Tired of being a loser. Need some life advice (mostly about jobs)

Kay_Faraday

Kay_Faraday

CAGiversary!
By the end of this semester I will have obtained my bachelors degree, and dont even want a job in my field. The only class I ever liked was woodshop, and that was in middle school.

I have squandered a lot of opportunites and unfortunately it has taken me this long to realize it.

I am getting my first job soon in a hospital. It's minimum wage and per diem, so I doubt I will get many hours. :(

Are there any jobs looking into that dont require any experience? I like playing videogames (surprise!), but I doubt I could make a career out of it, and support myself.

I regret not majoring in something useful...praying that I fall into a wormhole that will take me a decade into the past :pray:

inb4prostitutebjstripper

 
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You are not alone.  I'd say 85% of college graduates don't get a job with what they graduated a Bachelor's from.  Before you get buried in student loan payments, while you are still fresh from college consider going into a fast-track program for your masters into a field that interests you.  If you are in healthcare and do enjoy it, consider becoming a nurse as there is a huge job market, room for advancement into a specialty, and great paying job.

 
It's not the end of the world. It's pretty common that people don't end up working in a profession that aligns with their college degree. Hell, I studied computer science programming (C++) at first then got my CPA. I initially was an auditor out of college but now I work at the government applying 10% of the accounting I learned and practiced before. Your field of study and career can take twists and turns just like anything else in life. As long as you're in control of your career, you'll end up fine. My job pays for my CPA license even though I don't practice it daily at my job and I'm in a decently compensated job with great benefits (I get to surf CAG while at work - hah).

Since you're starting out at minimum wage, I'm assuming you're still getting support from your family. If that's the case, you should just consider going back to college and following a major that actually suits your interest. Since you've done your general education, you would just theoretically need to only take your upper major course division classes which might take another 2 years or so. In the meantime, look out for part time internships to get a glimpse of jobs in your respective trade. Since I initially studied CS, it took me an extra year to graduate college (5 years). Ironically, I got better grades (A's) in my CS classes than my accounting classes but I just found accounting to be more interesting than CS on a technical level. If you want to apply yourself, make a point to improve your writing and social skills. You'd be suprised how far that can get you.
 
Can't stress this enough.   Most of the time job opportunities are not just if your are qualified but who you know.  NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK!

 
Since you liked woodshop why not go into a trade school. Like electrian, welder, vac, ect...
 
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You're young, and you JUST graduated college. That's okay if you work a minimum wage job. I wish I had some gumption when I graduated, like see the country and the world, and found something new to do. Life is about experiencing things, and the BA doesn't mean too much.

 
Temping is a good way to get some experience and your foot in the door at a company.  I did it for a couple of years after graduating.  Both companies I was at offered me positions while I was there and I ended up taking the second one's offer when it occurred.  

 
shrike4242 said:
First question is, OP, what's your major? Basketweaving?
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Haha I didnt know you could major in that! My field of study is ANTH.

Thank you guys for the advice. Welding looks fun, but knowing me i'd probably melt an arm.

mitch079 said:
Temping is a good way to get some experience and your foot in the door at a company. I did it for a couple of years after graduating. Both companies I was at offered me positions while I was there and I ended up taking the second one's offer when it occurred.
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I applied through an agency thanks to my friend. They take a portion of my earnings that's why i'm making min wage. The guy was pretty upfront about salary. He said I could potentially earn up to $25-30 an hour, but who knows how long that would take!

How much of my paycheck should I put away into a savings account?

Any advice on how NOT to fuck up my first job?

 
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Kay_Faraday said:
Haha I didnt know you could major in that! My field of study is ANTH.

Thank you guys for the advice. Welding looks fun, but knowing me i'd probably melt an arm.

I applied through an agency thanks to my friend. They take a portion of my earnings that's why i'm making min wage. The guy was pretty upfront about salary. He said I could potentially earn up to $25-30 an hour, but who knows how long that would take!

How much of my paycheck should I put away into a savings account?

Any advice on how NOT to fuck up my first job?
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If you don't have a ton of expenses, then save 10% of it and don't touch it. More if you can afford it.

Be on time, be respectful, don't surf the internet during work hours (maybe during lunch if they allow it), get your work done on time and accurately, don't schmooze too much, dress well - if it's corporate casual, wear button down shirts to start, khakis, brown or black shoes that don't have scuffs. Tuck that stuff in, make sure your belt and shoes aren't beat up, no fraying on the cuffs on the pants, that sort of thing. You'll probably be doing some grunt work to start so if you can do it with a good attitude, then you'll be fine. If there's the potential of temp to perm, once you've been there a bit and they're happy with your work, then talk to your supervisor about looking into any job openings.

