This is my job warning to people.
I have noticed that there is a good amount of 16-25 year old people here and I want to give this warning about jobs and the importance of college. I'm 23 and have wanted to be an elementary school teacher for many years now. My original plan was to avoid school debt and just work for a good amount of years to save up, it seemed like a good plan looking back. I have worked since I was 12 almost everyday for nearly a decade. I have worked in a car factory, I have done flooring of all types, I have worked in a pepper farm, I have worked at a Pizza Hut, I have worked various retail jobs, I have worked at various restaurants, I have done hard manual labor jobs for all of these years and do you know how much money I have saved in the bank ? Not a single dime.
Without a degree it is nearly impossible to get anywhere in life. I was always good at all of these jobs, yet I wasn't happy at all. These jobs pay you pennies and drain your mental, physical, and emotional state, then they leave you with nothing. I work at Kmart, a place that will shut down in five years due to bad management. Those corporate idiots will sell their shares to the share holders and say goodbye to their hardworking employees without a care in the world. I've been here for six months while I attend college for extra money. Retail, I've learned, is all the same. I used to love people, yet retail showed me that a good majority of people are rude and self serving. I've seen people use racial slurs towards employees, I've seen them make employees feel like dirt, I've seen them lie about employees just to get them in trouble for entertainment.
Tonight an elderly woman told me that I should keep my opinions to myself due to her being in her 60's and trying to cause trouble. I've seen people like her for years now. I told her that without me, she wouldn't be able to buy a thing in the store and to keep walking. This is what retail does to you, it makes you bitter after dealing with customers and managers like that woman was for years. I once took that abuse like a whipped dog, can you believe that ? Many places place employees dead last and treat them like garbage to save money from having to pay for health insurance and benefits. Many places outright with tell employees that they are expendable and use scare tactics on them.
You will survive check to check and I feel pity for the young parents that have to raise children with low hours of work income. Taking care of yourself is hard enough with that money, so it is like pouring salt on a would when people are treated like dogs and have to put up with it or choose the low paycheck. I am on good terms with management and I work hard, so if there's a rude person I tell them off so that they know their place. In college, I feel peace of mind from worry due to I feel like I'm home. You might be thinking "Don't worry I'm smart, I'll just party a little, then go to college." That was my mistake also. I have an IQ of 160 and for a small length of time I allowed that to go to my head. As I got older I realised that I will never be happy unless I'm teaching a classroom and I should use my gift to help others and not be a know it all. I needed to vent to remind myself that soon I'll be our of these dead end jobs and enjoy what I love doing. I wanted to also tell some of the ones in high school to not repeat what I did. You will be miserable, constantly stressed out and worried and feel like you are worthless.
(Blind Sniper Mod Edit: Added some formatting by separating text into paragraphs)
Comments
Meanwhile, I decided to enter the workforce rather than continue my education and I was a success. I have a high IQ as well, but found out that is no match for work ethic. If you are outworked, you will be passed over. After a couple years of coasting, I started working hard, earning my positions rather than assuming I am above them. I am currently in my second career. I was promoted twice by my former employer and promoted three times by my current employer. I am now making a comfortable wage and am pretty pleased with where I am. Even if it all falls apart, I have a decade of management experience and wouldn't have too much trouble landing a new job.
These days, it's extremely hard to live on a single income while owning property, so it's not uncommon for people to live with their folks well into their twenties or with a few friends. The days of hitting 18 and moving out on your own are gone, here.
Life goes differently for different people.
I think two points we can agree on are:
A ) You are much more likely to succeed at a job you enjoy than one you don't.
B ) Get humble fast. Things will go much easier.
No offense, but I don't believe you have the same IQ as Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.
Still, it was good advice though.
I'm not asking you to believe me on the subject of IQ. People use it in different ways and I am not an exception. I actually hate that my dad made me test my intelligence when I was a kid and as a teenager. IQ is really just a number and does not equate success. I'm glad that you enjoyed my advice though. Johro, basically work ethic only gets you so far. Work ethic is useless in a dead end job and no amount of work ethic will change that. In the end all that matters is corporate rules, just watch Undercover Boss and see how out of touch corporate executive officers are with their business plans and employees. The only genuine CEO that I've ever seen was the one from Dutch Brothers Coffee. He lived in a nice house, not a mansion. He drove a regular car, not a Lambo. He had a regular haircut and dressed like a surfer. I've spent many years working like a machine, yet I never made a good amount of money as I was just a number to the bosses. I was just a number in the factory, just a number dealing with restaurants, retail stores, and flooring. Optimism only gets you so far. You should watch the Popeyes episode were the woman said that employees should feel honor when wearing the uniform. She screwed over an employee that actually had great ideas. He talked back to a manager that was barking orders and not helping, she hated that and gave him nothing in the end. He had a valid point that a manager is just a title and corporate cares little about the ant workers as he put it. She was very out of touch with reality.
