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Brony2011
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29 Jan 2012, 10:48 pm

I have a Bachelor's in English and experience in journalism, and yet, I can't seem to get a job. I don't qualify to teach. Everyone tells me to do that, but I can't. The one and only "real job" in which I had an actual salary, I couldn't hold it down because of the combination of physical labor with social exposure and other stressors, which I wasn't expecting to be a problem for me, but it turned out to be more than I could handle, and I had at panic attack at work.

Since then, I still haven't been able to find a job. Before, I was applying to anything and everything I could... custodian, dish washer, night guard, etc. But I didn't even get any of those jobs. But since my first work experience, I've been more selective in where I'm applying myself. I keep feeling like there must be something I'm doing wrong or not doing because other people seem capable of finding work just fine, and I haven't gotten past an interview more than once if even that far.

It might just be this economy combined with where I live. I don't know.

I'm going to apply to be a paper boy tomorrow, and I have an appointment with career services at my alma mater on Tuesday. That's something at least, and hopefully a start, but I felt the need to vent.



sgrannel
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29 Jan 2012, 11:39 pm

Most of what one goes to college for is mostly good for teaching. I don't know what else you could do with an English major besides teaching, or journalism which is quickly becoming a non-job.

Even engineering and the "hard sciences", including research degrees like the Ph.D. are basically a training exercise for doing something else that's profitable. One is badly advised to major in something that can't be used in at least one other job besides teaching.

Why? Teachers have many students. Not every student can become a teacher, because otherwise the number of teachers would rapidly grow to become unsupportable, like a pyramid scheme. But wait, it gets worse: sometimes teachers aren't replaced by anybody when they retire.


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auntblabby
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30 Jan 2012, 12:47 am

i'm thankful that i didn't go into tremendous debt for a degree that would essentially be worthless [for employment] due to non-academic factors.



Brony2011
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30 Jan 2012, 4:55 am

sgrannel wrote:
Most of what one goes to college for is mostly good for teaching. I don't know what else you could do with an English major besides teaching, or journalism which is quickly becoming a non-job.

Even engineering and the "hard sciences", including research degrees like the Ph.D. are basically a training exercise for doing something else that's profitable. One is badly advised to major in something that can't be used in at least one other job besides teaching.

Why? Teachers have many students. Not every student can become a teacher, because otherwise the number of teachers would rapidly grow to become unsupportable, like a pyramid scheme. But wait, it gets worse: sometimes teachers aren't replaced by anybody when they retire.


Yeah, that about sums it up. But unfortunately, I can't afford going back to school for now, and I don't have a teacher's degree or training, so in my state, I would need to get a special type of certification, which I personally don't qualify for. So it's like... "Well, what do I do with this expensive piece of paper?"

It stinks because I have a 127 IQ, did well academically, and have worked before (without pay) for different "jobs," class work, and volunteer efforts where I proofread, edited, etc. and even wrote journalistically, and I have published books and helped put together a literary journal, and yet, I seem either "under-qualified" or "over-qualified" for every realistic job opportunity around here.



WhoKnowsWhy
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30 Jan 2012, 11:24 pm

I have a Bachelors in English too....repeat after me: would you like fries with that?



mitch413
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31 Jan 2012, 10:31 am

WhoKnowsWhy wrote:
I have a Bachelors in English too....repeat after me: would you like fries with that?


LOL...same situation for me with a Bachelor's and Master's degree in meteorology. Very few jobs in the weather business and there are an excessive amount of people applying for each position (sometimes several hundred for one opening). If you don't know the right people, you're pretty much screwed in my field. As an Aspie, making friends and networking was always difficult for me. I'm now taking some IT classes at a local community college hoping that will lead me somewhere.



PlatedDrake
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31 Jan 2012, 1:08 pm

Well, the problem is that the college bit only looks good on a resume now . . . but the social networking bit kinda blind-sided the autistic workers (ie who you know game). DOn't get me wrong, it's still necessary for the skills you're aiming for, but as far as getting something professional, the HR folks are like, "Ok, he's got the degree, but can he interact well with customers and co-workers?" That too is understandable, but at the same time people who tend to abuse their position get their jobs easier just because they "schmooze" a bit at their interviews. i'm with Mitch on this though . .. taking some online programming courses after getting a couple of Associate degrees. To Brony, make a list of things you enjoy doing (regardless of their downsides), and see if there are any legitimate jobs in that list. YOu took english and journalism . . . become a writer, or something along those lines.



johnners
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08 Feb 2012, 12:09 am

Brony2011 wrote:
...I seem either "under-qualified" or "over-qualified" for every realistic job opportunity...


I sometimes wonder whether 'over-qualified' or 'under-qualified' is really just a way of fobbing you off. I guess if you're over-qualified, you aren't able to do the job, and if you're under-qualified, you might get bored and leave, but most of the time it's just a way to fob you off, like 'we're sending out letters in the next coupleof weeks', or 'we'll keep your details on file'.



Cytheria
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08 Feb 2012, 9:24 pm

I would say it's more the economic situation more than anything at this point.
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OliveOilMom
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08 Feb 2012, 9:51 pm

Have you tried an employment agency?


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Brony2011
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08 Feb 2012, 10:15 pm

Finally getting a job! I'm going to be a cashier, which I'm a little terrified of because I'll have to handle money and interact with strange people and an unfamiliar machine, but hopefully I'll adapt and then quickly get promoted to something I could do better.