
Real Estate Agent- License (6 months to a year & more $$ out of pocket)
Claims Adjuster (More customer service experience- which I have now)
Admin Assistant- College/Universities (More Experience- I have 2 years from college of similar work in college.)
HR Assistant (Need Experience and all the HR certs)
UPS Helper to Drive (Christmas season over. We no longer need your services.) Full time Drivers make $30 an hour plus overtime. Just a lot of hard work though. But a decent living.
Public Relations Specialist ( At least a master's degree and a really really good internship)
I have even thought about more schooling.
Law School (There are good lawyers that are paralegals. Enough Said.)
Masters Degree in Political Science or another Liberal Art. (HA!! More debt and still working at a mininum wage jobs. No thanks! Even PhD's are struggling to get and keep jobs.)
2nd degree in Finance and accounting (No more Fed aid if you already have a BA degree.)
I don't mind going back to school or getting more certs, but how can I when I make so little money and I don't want to take on more debt. It's like a vicious cycle. I spend money to get an education to make no money.
I even tried to get a job at my local community college just to get free tuition to study a different discipline. (Killed the interview and a good thank letter. Nope. "We regret to inform you...")
Its like I can't win. It's like I'm stuck at the mininum wage job I'm working. Retail. I really hate retail.( I do the truck- meaning back breaking labor to make the store manager and share holders richer. Plus there is a time limit to get the truck done. It's a race and its very tiring. Not to mention I'm one of a 4 males in the store that is not manager so I do basically all the super heavy lifting, moving, cleaning, etc and truck.)
Honestly, I just want some advice. Just some honest advice.
At this point I just want a job that pays more than minimum wage. Just so I can start paying of debt.
I'm thinking about the military to get job training or learning a trade through an apprenticeship. (Does anybody know anything about a the trades? I also am considering carpentry or HVAC. At least the trades actually pay decent wages.)
I'm just so fed up with my situation. I may not be a computer scientist, but I should be able to find at least a decent job.
I didn't mean to complain so much. Its just I'm ready to start making a living. Livable income.
I feel like Jack- Jack of all trades but master of none.
Last edited by SaltyDog42; 06-11-2011 at 12:33 AM..
What was the goal you had in mind when you took your poli science degree? You invested money and time to get that degree with no idea what you would do with it? Did you want to work in government? Perhaps you might look into government jobs....try local municipalities career websites for anything in the government from admin support at the city manager's office to library aide to at least get your foot in the door. Also try you state's career website or even usajobs.com
^^the above is a good idea, get in state government where you can use your degree. Even if you start at a crap job like answering phones for unemployment claims, then move up from there.
As for retail, maybe you need to look at management, or specialize in an area of retail, like loss prevention, or merchandising. My friend went from a minimum wage job 20 years ago working at a sporting goods store, to being a buyer for the whole chain, he makes fat money, with good benefits.
Take all possible civil service exams- local, state, federal. Be available if possible for a wide geographic area. You never know what might come up.
If you entered the military, I believe you'd be an officer for having a degree, at least, it was that way in the Army. Consider the Reserves as a starter, too.
Like the brightdoglover says, take all possible civil service exams. But it could take up to 2 years to get into that kind of job. So meanwhile hold on to your current job and try to get promoted or use it to get another well paying job in retail.
You are right in not wanting to go back to school. I have seen many people do the above mentioned courses only to be back to square one once they finish that.
Try starting a small business. The time spend there will be more valuable than spending it on more college. Also, you can put that biz exp on your resume.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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The problem with civil service jobs is that all the cities, counties and states are laying people off due to budget problems. When they do have an opening they have many applicants with lots of experience applying.
I work for a public agency and we just hired about a dozen college and graduate interns but just for the summer. As for regular full-time we have only had a few to replace retirees, those highly technical or mid-management. If you are looking for additional education, the area that seems to be getting more funding lately is environmental. Things like sustainable building practices, alternative energy sources, energy star program management.
It's hard to find a job when you have no career path, no specific skills, no real experience. Without boring you with my own story, I will tell you this has been a problem for a long time. Some college degrees just don't set you up for a specific job, like say teaching or nursing and some degrees set you up for jobs that don't exist or are few and far between. The biggest difference though from when I graduated in the 80s and now is you could get through college back then without accumulating a lot of debt so it was no big deal to just work retail or wait tables for awhile post-college.
My advice is to see if a friend or relative can hook you up with any office job. If your goal is to work in an office, then you have to get that first job working in an office. Going from non-office work to office work is a huge transition to make. You need to make that leap somehow and it will either involve connections or quite possibly some low paying no benefits job working for some nut job solo attorney for 25 hours a week or maybe working at a foreclosure mill. Do it for 1 year and you'll be in a much better position to look for a higher paying job.
I'd also try bank teller, call center, or anything having to do with the foreclosure mess or the baby boomers aging.
The problem with getting more schooling is it's just another crap shoot.
Edited to add about call center work - find a call center where you are an employee of a big company so you can transfer within the company to a non call center job after 12 months.
Last edited by FarNorthDallas; 06-12-2011 at 10:57 AM..
The problem with civil service jobs is that all the cities, counties and states are laying people off due to budget problems. When they do have an opening they have many applicants with lots of experience applying.
I work for a public agency and we just hired about a dozen college and graduate interns but just for the summer. As for regular full-time we have only had a few to replace retirees, those highly technical or mid-management. If you are looking for additional education, the area that seems to be getting more funding lately is environmental. Things like sustainable building practices, alternative energy sources, energy star program management.
Yup.
I'm applying basically to anywhere in the U.S. that I could at least barely tolerate living, and what I'm finding is that while I'm getting on eligible lists from coast to coast, and passing preferred qualifications evaluations, I'm simply being passed over for a local. And it's totally understandable (though unfortunate for me).
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