Do you have a job?

[Lord Saladz]

Do you have a job? If so, what do you do? Have any long term goals related to your job? Or maybe you are going to school for a particular job? Share!

I'm 22 and just joined the Navy about 8 months ago. I'm planning to serve 6 years and go back to school using the benefits I will be receiving.

 

[Eo Ut Mortus]

I graduated from college a year ago. Currently, I'm unemployed and jobhunting, and it's a terrible feeling. I didn't network enough in college, and when I graduated, I had no defined exit plan, taking for granted that I'd land a job on my degree alone (BA in computer science and English, and yeah, I now know how naive that line of thinking was).

Since then, I've had little luck in applications, and I've felt like my skills have been atrophying because I can't make up my mind as to what I want to even do with my life. I can't land internships because I've already graduated, and it seems impossible to find entry-level jobs in my area. Moreover, I suck at interviewing, and I doubt I'll be capable of passing a behavioral interview, let alone a technical one, until I fail a dozen more times. That is, assuming I can even land one at this point: over the past two weeks, the only two interviews I've gotten have both been scams. One was some guy from India trying to get me to cash a fake check, and the other was a multi-level marketing scheme.

The majority of job applications I've worked with involve a "contract-to-hire" model, which doesn't seem to offer much job security if you end up landing the position. It's better than nothing, I suppose, but it feels like the applicant gets the short end of the stick in these cases.

Granted, I have plenty to be thankful about: I have a degree, no student debt, and a roof over my head, and I have a rough idea of how to dig myself out of this hole. Still, unemployment sucks; would not recommend if you can avoid it.

 

[SOMALIA]

Finished my MSc in Petroleum engineering in hopes that I would land a nice job within a few months. 7 months down the line and I am still searching although I have put in alot more effort to find pretty much any job half-related to any of my degrees which I possess. I've applied for hundreds of jobs, alot of which reject me on the basis that I am overqualified or I do not "fit the bill". It's really shocking to be honest and I just am hopeful for that lucky break. Funnily enough, I got a job within 3 months of applying after finishing my bachelors degree, obviously I cannot really draw any conclusion from my experience however going for a postgraduate degree unless you absolutely need it is pretty worthless in engineering. You are better of getting a placement throughout the latter part of your undergraduate degree and then go from there. Just my two cents. I tutor both at a centre and privately to make ends meet for now and keep my brain working I guess. Job market is tough everywhere, nowhere is safe these days. Good luck to everyone.

 

[Lemonade]

Kind of, starting PhD (in CS) so I'm getting a stipend and stuff but I'm still at school. I'm not great at "software engineering" so I didn't really intend look for jobs after undergrad anyway. Prospects look good I think, my prof's past students haven't had trouble finding jobs, it's just like 5 more years of school.

 

[Fishin]

I graduated with a 2 year degree in Computer Engineering 3 years back, after graduating I was able to get a decent low-level full-time job in a server support company and work my way up from there. The company I work for was later bought out by another company who basically put the department I work in on ice and made it next to impossible to get any further advancement (until they finish some restructuring which has already been put off for a year or so and won't happen any time soon). I spent awhile looking for a new job but most positions that I'd be qualified for are still a step down from where I currently am.

I'm still pretty happy with my job, it's fairly relaxed most of the time and I'm still learning a good deal.

 

[AM]

After I got out of college with an Audio Engineering degree I was unemployed for a good awhile. There wasn't a market as much as I had hope even then I knew this wasn't for me half way through my degree. I ended up working at a moving company for 2 years, 10 hour day minimum lots of labor nothing really redeeming about it, but you need the work experience because a degree alone will never be enough anymore. Got an online certificate in paralegal related stuff while working and was able to land a really nice job as a filing assistant after the 2 years of being in moving. Been a couple of months and loving it so far.

 

[jacob]

no. #neetlyfe

 

[4daptability]

I graduated from college a year ago. Currently, I'm unemployed and jobhunting, and it's a terrible feeling. I didn't network enough in college, and when I graduated, I had no defined exit plan, taking for granted that I'd land a job on my degree alone (BA in computer science and English, and yeah, I now know how naive that line of thinking was).