Honestly, I don't think there's advice on what's important for each individual to have a successful and good life because it truly does greatly vary from one individual to the next. Someone who's amazingly fit for being a medical professional and enjoys the subject might strongly benefit from further education, whilst someone who amazingly gifted for writing might do better as a freelance author.
Sorry but saying a degree can help you greatly in life isnt earth shattering advice. People prefer different things.
You don't need a degree to be successful. I was fortunate enough to go to and experience medical school. If it wasn't for my parents I would be thousands of dollars in debt. I don't have a college degree, by the way. Degrees are nice for some people, but not for everyone. I have friends who've gotten a degree, they are still and debt and some still can't find a job. I also had a friend who had to relocate to Germany to keep his job. But me I'm doing great. I make great money as a paramedic, no degree required and live quite comfortably.
Good example. I had a co-worker who was a complete slob, but the boss kept around because he could get him to work for little to nothing. The man had two college degrees. He dressed like crap, smelled like crap, did I forget to mention he also looked some 200lb over weight? Then wondered why he couldn't get a better job. Mean while I'm one of the upper tier pay wise where I work. I dress above bar for the kind of work I do, because why shouldn't I? Always clean shaven, learned how to actually operate complicated machinery to boot on my own on my own time. I often come to work with an optimistic attitude, as I do actually enjoy the work.
People get promoted and paid their worth normally. Even if it's a dead end job. If you're working a factory job and are a good for nothing, regardless of your education, you will get the worst jobs, get the worst pay available at that job. More valued employees almost always will get paid more, get treated better, and get shown more respect by supervisors and management. People often refer to it as favoritism but often there are good reasons why favoritism exist.
Not saying ANY of this applies to the Original Poster's Post but.
Ayy, I'm gonna be on the other end soon! Taking my 911 dispatcher test at the end of December.
I have estimated IQ of 140 (my brothers also scored highly so I think the official European test has some merit.)
Yet I have no real interest to become a scientist or something like that.
My point is, just because people claim they have high IQ doesn't mean they have jobs to reflect that.
Also in some countries, degrees are more valuable than in the others.
Certain countries favor workers that can do what they claim, instead of having papers to say they can. Aka they use your degrees as toilet paper and then you have to prove it.
This forum assumes that people are talking about USA as it's likely the biggest group of active users here.
You're becoming a dispatcher, congrats!! I think their jobs are harder than mine. I couldn't do it.
That's another issue with pointless jobs is that favoritism plays an important part in jobs. If you kiss up to managers and throw others under the bus, you have a job. I enjoy hard work, yet it doesn't make me happy with seeing others treated like worker ants. Eat, sleep, work, etc. The elderly are treated like garbage in retail. I regularly stick up for this service desk worker that was an E8 Sgt in the Army and is a Vietnam veteran. This one 16 year old brat talks bad about him cause she thinks that she is a manager, I told her to show some respect. I've never kissed up to bosses or thrown people under the bus and that's why some bosses have never liked me. I let my work do the talking and to some people on power trips that's not good enough. I mentioned the IQ part to show that intelligence only goes so far without a degree. If you don't like that part, ignore it. In factories there is no job security. I was working nine days without a day off at nine to twelve hour shifts. I was setting records there and I was fired by an incompetent young supervisor for calling in sick. The other workers lied about me cause I told them to stop being a racist as I heard slurs every night. They told him that I was quitting and he believed it. The idiot got fired for firing me as his supervisors said that I was like a machine. Some jobs do illegal things and get away with it. I was doing 18 hour shifts at a biker bar and was screwed out of $ 1,000. I didn't have the money to take them to court. One owner was a pill popper, the other was a drunk. It was like an episode of Kitchen Nightmares. I knew that 18 hour shifts were illegal, yet I needed the money badly at that time. College is the only way to go.
I agree a degree is important for most people, but not all. Personally, I'm not going to college. Yes--I said it.
I already make a considerable amount of money selling jewelry, enough to the point where I have bought my own car with spare money. I have already set up my own 'business,' and I do not need a degree to expand. I'm not getting too into it because I don't want my personal info to be leaked online.
My advice? Know what you want to do, have a passion in, when you're young. If you go into college not knowing what you want to do, you won't be as successful. Find a passion, stick to it. I sold my first earring when I was 13 (and for the record, my ears aren't even pierced, I just make them)
And also--don't force something on you that you don't like. I tried painting and drawing, but I cannot draw anything to save my life. I just found that people really liked the jewelry I made. I have to admit though, it took years to make it as precise as I do it now.
Read my post above you, you must have a backup plan. Every year many stores open and only a few stays open within the first five years. I want to open up my own antique restoration shop one day, yet I have a backup plan in case it doesn't stay open due to business. Gordon Ramsey had to close his first three restaurants as an example on how difficult owning your own business can be.
This is great.
The only thing I would add is to learn how to write effective resumes for any job you apply for. Or if it's an application form, learn how to complete those in a way that helps you stand out.
