Advice on what to do in this situation?

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L_Holmes
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20 Aug 2014, 8:41 pm

Here is my situation: I did poorly during my first year of college this past academic year, so I decided to take some time off college to work and save money, and go back when I feel better about my ability to succeed there. If I have another year like that one I probably won't have the option to go back. So I was wanting to go live in Missouri either with or near my dad and the rest of my family, because I don't think I would have been able to live on my own (I don't really consider the college dorms on my own since I had a meal plan and things like that already lined up, and I still barely held myself together).

Well, long story short my family had to move somewhere else in town, but the new lease apparently only covers 8 people to stay there (I would make 9). And all my family for some reason didn't want me getting my own apartment nearby, and since I would need to stay with them at least temporarily to find one, they weren't really going to comply. Then my grandma offered to let me stay with her and my grandpa in Idaho to work and save money, so I accepted, but mostly because it was my only option anyway, unless I wanted to try to make it all alone in Utah (that's where I was for college).

I found a job at a truck wash, they hired me immediately because they were so shorthanded. They were the only place out of very many I applied to that even called back. I actually get very decent pay (I get a check around 300-400 every week). Here's the catch: working there is horrible. And I'm not saying this in the same way that everybody says they hate their job. I mean like most of the day while working, because of the environment (very noisy, people yelling, fast-paced, getting misted with water a lot, etc.), I feel extremely stressed, often by the end of the day I'm totally shut down. I don't want to talk to or look at anyone, I move very slowly, and often I can't even think straight. It's been getting worse over time, too. I never flapped my hands often enough in the past for me to notice I even did it, but I do it like every day at work now, frequently, because it is just that overwhelming. When I am leaving, I change immediately into comfortable clothes and sunglasses, put my headphones on, and then just sit in my car for a while, until I feel calmed down enough to drive home.

I won't actually quit unless I have found a new job (or it just gets so bad that I can't handle it anymore). But I can't be picky about jobs, because there aren't many, so it's very likely I'd be getting less pay. Aside from that, I could quite possibly get fired; the only reason I think it hasn't happened is that they are understaffed as it is. But if I lose that job for any reason, my grandpa has already said he would kick me out. I have nowhere else to go, and without a job I'd have no money to even get my own apartment.

I am currently filling out an application to be a sales rep for RadioShack as I would actually somewhat enjoy that and it would be calm, but who knows if they will actually hire me. I couldn't find any other full time listings I qualify for, not yet at least.



skibum
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20 Aug 2014, 8:46 pm

The pay is decent but the conditions are so rough. I think you should see if you could find something else. I also don't know that it's even legal to have people work for 10 hours and only get a twenty minute break.


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Hi_Im_B0B
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21 Aug 2014, 1:35 am

first, get yourself some ear protection, either plugs (plastic or foam) or the kind that look like headphones, a.k.a. "shooters' ears" (since a lot of shooters use them). if the noise volume is above a certain level (i don't know the exact number of decibels) it could even be an OSHA matter - i worked in an auto factory for a while and they supplied us with plugs.

and this song by the late, great Jim Croce might help you get through the day:

Workin' at the Carwash Blues - YouTube

and hang in there. it won't be forever.