Still Unemployed... Sigh

[Twilight Hue]

Go to trade school. Move to Canada. We'd welcome you.

Trades and skilled labor are excellent ways to go with livable incomes.

Many can earn anywhere from 30000 to 100000 a year depending the field and skill level and can enter the industry in less time than college training.

 

[Wirey]

Trades and skilled labor are excellent ways to go with livable incomes.

Many can earn anywhere from 30000 to 100000 a year depending the field and skill level and can enter the industry in less time than college training.

The going rate for electricians here is $40-$45 per hour.

 

[Alceste]

The going rate for electricians here is $40-$45 per hour.

Hot damn, that's almost as much as I make playing my guitar!

I thought about becoming an electrician. Even tried to land myself an apprenticeship gig with BC hydro. Didn't pan out, but c'est la vie.

 

[Wirey]

Hot damn, that's almost as much as I make playing my guitar!

I thought about becoming an electrician. Even tried to land myself an apprenticeship gig with BC hydro. Didn't pan out, but c'est la vie.

Being an electrician is a pretty sweet job. Everyone thinks they can fix their car, or toilet, and they're not afraid of making mistakes. How many untrained homeowners do you suppose go rooting through their panel?

PS Claiming you make $45+ in this thread, and claiming poverty in another seems incongruous.

 

[Thief]

Being an electrician is a pretty sweet job. Everyone thinks they can fix their car, or toilet, and they're not afraid of making mistakes. How many untrained homeowners do you suppose go rooting through their panel?

PS Claiming you make $45+ in this thread, and claiming poverty in another seems incongruous.

ME!
I set up my welding machine and my generator!

 

[Wirey]

ME!
I set up my welding machine and my generator!

If you have a welding machine, you hardly qualify as untrained. If you're actually a welder, I should be using smaller words.

 

[Wherenextcolumbus]

It blows goats.
But sometimes goats must be......you know.
I've worked for far less.
But now I work for far more.

Well I wish I earned that in pounds

 

[Daemon Sophic]

The going rate for electricians here is $40-$45 per hour.

Hot damn, that's almost as much as I make playing my guitar!

......

Wait. Are you saying that, as a musician (guitar player) you are making ~$90 grand a year........or that you earn more than $45 per hour for the couple of 2 hour gigs you play each week?

 

[Revoltingest]

If you have a welding machine, you hardly qualify as untrained. If you're actually a welder, I should be using smaller words.

Me angry! Me weld two, so dont dis my vocob....vacobul....vocapu....werds i use.

 

[BHSU_Student]

Thanks for all of your support/advice. I have decided to go to graduate school, as I feel that a B.S. in Psychology is not a degree that qualifies someone for entry level work (I think this was the case even before the recession). I did get a job offer from an insurance agency, but oddly it was through networking and offered on the basis of being an alumn. Anyways, I feel that my knowledge, skills, and abilities are a perfect match for the field of Occupational Therapy. It is high in demand at the moment. I had already planned on being an occupational therapist but refrained from going to graduate school because of how expensive it is and because of the negative feedback from OTs on a job forum (people go into the field, only to find that it is not for them).

Though it might be expensive and tiring (I will probably work in a Skilled Nursing Facility for several years to pay off student debt), I find the ability to open my own practice and perhaps my own company to be promising. I am actually shadowing an occupational therapist who is the co-owner of a rehab clinic as of now. Also, this field has a significant shortage of males. They want 50/50 representation and I think I would have many job opportunities simply because males are hard to come by.

I think essentially, that we have a rapidly changing economy, and that we are experiencing hyper-saturation of the job market. That is, the economy is not keeping up with the growth rate, and so we have millions of graduates who are entering the job market, only to find that there are no jobs. Despite this, there are some fields that are still high in demand, like occupational therapy.

I think all it comes down to is supply and demand, and who you know.

 

[BHSU_Student]

You're not alone. I actually don't know anybody with a degree who is currently working in the field they got their degree, with the exception of my cousin who is working her way toward a doctorate in the field she was already working in to enhance her prospects for advancement.

The one thing all these university educated massage therapists, print shop employees, waitresses, carpenters etc. have in common is they stopped looking for relevant work after a couple of years, or they tried a couple apprenticeships or junior positions and decided they weren't all that into it after all.

If you really want to be in your chosen field, don't stop trying, but be prepared to accept grueling hours and little or no pay to get your foot in the door.

If you really want to earn a living, be prepared for life to take you somewhere else. Try a temp agency to get a taste of what's out there. If you can type and use Microsoft products, you're in. If you do good work, you will probably be offered permanent positions with benefits etc. for more money.

Yeah, my brother in law got his degree in IT and specialized in software engineering. After three years, he finally landed a job as a mortgage processer and is now working on his MBA in finance. It is with a good company though, and he is making pretty decent money.

 

[BHSU_Student]

I find it's tough to get employment when you turn down employment.

I wasn't offered a position. They were suggesting that I apply to the position, which I did see as a way of getting my foot in the door. I decided not to pursue that because I might as well go to graduate school for another two years and earn a higher wage, working in a field that is high in demand. Trying to find a job with just a BS in psychology, is very difficult to do because a BS in psychology doesn't really qualify a person for an entry level position. It's not really recognized by employers. It's really a stepping stone for getting a higher degree. Unfortunately, I was somewhat misled by my university regarding employability.

Generally, the bachelor's degree is now the new high school diploma. A person needs a masters (or good experience) in order to do entry level work.

 

[Daemon Sophic]

I wasn't offered a position. They were suggesting that I apply to the position, which I did see as a way of getting my foot in the door. I decided not to pursue that because I might as well go to graduate school for another two years and earn a higher wage, working in a field that is high in demand. Trying to find a job with just a BS in psychology, is very difficult to do because a BS in psychology doesn't really qualify a person for an entry level position. It's not really recognized by employers. It's really a stepping stone for getting a higher degree. Unfortunately, I was somewhat misled by my university regarding employability.

Generally, the bachelor's degree is now the new high school diploma. A person needs a masters (or good experience) in order to do entry level work.

:yes: I think that the employability of the major is inversely related to the number of students in that major.
I attended the Univ. of Washington in Seattle. Back then there were around 30,000 undergrads.
The psych classes, art and acting classes, and the philosophy classes were held in huge auditoriums, with sometimes over 1,000 students in one room, and several classes a day.
The basic science and math classes had 100+ students. The advanced science, engineering, and mathematics classes were between 1 to 5 dozen students, tops.
Place your money on who was employed based on their major.

 

[Thief]

It's been awhile since I heard of it...so the source slips my mind....

More than 50% of the college educated people are working employments unrelated to their major field of study.

The situation is believed to have been generated by several factors.
Sudden high tech taking the skillful labor....
Foreign labor is cheaper....
Homeland companies failing to compete with foreign trade....

Wanting to be a person of certain skill and knowledge is easy enough...
if you got the bucks for the education.
Now find that job you thought would be there waiting for you.

But it probably has been down scaled in opportunity...and paycheck.
Good luck paying off that student loan!