Since then, I've had little luck in applications, and I've felt like my skills have been atrophying because I can't make up my mind as to what I want to even do with my life. I can't land internships because I've already graduated, and it seems impossible to find entry-level jobs in my area. Moreover, I suck at interviewing, and I doubt I'll be capable of passing a behavioral interview, let alone a technical one, until I fail a dozen more times. That is, assuming I can even land one at this point: over the past two weeks, the only two interviews I've gotten have both been scams. One was some guy from India trying to get me to cash a fake check, and the other was a multi-level marketing scheme.

The majority of job applications I've worked with involve a "contract-to-hire" model, which doesn't seem to offer much job security if you end up landing the position. It's better than nothing, I suppose, but it feels like the applicant gets the short end of the stick in these cases.

Granted, I have plenty to be thankful about: I have a degree, no student debt, and a roof over my head, and I have a rough idea of how to dig myself out of this hole. Still, unemployment sucks; would not recommend if you can avoid it.

I doubt I'd be of much use, but I'd be happy to help you practice interviewing. No doubt it sounds weird, but I think that practicing with unfamiliar faces may be a legitimate way to familiarize yourself with the process. Otherwise, I'd suggest working on improv skills, as a way to combat the inevitable awkward/silent moments that employers may take as a sign of weakness.

 

[Acklow]

Working full time currently as a Supervisor at a Whole Foods locally. It's great and the people there are great. Full time with okay pay (it's not minimum wage so I'll take it) plus full benefits such as medical insurance (costs me $20 a mo) and even an IRA. Doing this job atm because I still need to finish out my degree, but I think that even if I don't get far w/my degree as far as careers are concerned, there's a lot of upward mobility within Whole Foods that I wouldn't mind working up the ladder into the corporate sphere down the line.

 

[Cresselia~~]

Does working freelance count as having a job?

Not that I earn enough for a living though. But I think it's still better than having absolutely no income.
(In Hong Kong, we don't have the grant for job finding people , unlike the UK.)

 

[bludz]

To anyone who's had trouble getting a job out of college - I would recommend seeing if your school has a career center and what they offer to graduates trying to find work. At my school they were very helpful to me - they helped me touch up my resume and cover letters, and gave me tips for interviews, all free. They had mock interviews as well but didn't utilize that opportunity since I think I am decent at interviews but I probably should've taken advantage anyway. They also have a job portal which I was using for a long time (I still have it set up to let me know about new jobs, although i am employed now). Also alumni events are another way to network after college although I didn't take advantage of those, and I didn't do a good of networking in school either.

I was unemployed for nearly 2 years after graduating and admittedly part of it was laziness but I did apply to quite a few jobs and even got some interviews they just never panned out.

I found an internship at my school last June and started working there. It was supposed to be a summer thing but the office ended up having a lot of turnover (my boss and 2 others in the office, both the others left) and I stayed on. I ended up staying on for 6 months at which point my boss informed me that I'm not allowed to stay on as a "part time casual" for more than 6 months according to HR so she was going to re-hire me through a temp agency.

Worked as a temp in the same capacity for a couple months at which point my boss offered me a full time job. I went through a transition period where I worked full time as a temp for a little while. I was a bit annoyed that it was taking longer than it should have because we were understaffed (we had hired one new employee and that's it) during a busy time so my boss kept putting off going through the process with HR. Eventually though I was brought on in a full time capacity (a little over a month ago now) and I'm very happy about it. I'm a data analyst and this is the field I'm interested in furthering my career in so this is more than I had hoped for when I landed the internship about a year ago. It's my first real work experience too so I really needed this jump start

 

[Ununhexium]

I bag groceries

 

[Subjugator]

Answering your question, as Cresselia-- also said, I guess I'm freelance. I just dabble in stocks and investing every now and then to keep a roof over my head and have a meal on my plate. Probably not reliable, but it isnt as if I have any better options.

 

[Tory]

I make $500 to $1,000 a week on eCommerce, currently selling on Bonanza.com with shoes, clothes, and accessories.

