[XPQ22]

(08-03-2016 05:55 PM)Armada Wrote:  

What sort of entry level jobs should I be looking for? Partially I'd be okay with something decent paying but mainly I want something that's got a high chance of hiring me, but also is the least suffering(eg cleaning, shift work).

Thanks in advance for your help.

The problem is that those are the jobs that basically everyone without significant work education or work experience is looking for. The reason you often see adults 15 years older than you are working retail, or in grocery stores, or in fast food restaurants isn't because they love shift work, it's because that's what's available to them.

But looking at it from the perspective of my mid-30s...20? Gee whiz, that's still really young. I'd worked a couple jobs before that, I understand kids are perhaps somewhat more sheltered then, but it wasn't really by much.

Keep in mind that at least on first glace, you appear to be able to type in well-structured complete sentences, apply the rules of grammar, and even use paragraph breaks, which in fact already puts you in front of some college students (and college graduates!) that I've worked with. You might not be as unskilled as you think.

If worse comes to worse, it certainly seems like you'd have the ability to put together something you could hand into a more "upscale" shift work environment...I sort of hate to say it, but it looks like Starbucks is one of the better places for young people to do their initial grind: decent perks, good benefits, money for college, tips. There are likely some other places like that which do college reimbursement.

You could work part-time and hustle on the side; drive for Uber or Lyft on the weekends, maybe. That could ease the monotony of the shift work grind.

If you've ever done some programming, or take a couple week online coding course from nothing and you find that it's something you enjoy doing and have a knack for...read the programming thread here, suck up the retail/coffeshop bullshit for a year while you improve your skills/take classes, then run with that and never look back.

In general it's hard for me to recommend 4 year college these days for anything but "serious" majors like the hard sciences, medicine, law, etc. but I think 2 year colleges are a reasonable compromise. You could do a year at the coffee shop gig, in the meantime be scouting really hard for a 2 year degree/trade program at a school you like, that you know you can stick with. You'd be in a good position to go for the 4 year afterwards if at some point you decide you want that. Beg, borrow, or steal the money you need to get it...you won't be the oldest guy or girl there by a longshot.

So that'd be ~3 years total. I know it feels like a long time to you, but from my perspective (and probably many other older guys) the difference between 20 and 23 is hardly anything. I'd give my left nut to be 23 again; you'll still have your whole life ahead of you.

I wouldn't be thinking of bailing out to EE just yet. Give it some time...my early 20s were the worst period for me in terms of just about everything, and I think that goes for many young men, so I understand that desire to get away and be "anywhere but here." But I think it would likely end in disaster. Suck it up, buckle down for a bit, and put in the work required to put you in a stronger position. The girls aren't going anywhere; I assure you you'll be able to bang the same college girls you could at 20 at 23, and if you play it right you'll definitely be able to be more selective.