You (general you) may think you're being efficient in sending out 30 carbon copies of the same resume to 30 different companies, but that's not often the best way to go about it. You're going to have a lot more success researching the company you're applying for, reading their job advertisements carefully to understand what they're looking for, then see if you have the skills, education, and philosophies that match up and make sure those are prominent in your resume/application. Companies may also have specific requirements for how to apply, and may reject unsolicited resumes. You should know this before you risk wasting your time.
In other words, if you send out 30 resumes, they probably should all be different in some way.
Note: this is not to say that you should ever, ever, ever make up or fudge skills and experience you don't have. This is true of both resumes and interviewing. There is the whole 'fake it 'til you make it' wisdom, but hiring managers will often smell bullshit from a mile away. Don't waste each others' time.
Lastly - and this can be tough if you're desperate - evaluate the company as much as they are evaluating you. Sometimes you may not have that luxury, so be prepared to put up with a terrible job to cover your bills until you can get to that place where you can walk away from a company that doesn't suit you.
I've already set up my business, with the help of a few adults, as I'm only 17. I don't want to say my average salary, but I make enough money to live a good quality life. I also sell photography online, although I don't make nearly as much selling photography as selling handcrafted jewelry.
Thanks!
It's high burnout and at poverty wages, but if I can get some data-entry experience or even some time operating radios and such, both would be helpful skills.
Quick question: I'm familiar with how dispatchers deal with callers and stuff, but how does it work from your end? I assume it involves a code and giving directions
Kmart/Sears has been in trouble financially for years now. I haven't seen any signs that they're doing much to fix it, so you're probably right that they're not going to last too much longer.
I don't want to discourage you, but the dollars aren't going to exactly roll in when you get that elementary school teacher job, either. Teachers are famously underpaid for what they have to do, and the level of internal politics is extreme. Sometimes kids come from homes without much support, and sometimes the free school lunch is all they get to eat that day, and there's nothing you can do about it. Will you handle it when parents scream at you for something they're unhappy about? It can still be rewarding to help young ones as best as you can along their way to learning what they need to know to grow up, though. Just be sure you want that enough to be able to take the rest.
No codes are used in my department. The dispatcher gives the closes truck available to the incident the location and the basic info of what's going on, we punch the address into the GPS and we're off. As simple as that.
I have similar experiences, unfortunately (yay, common ground!) I've worked at a lumber yard, movers, Pizza Hut, Walgreens, Phantom Fireworks (as security, of all things) and most recently Walmart. I reasoned along similar lines with paying my way through college, but at least it's possible where I live (Florida). Just got my A.A. and start a B.A. program this summer. I hope you end up where you want to be in life, even though we disagree on a lot.
I've had good bosses, bad bosses and borderline psychologically abusive bosses. I've never really been fond of any but a few. Most of my managers are lazy, incompetent or spend 95% of the day vainly trying to justify their own existence by nitpicking everything and making things less efficient. The empty suits that visit from corporate are even worse. Just completely out of touch with the realities on the ground floor.
Being disabled adds an extra layer of complication to things. No matter how hard I try, I'll always be less capable at many because of my vision impairment...as well as expendable, because it's really hard to prove an employer violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. One thing this taught me is to get in good with people on my same level. If someone needs help, I help them. If they forgot their cigarettes and need a smoke break, I let them have one of mine. A couple might leave me swinging in the wind, but most of the time folks I help will return the favor when I'm struggling.
It also drove me to union up, and now I'm a Wobbly, albeit a slightly delinquent one. It's kind of scary to do it under the employer's noses, but it's good to know there are others out there who have my back and feel the same way about things. I got fired from Pizza Hut for staging a walkout (and had trouble finding a job in PA, afterwards), so I definitely know there are risks, but IMO, it's worth it. There's less radical options out there, but trying to get involved with a union or organize folks at work might help make things a bit more tolerable.
Yeah, Retail is a horrible job area and although it is better than some dead end jobs (being better than fast food as an example) yet it is draining period. Today was December third, a day I dread every year in retail. It is the day that the Cherokee people each get $6,000 from the government and come in droves to stores. Now, my half brother is half Cherokee, I'm no racist against them, yet I do not like being around crowds of Cherokee. Some Cherokee are outright racist against Whites and they will be blunt about it as in will tell you about the evil White man and some will refuse to speak to you at all. I had on one occasion two hateful grandchildren that deserved to be hit tell me that their grandmother refused to learn the White man English, lol. Tonight i had a good amount that ignored me entirely. Tonight I wanted to hit this dad and his 12 year old son for being rude and talking down to me. I was thinking, yes hate the White man still while you spend $1,000 in here ,you ungrateful idiot. Nice parenting. They were bragging that they were getting a ps4 tomorrow as they just spent a grand. I did encounter a great many Cherokee that were nice today and I always love meeting nice Cherokee. In retail you are forced to cater to absolute idiots that can be rude, ungrateful, mean, and cry over a 25 cent or a $1 coupon that isn't valid.
Just decided this was TMI
Ah, seems much simpler. Probably saves lives too.
Reality is a bitch! It's never kind, and is hardly ever fair.
If we don't get a job we can always rob grannies.
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