On Twitter, there giving away $25 credits on advertising. I just tweet my post. I am developing a portfolio website. I already made my logo, and design my app. I never had a job before because no one want to accepts me. But I don't care anyway since we have the internet to advertise your business.

 

[Del Rio]

I work as a civil engineer in marine construction. I just graduated with my BS, so I'm a recent grad hire, and it's actually been a pretty peaceful acclimation into the industry (which I really have no prior experience in, other than education). I also got my Engineering Intern license during my senior year, so I hope to get my PE within 4 years.

 

[Oglemi]

I graduated from college a year ago. Currently, I'm unemployed and jobhunting, and it's a terrible feeling. I didn't network enough in college, and when I graduated, I had no defined exit plan, taking for granted that I'd land a job on my degree alone (BA in computer science and English, and yeah, I now know how naive that line of thinking was).

Since then, I've had little luck in applications, and I've felt like my skills have been atrophying because I can't make up my mind as to what I want to even do with my life. I can't land internships because I've already graduated, and it seems impossible to find entry-level jobs in my area. Moreover, I suck at interviewing, and I doubt I'll be capable of passing a behavioral interview, let alone a technical one, until I fail a dozen more times. That is, assuming I can even land one at this point: over the past two weeks, the only two interviews I've gotten have both been scams. One was some guy from India trying to get me to cash a fake check, and the other was a multi-level marketing scheme.

The majority of job applications I've worked with involve a "contract-to-hire" model, which doesn't seem to offer much job security if you end up landing the position. It's better than nothing, I suppose, but it feels like the applicant gets the short end of the stick in these cases.

Granted, I have plenty to be thankful about: I have a degree, no student debt, and a roof over my head, and I have a rough idea of how to dig myself out of this hole. Still, unemployment sucks; would not recommend if you can avoid it.

This is actually kinda where I was at last year. Graduated, not with the degree I had intended for the first 3 years of college but graduated, didn't have enough networking, and was stuck trying to find a job with a rather generic degree with no real experience in the field, and couldn't find any internships or anything.

What I ended up doing was looking for management positions to beef up my experience level a bit and make me a better candidate for the jobs that I actually wanted. I got hired as a manager in training for Family Video, and their training program was pretty extensive and good for what it was, but I just ended up hating it (mostly the workplace practices not so much being the manager but ya). Then I just got a job at the local liquor store to build up some money while I was living at home (luckily I also didn't have any debt so that all went straight to the bank).

Eventually decided I couldn't live at home any more and needed to get out of my hobunk town, so I took a fulltime job at the warehouse that I currently work at in Madison and am absolutely loving it (I had actually worked there prior while I was in college as a seasonal employee for some extra cash and had liked it then too). My coworkers are great, the work is physical but not too demanding, the atmosphere is chill and I get to have fun at work. It doesn't use my history degree in any aspect and the pay isn't great, but I'm happier now than I have been in a couple years since I dropped out of the teaching program.

 

[Ampharos]

currently going to school for a film degree so uh we'll see how that turns out lol

in the meantime i'm cashiering at IKEA part-time which is actually fairly interesting as far as entry-level retail jobs go, and if all else fails i guess i'm in a similar position as Acklow in that IKEA has a surprising amount of room for upward mobility

 

[HBK]

I graduated from college a year ago. Currently, I'm unemployed and jobhunting, and it's a terrible feeling. I didn't network enough in college, and when I graduated, I had no defined exit plan, taking for granted that I'd land a job on my degree alone (BA in computer science and English, and yeah, I now know how naive that line of thinking was).

Since then, I've had little luck in applications, and I've felt like my skills have been atrophying because I can't make up my mind as to what I want to even do with my life. I can't land internships because I've already graduated, and it seems impossible to find entry-level jobs in my area. Moreover, I suck at interviewing, and I doubt I'll be capable of passing a behavioral interview, let alone a technical one, until I fail a dozen more times. That is, assuming I can even land one at this point: over the past two weeks, the only two interviews I've gotten have both been scams. One was some guy from India trying to get me to cash a fake check, and the other was a multi-level marketing scheme.

