Hi,
I'm currently stuck and can't really make up my mind about what to do. I'm currently unemployed and have about $2800 worth of expenses to pay every month.
Bit of my background:
The only skills and education I have is a BS in biology with about 2 years of field experience. Aside from this, just a bunch of bullshit jobs. My mom passed away in late 2019, and I spent the following 2+ years managing my mom's estate, having to move, having to take custody of multiple animals, and a whole bunch of other crap.
During this time I did not add much to my career. I was living in my mom's house in a small town in Oregon and the job opportunities sucked. I lived off savings and local labor jobs that were temporary and seasonal.
It seems now that my opportunity to be a conservation or wildlife biology has passed me. The job market is competitive, my skills are outdated and old, and I now have responsibilities that prevent me from having the same freedom I had before. So now I am thinking I need to make a pivot.
Problem:
I moved back to California and got an apartment because my family wanted to sell my mom's home in Oregon. I have no job and lied to the landlord that I did. But, she saw that I had a good chunk of money in savings. While the job market is better here, the reality remains the same. Competition is high, I lack some skills and experience, and there are some job gaps in my resume.
The landlord is even trying to raise the rent a few hundred dollars but she's doing it in a shady way. She's trying to find a workaround by using some company to bill the tenants for utilities because she says she keeps getting letters from the city saying we are using way too much water (I think she is lying). She also wants to charge me for a parking spot.
Anyway, there are only a few options I have. All the unskilled labor jobs over here do not pay anything over $18/hour. While taking a crappy job short term is OK, it won't work long term. I would need at least $22/hour or higher to just survive really.
Options:
1) I am seeing a lot of job listings for medical and laboratory work. I already have a bachelor's in Biology but my experience doesn't line up with these fields. So, I can try to get experience and/or add some skills and certifications.
Time and money are an issue but it would work out since it raises the pay to over $20/hour. But, there are no guarantees of an interview and getting a job. Also, most if not all of these positions want you to get Covid vaxxed and I am not vaxinated nor plan to be. Any schooling to get certificates or attend classes at a university all want vaccination too.
2) Focus more on a hands-on career where you earn while you learn. Especially if it is a good marketable skill like some of the trades (electrician, carpentry). There is time and money that goes into this and I am not sure I am fit enough or want to work a physically demanding job. But I may not have a choice as options are running out. I am still looking for more hands-on or training-on-the-job type opportunities. Just don't know which other ones are out there. There are medical certificates I could get that train you in a specific skill but there is the vaxxing issue.
3) Get a bullshit job and work on a side hustle or business. The only business skill I have is that in 2018-2019 I did some freelance Copywriting. I know a little Email Marketing too. I got work primarily on Upwork and never really scaled it. I didn't know how to get clients outside Upwork either.
I am just frustrated with the bullshit. Tired of the many hoops the job market makes you jump through and all the while there is no guarantee to even get an interview.
I have been around long enough to know that many times getting the job comes down to who you know. Not to mention there are politics involved too. If you're the wrong race or gender you have no chance. You can have the best skills, experience, be a hard worker, nice guy, etc and if they simply don't like you (for whatever reason) you won't get the job. I don't like these odds.
I've been through this so many times and I don't know if I want to take the risk of investing more time and money into a damn job. I keep thinking to myself, why invest time and money into a job when I could do the same for a business or side hustle?
But at the same time, what if it doesn't work out. So I think I should have some backup plan because I do have to make money. You need a job to show a landlord, a bank, etc in order to rent or buy things too.
A big part of me wants the freedom to work on my terms and not be hung up by ridiculous requirements and demands of employers and landlords. The crazy part is, I know that some of these people lie and cheat their way into their positions in the first place.
I don't know what I am asking from the forum. Maybe just some advice. Maybe as an outsider, you have some insights and a better perspective on this.
Thanks
I'm currently stuck and can't really make up my mind about what to do. I'm currently unemployed and have about $2800 worth of expenses to pay every month.
Bit of my background:
The only skills and education I have is a BS in biology with about 2 years of field experience. Aside from this, just a bunch of bullshit jobs. My mom passed away in late 2019, and I spent the following 2+ years managing my mom's estate, having to move, having to take custody of multiple animals, and a whole bunch of other crap.
During this time I did not add much to my career. I was living in my mom's house in a small town in Oregon and the job opportunities sucked. I lived off savings and local labor jobs that were temporary and seasonal.
It seems now that my opportunity to be a conservation or wildlife biology has passed me. The job market is competitive, my skills are outdated and old, and I now have responsibilities that prevent me from having the same freedom I had before. So now I am thinking I need to make a pivot.
Problem:
I moved back to California and got an apartment because my family wanted to sell my mom's home in Oregon. I have no job and lied to the landlord that I did. But, she saw that I had a good chunk of money in savings. While the job market is better here, the reality remains the same. Competition is high, I lack some skills and experience, and there are some job gaps in my resume.
The landlord is even trying to raise the rent a few hundred dollars but she's doing it in a shady way. She's trying to find a workaround by using some company to bill the tenants for utilities because she says she keeps getting letters from the city saying we are using way too much water (I think she is lying). She also wants to charge me for a parking spot.
Anyway, there are only a few options I have. All the unskilled labor jobs over here do not pay anything over $18/hour. While taking a crappy job short term is OK, it won't work long term. I would need at least $22/hour or higher to just survive really.
Options:
1) I am seeing a lot of job listings for medical and laboratory work. I already have a bachelor's in Biology but my experience doesn't line up with these fields. So, I can try to get experience and/or add some skills and certifications.
Time and money are an issue but it would work out since it raises the pay to over $20/hour. But, there are no guarantees of an interview and getting a job. Also, most if not all of these positions want you to get Covid vaxxed and I am not vaxinated nor plan to be. Any schooling to get certificates or attend classes at a university all want vaccination too.
2) Focus more on a hands-on career where you earn while you learn. Especially if it is a good marketable skill like some of the trades (electrician, carpentry). There is time and money that goes into this and I am not sure I am fit enough or want to work a physically demanding job. But I may not have a choice as options are running out. I am still looking for more hands-on or training-on-the-job type opportunities. Just don't know which other ones are out there. There are medical certificates I could get that train you in a specific skill but there is the vaxxing issue.
3) Get a bullshit job and work on a side hustle or business. The only business skill I have is that in 2018-2019 I did some freelance Copywriting. I know a little Email Marketing too. I got work primarily on Upwork and never really scaled it. I didn't know how to get clients outside Upwork either.
I am just frustrated with the bullshit. Tired of the many hoops the job market makes you jump through and all the while there is no guarantee to even get an interview.
I have been around long enough to know that many times getting the job comes down to who you know. Not to mention there are politics involved too. If you're the wrong race or gender you have no chance. You can have the best skills, experience, be a hard worker, nice guy, etc and if they simply don't like you (for whatever reason) you won't get the job. I don't like these odds.
I've been through this so many times and I don't know if I want to take the risk of investing more time and money into a damn job. I keep thinking to myself, why invest time and money into a job when I could do the same for a business or side hustle?
But at the same time, what if it doesn't work out. So I think I should have some backup plan because I do have to make money. You need a job to show a landlord, a bank, etc in order to rent or buy things too.
A big part of me wants the freedom to work on my terms and not be hung up by ridiculous requirements and demands of employers and landlords. The crazy part is, I know that some of these people lie and cheat their way into their positions in the first place.
I don't know what I am asking from the forum. Maybe just some advice. Maybe as an outsider, you have some insights and a better perspective on this.
Thanks
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