 
Rodimus said:
Depends. What's your housing situation? Do you live alone, have roommates or are you still with your parents? Do you have any huge bills like car payments or student loans.
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I live with my mom (but not in a basement!). The only things I really have to buy is a monthly bus pass, and help my mom pay rent.

 
To the guy who suggested to go back to school- are you nuts? College is what got him here in the first place. He should've went to a technical school, not major in anthropology.

OP - here's the best advice I can give you when you start your shitty menial job: see the guy working hard? Emulate that guy. Don't hang out with losers. they will drag you down. The guy always talking shit about he didn't get a fair shake? Avoid him like the plague. The guy who talks big game but doesn't do shit? "Listen man I'm gonna do xy and z. I got a hookup." Avoid him too.

work sucks. Nobody loves their jobs. But it's your time so make sure you get paid handsomely for that time.
 
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Kay_Faraday said:
I live with my mom (but not in a basement!). The only things I really have to buy is a monthly bus pass, and help my mom pay rent.
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Then you should be able to put plenty away. Before I left home I put about half my paycheck away. Then when I left the house I had over $6,000 in my savings to help me out in pinches. I know half might be to extreme for you but try to put away as much as you can. Maybe set aside a fixed amount of $200 or something per check. Whatever amount works for you.

Good luck OP. You don't have to love your job. But if you make good friends and try to have a little fun then work will be more bearable.

 
Confucius said:
To the guy who suggested to go back to school- are you nuts? College is what got him here in the first place. He should've went to a technical school, not major in anthropology.

OP - here's the best advice I can give you when you start your shitty menial job: see the guy working hard? Emulate that guy. Don't hang out with losers. they will drag you down. The guy always talking shit about he didn't get a fair shake? Avoid him like the plague. The guy who talks big game but doesn't do shit? "Listen man I'm gonna do xy and z. I got a hookup." Avoid him too.

work sucks. Nobody loves their jobs. But it's your time so make sure you get paid handsomely for that time.
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Going to college isn't the bad choice. It's what you make of your time in college. If you studied fields such as healthcare, accounting/finance, and/or engineering you open yourself to a better job market in you take it seriously. If financial issues is a concern, make it a point to enlist in the military and they'll train you of your specialty of interest while you get paid. It's your life, your comfort level, your choices that define what you want to get out of life.

 
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pstash78 said:
Going to college isn't the bad choice. It's what you make of your time in college. If you studied fields such as healthcare, accounting/finance, and/or engineering you open yourself to a better job market in you take it seriously. If financial issues is a concern, make it a point to enlist in the military and they'll train you of your specialty of interest while you get paid. It's your life, your comfort level, your choices that define what you want to get out of life.
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I loved college. But it's not for everyone. The fact that administrators kept selling that it was for everyone was the biggest scam in the last 20 years.

 
College is pretty important for your self growth. New experiences, living away from home (for majority of people) just learning new things socially. As far as education is concerned, if you aren't becoming an accountant, a doctor, a lawyer, etc. it's sort of worthless.

I majored in journalism and while I loved doing it at school, I knew it would never be my career. The pay blows.

Knowing people is so key. It's how I got my job out of college and I'm still there after 13 years. I sell wine and love my job and it pays great. Far more than I imagined I'd ever make in my life.

So yeah, network like crazy and as far as not fucking up? Don't break laws or do anything incredibly stupid. Don't be late, call out sick a lot or do anything against compmah policies. Keep our head down and work hard.

People see effort.
 
Confucius said:
OP - here's the best advice I can give you when you start your shitty menial job: see the guy working hard? Emulate that guy. Don't hang out with losers. they will drag you down. The guy always talking shit about he didn't get a fair shake? Avoid him like the plague. The guy who talks big game but doesn't do shit? "Listen man I'm gonna do xy and z. I got a hookup." Avoid him too.
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Those are pretty good advice. Especially the first one. Work hard and stay positive, and you should do fine OP. Also avoid the negative people, their negativity can and will spread off onto you.

 
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Agreed.  Work sucks for EVERYONE.  that's why it's work.  Just be professional, take pride in your work and yourself, and save as much as possible living with your mom.  Keep your ear to the ground and see if any other openings occur.

 
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