The majority of job applications I've worked with involve a "contract-to-hire" model, which doesn't seem to offer much job security if you end up landing the position. It's better than nothing, I suppose, but it feels like the applicant gets the short end of the stick in these cases.

Granted, I have plenty to be thankful about: I have a degree, no student debt, and a roof over my head, and I have a rough idea of how to dig myself out of this hole. Still, unemployment sucks; would not recommend if you can avoid it.

Appreciate the honesty. I couldn't relate to this more because, even though I am currently employed, a year ago, I too was a fresh graduate, naive and oblivious to the state of the market and with no powerful friends to land me a good entry level position in a reputed firm. That and the fact that I'm still largely confused about what kind of job I should aim for. I'm currently working as a game tester for Ubisoft and while it's fun, I earn a little less than what I did at my first job post graduation, which is barely enough to sustain me, though I'm glad I quit that job, it was awful. Not to mention that there's little scope for promotion and no scope for growth for testers here. Therefore, the only thing I am sure of is that this is, by no means, a permanent job. I've been taking classes on weekends for the past three months as I prepare to tackle various management aptitude tests in the hopes of somehow stumbling into a renowned MBA program at a well regarded educational institution that can then, hopefully, land me a job that will make me financially self sufficient (I can't even afford a place of my own yet, I STILL live with my parents). I've been where you are and it's horrible, not knowing what to look for and where while everyone else seems to breeze through life........

 

[Aldaron]

I went to college at CWRU and got a BME (biomedical engineering) degree as my BS and an applied math degree as my MS.

I used the school's network of job placement to get my job working as a consultant to the Cleveland Clinic, and networked the people I met on business trips to a software job at JPMC. Note software, not related to BME or applied math at all lol.

EDIT: I should add that I haven't included my MS on my resume since my first job. I was told by the person I networked with that the hiring manager for the particular role at JPMC wasn't a fan of advanced degrees (don't get me into this country's anti-academic bullshit) and left it off...then never bothered to put it back on. Takeaway here is that networking with people also helps gives you hints into what hiring managers are actively looking for in resumes / candidates and gives you an immediate boost up.

I then decided to leave Ohio and move to New York, cause, well, Ohio and New York City lol. Once agan, I used a network of connections I made, this time through JPMC and its New York liasons, to get myself a position as an engineering manager at a start up.

After a year at the start up and going to various start up events...I again networked to find my current position as a Senior Solutions Architect at a fintech start up.

I basically sit in between our internal engineers, our internal business analysts, and clients and do pre-sales, product design / architecture design, and then sit down with my team and implement solutions.

The takeaway? Networking is a fucking top tier skill and unfortunately not emphasized enough while going through school. I've noticed a lot of people here have stated they're struggling a bit or did struggle...and I can't help but think where I would be had I not emphasized networking from literally my sophomore year in undergrad.

I have no idea if I would have landed my positions if I just went through the normal process of throwing my resume around and applying traditionally. All of my positions I "talked to a friend's friend who knew a guy who knew a guy" initially and got my resume pushed to the top of the pile and then proceeded from there.

For all you struggling to find a position, I strongly recommend working on developing some of your soft skills (dealing with people, talking, answering difficult questions) and then taking advantage of every networking opportunity available to you. I know almost every college has frequent job fairs / events and there are general start up fairs (or just general job fairs) in a lot of areas as well..go to these events and talk to someone you don't know and make a connection.

99 out of a 100 connections / conversations might be fruitless but that 1 is all you need to get your resume in the door somewhere so you can use your other positive attributes to land that job.

Good luck Smogonites, I know you can do it ^_^

 

[Aldaron]

Also, I'd like to add that while the economic state of this country for recent grads is not even close to ideal (in various contexts and perspectives), there ARE jobs out there, and you CAN get your foot in the door via fruitful networking.

I have a friend who just graduated from NYU with a history degree who got a position as a paralegal at a prestigious law firm here in the city...and her GPA was like a 3.0 (decent, but not close to good). She differentiated herself from the hordes of other liberal arts degrees and GPAs via her soft skills and landed the job. Sure, it's "just a paralegal" job and the pay according to her was only 55k annually (which in nyc doesn't do much), but still, it's a job, she is getting paid, and most importantly, she can network for her future.

