[Cool Story Bro] Chronicles of Unemployed Clutchfans

My life is perfect. Next.

jk good like peeps

 

I really hope you're applying for jobs outside of your city/state and even country: you're in one of those fields where an overseas work visa should be easier than usual to come by. And put your resume in with staffing companies. Also, start looking at jobs that don't necessary have the word engineer tied to them: I schedule for a gas pipeline and just about every marketing/gas control/field ops management department is run by engineers.

 

That's tough man.

In the end, who you know is more important then what you know. At where I work, there were two top managerial positions that needed recently. These are 80K plus jobs and one of them is a technical position. Instead of getting qualified employees, the vice president promoted two "groupies" who did completely different jobs before. This kind of stuff is indicative of where I work.

You can always get a loan and start your own business.

 

Man I'm working part time and going to school. I have no idea what to major in and I just got an offer from my pops at a plant he works in. It will pay a little over 80,000 starting off for being an operator. Why the **** am I going to school when I can get mad dough....The only reason I'm debating it is I had plans to move to Austin. And the job would have me staying here for at least 4 years. And I feel obligated to stay for family reasons......I'm so confused.

 

I started last week, but the group I'm with is targeting homeless people. :-|

 

80k is not mad dough.. you should stay in school.

 

Yeah. Also... what's the future like at that job? Is it going to be a benefit to your career? If you spend a few years there, then get laid off, will your experience there be of any benefit to your career?

 

80K is pretty good starting off. I mean getting a degree would get me into any entry level business job but would not start off that high.

It's good in job security, and I don't really have a job career. I mean working there could let me work in that field somewhere else but I don't know what else to do. I just feel stuck in college cause I don't really know what to do. I really like school, but I feel like I'm just wasting my money along with the money my parents gave me to help out.

 

Or you could get stuck like those NUMMI factory workers in Fremont, CA... They made $50+ an hour as assembly line workers... and when Toyota decided to close the plant, those workers don't have any skills to get other jobs.

 

Yeah but it's a power plant. And my dad has been working there since 1978. I doubt they will close it anytime soon.

 

NUMMI was opened in the mid-60's... they closed this year.

Nothing is forever. You need job skills to make it in this world.

 

Anyone who thinks a degree is worthless, quite frankly, doesn't know what the hell he or she is talking about. Want evidence? How about out of over 7,000 people I've worked with over the past 10+ years, the ones without a degree, on average, are looking at an additional 4-5 months of time in their job search. It sucks, but there's no getting around it. For some fields, at least.


But even for something like sales. Sure, you don't need a degree to break into this field. Heck, you don't even need a degree to advance in this field. To a point. But, if you have any notions of reaching the Director of Sales, VP of Sales, CSO level, that's when you'll need the degree, and that's when you wish you would have taken care of it earlier rather than later.


Let's face it- there are a lot of people that are put in unfortunate situations and it's very difficult for them to get the degree. However, there are also a LOT of individuals who spend money on other things- the 64" TV, the car with the $500 monthly payment, etc., instead of putting it towards their education, etc. I'm talking from the experience of someone who's had to have some very blunt talks with job seekers who want to blame everyone else but themselves for their situation.


For those who literally put their extreme efforts in getting their degree, and in their various job searches throughout their career, and have to struggle, I have nothing but sympathy and empathy for them (sympathy because I never wish ill on anyone, empathy because I was at the poverty level for 6 months before my business took off). However, I've also encountered literally 100s of individuals who:

1. Send out 2-3 resumes a week or less;
2. Have a resume that is filled with grammatical errors and weak content;
3. Refuse to bend even the slightest in their job requirements (e.g. they refuse to take anything that is not at their current salary level, even if it's slightly below due to the economy, they will not relocate at all, or even commute beyond 30 minutes, they have very specific requirements as to industry, type of company, benefits, etc.- not realistic, mind you, we all have those, but trust me, very unrealistic).
4. Never follow up with employers, nor send a Thank You after interviews (94% do not send a thank you letter or even an email note).
5. Have a negative, defeatist attitude, or a desperate one, that employers can smell a mile away and hold it against them.


Anyone I've worked with who has the exact opposite attitude from all 5 of those above- they've had success in getting what they want. 100%. I wish I could say that most job seekers do not fall into this category of negative job search strategies, but unfortunately, I'd have to say- and this is based only on my small microcosm of the world- that the opposite is true. It's a little more pronounced, of course, due to the economy.


So, don't let anyone tell you that a degree is meaningless- it always has meaning, whether immediate or in the long run. Maybe it's unfair that this is the way it is, but I don't deal in what I wish were true, I deal in what exists.

Again, I do understand individual situations in which job seekers truly exhaust every effort for success and come up short- I truly empathize. But there are always ways to improve your job search success/results. You start with your career documents (they have to be top-notch- no errors, focused on achievements, no BSing), then your job search plan (use the Internet, use contacts, apply to companies in your area even if they don't have an advertised position), then your interview (dress appropriately, answer honestly and thoughtfully, try to demonstrate/explain what you can do to help them meet their current needs and challenges) and follow-up activities (thank you notes to the interviewers, and even the administrative assistants and HR people you came in contact with), and all the while you work the network- yes, some will not help, but inevitably some will- and continue to read articles you Google on Effective Job Search Strategies.




or something like that. :grin:

 

Fair enough. But comparing power plants to manufacturing plants does seem a little off.

 

I was comparing one group of skilled labor to another.

 

Don't argue with him. Do you not know what he invented?

 

Scotch tape??? I'm not arguing with him either. Just talking about it.

 

Thanks to this thread for making me feel good about myself. I often get down on myself for other minor shortcomings in my life, but thank god I have a job right now.

 

You expect a thank you note after a job interview? Seriously??

 

Oh and just because I feel like adding to my previous post: The things that worry me these days are:
1. How to save enough money to buy a house in expensive Southern California market, because everyone says that this is the best time to buy property.
2. How do I go about asking for a promotion?
3. Why does my work schedule suck so much?
4. How do I keep getting laid without having to commit?

(I may have 99 problems but a job aint one)

And that's my cool story bro moment of the day.