I'm probably beating a dead horse at this point but...develop your soft skills lol. Learn how to talk to people, learn how to be assertive without being aggressive (basically learn how to turn off the internet persona for a lot of you (including me 5 years ago) :P), learn tact. Be comfortable with approaching people cold and striking up a conversation, because you never know when that offhand LinkedIn connection or that random number in your phone turns into an opportunity.

 

[Chou Toshio]

I went to college at CWRU and got a BME (biomedical engineering) degree as my BS and an applied math degree as my MS.

I used the school's network of job placement to get my job working as a consultant to the Cleveland Clinic, and networked the people I met on business trips to a software job at JPMC. Note software, not related to BME or applied math at all lol.

EDIT: I should add that I haven't included my MS on my resume since my first job. I was told by the person I networked with that the hiring manager for the particular role at JPMC wasn't a fan of advanced degrees (don't get me into this country's anti-academic bullshit) and left it off...then never bothered to put it back on. Takeaway here is that networking with people also helps gives you hints into what hiring managers are actively looking for in resumes / candidates and gives you an immediate boost up.

I then decided to leave Ohio and move to New York, cause, well, Ohio and New York City lol. Once agan, I used a network of connections I made, this time through JPMC and its New York liasons, to get myself a position as an engineering manager at a start up.

After a year at the start up and going to various start up events...I again networked to find my current position as a Senior Solutions Architect at a fintech start up.

I basically sit in between our internal engineers, our internal business analysts, and clients and do pre-sales, product design / architecture design, and then sit down with my team and implement solutions.

The takeaway? Networking is a fucking top tier skill and unfortunately not emphasized enough while going through school. I've noticed a lot of people here have stated they're struggling a bit or did struggle...and I can't help but think where I would be had I not emphasized networking from literally my sophomore year in undergrad.

I have no idea if I would have landed my positions if I just went through the normal process of throwing my resume around and applying traditionally. All of my positions I "talked to a friend's friend who knew a guy who knew a guy" initially and got my resume pushed to the top of the pile and then proceeded from there.

For all you struggling to find a position, I strongly recommend working on developing some of your soft skills (dealing with people, talking, answering difficult questions) and then taking advantage of every networking opportunity available to you. I know almost every college has frequent job fairs / events and there are general start up fairs (or just general job fairs) in a lot of areas as well..go to these events and talk to someone you don't know and make a connection.

99 out of a 100 connections / conversations might be fruitless but that 1 is all you need to get your resume in the door somewhere so you can use your other positive attributes to land that job.

Good luck Smogonites, I know you can do it ^_^

Ugghhhh.... as much as I hate networking (and therefore hate to admit that Aldaron is right...), he's right...
I do want to note that I don't think it's just a matter of "everyone should be networking, why aren't you?" as if there is something wrong with people who don't like to network.

BTW, the way you know are an extrovert or introvert is not by how much you like talking-- it's by whether or not being around other people boosts your energy or drains your energy. There are a loooooot of introverts in the world, and for them (us? I'm a minor introvert, kinda border), being around people a lot of the time is a genuinely energy draining activity. Even organizing time to meet with people is a time draining activity.

That said, my current job was gained... through a connection. A senior member of a non-profit I was involved with introduced me to an executive in Japan who was also from the US. We had a conversation, and he was impressed by my bilingual skills and resume, so he introduced me to the marketing division, and now I work as an digital marketer/brand manager for a major IT company.

Good things come to those who go looking for them-- though I would say my path was paved with privilege, so I don't want to talk down to those who are truly struggling.

I plan on staying in the field I am for a while; programmatic advertising, IT industry. There is a market for marketers here in Japan-- especially those who know about digital marketing, and those who are bilingual.

 

[Pyritie]

I got a bachelors in computer science, didn't do any networking at all, and still got a good job at a video games company a few months later.

I think what really helped me was projects I had been doing in my free time. I had been working on a kart racing game with a group of random people I recruited on the internet, doing most of the programming and also helping with art and getting things into the game.

We only had one track and the game itself was very bare bones, but there was some basic multiplayer and AI in place and you could still drive around and do a few laps.

I made a CD with the game on it and sent it to a whole load of different companies along with my CV and a cover letter. I also emailed them the same information (along with links to videos of the game), and a week later called them up as well to ask if they had received it and what they thought of it. (Doing this makes sure they don't just shove you in a pile and "forget" about you!)

One thing that's also really important is knowing how to market yourself. "I made a game with a bunch of randos I found online" doesn't sound nearly as good as "I recruited and led a team of artists and programmers to create a functional game using blah blah engines and software". Don't lie, but try to make yourself sound as capable as you can.

Also pray to RNGsus. Honestly I got lucky too.

 

[TheGreatKoala]

Business Systems Analyst at a lighting company, but doing courses regarding Video game design and development

 

[jumpluff]

I recently picked up a research internship (paid!) at my school, it's sadly not in my field of research interests or even my degree (just personal interests, which is rad) but it'll be nice to get some experience doing professional research (and there'll be a co-authorship and conference presentations out of it, so more experience doing things that are in my field). I'm also interested in the networking aspects of it (people my age and academics as well), and as a result of it I picked up my first letter of recommendation (in my field lol) because I had to ask someone to write one for me, so it's nice to have a feeling of making progress in my industry as well as my degree. I think I'll develop a lot of skills out of it, and I have just about nothing good on my CV because I can't do much traditional work due to my health situation, so I'm super duper happy.

I think after I do my internship I'll try to see if there's some volunteer work etc. I can do in my field (bio) to round it out, if I can't get another internship.

I've always had to rely heavily on my ability to get in good with staff at my schools because I'm hopeless at socialising with people at my age and I don't have much speaking for my professional ability except good grades that a lot of competitive people will have anyway (and which will be diminishingly relevant), so I'm looking to make use of this opportunity to develop my skills with people who at least are pursuing similar paths to me and roughly my age, and if I'm lucky make friends. I am honestly pretty good at befriending academics (esp. since I grew up around a heap) but that's only useful in some spheres x.x

I agree with Chou btw, and I hate spending time with people with the intention to get anything out of it and I hate spending time with people who view people as nothing but functional resources or commodities (they also tend to be really creepy and energy-exhausting)... but connections and strong approval of 'my superiors' have helped me a lot with my situation just in school. Even just knowing the staff of your faculty and the school's support staff and keeping in contact is good practice (although you should definitely know people your own age and people in professional fields). Ngl I tend to do it out of a need for passive emotional validation

It's probably the 'wrong' way to think about it, but even though I love people, because I'm so heavily introverted (and generally troubled, so it's exhausting) I view 'spending time with people' as a thing I have to apply myself to as much as any other task, for my health and for my life and for maintaining and caring for the relationships and the people who matter me, since I'm abysmal at it and I wish I was better and I'm trying so hard to be better. But I also feel that way about 'relaxation' and 'work' so

 

[Bughouse]

Seriously don't undersell networking. I got a leg up at my job when I was applying because I was referred "internally" by someone who works at another company under the same parent company as mine. They share an HR website, but that's about it. No one at my company would have any idea who he is. It didn't get me the job, but it skipped me through 2 preliminary rounds of interviews through the parent company before I would have been brought onsite to my company. Then I impressed them enough to get it. But without him, no clue if I'd ever have gotten that far and frankly without him I didn't even know my company existed.

And as to if I even know who my referrer is? Well I've spoken with him, but never even met him in person because he mostly works abroad. But his wife was the realtor my parents were working with to sell their house. Seriously. Network with everyone.

People think they can only network through close family and friends, and once it gets more than one degree outside that small circle, no one will actually be able to help you because they can't really sell you to employers. Nonsense.

First off, if it was doable through your immediate connections, you probably would already have a job and not be looking anymore, so don't get hung up on them. If they could help, they probably already would have. Second, you'd be shocked how much friend of a friend of a friend may be willing to help, so long as you actually meet/speak with all the friends along the way. Don't stick to email. Wherever possible get a 30 minute conversation. "Informational interviews" are not likely to land a job, but they will land you more connections and also just let you know about more places to work you didn't know about before.