I feel like I'm "stuck".

[MattW]

Sorry if I ramble on for a while, here, but I kinda neat to vent, and I also hope maybe I can find some guidance (or at least some kind of comfort) on here. Like the topic title says, I sort of feel like I'm "stuck" right where I am, in life.

 

I have no real ambition or "passion", no real goal I'm working towards, and I feel like I should have something. I've been taking classes at community college for about three years, now, and I've changed my major (albeit, in the same general field -- computers/ technology) every year, so I've pretty much had to start all over every time, in terms of classes and working towards a degree. I'm already not feeling all that crazy about my current major...

 

I just don't really know what I want to do with my life. I mean, I consider myself fairly tech-savvy, but I always seem to get tripped up with the more advanced tech classes, which intimidates me, and makes me think I should be looking at other career prospects, but I don't know what. I'm not really good at much else, yanno?

 

It only makes me feel worse to know that a lot of the people I went to grade school and high school with are getting ready to graduate with bachelor's degrees in another month or so, and most of them already have entry level jobs.

 

Me, I'm still dragging my feet, taking classes, with no direction at all, and who knows how long before I ever get a degree...? Plus, I've only got a boring part time job at a retail store, mostly doing cashiering, making barely more than minimum wage.

 

I'm just... tired of being in this same spot. Community college, and this part time job, were supposed to be a "transitional" stage, for me. But I've been at both for over three years, now. I'm tired of going to community college, but it's easily affordable, and I don't want to switch to a more expensive school when I haven't decided what I want to do (so as not to build up large amounts of student debt from aimlessly taking classes). I'm sick of being a 22 year old cashier, but jobs are still kind of tight here, and considering I don't have a degree, I'm not qualified or skilled to do anything else (so, at best, if I looked for another job, I'd just end up doing the same thing, but somewhere else).

 

On top of that, tomorrow is the day where registration opens up for the fall semester. Like I said, I don't really want to stay at community college, but I have nowhere else to go. I don't even know what classes I want to take, and I like to register ASAP, as the best classes usually get filled up in the first few days of registration. So, I don't know what to do, with that. @_@

 

I dunno, I'm just really tired of everything, and it's making me miserable... I feel like the people around me are moving forward in their lives, and I've just been standing still for the last three years, going on four. I just don't know what to do.

[catfeeder]

I can appreciate how you feel, but not everyone thrives in the same cookie-cuter mold after high school, so don't sweat that. Also, the perfect major is not crucial to coming out as good job material.

 

I'd take a 2-pronged approach to your last year of study. A higher percentage of graduates develop careers outside their major than those who stay within it, such as with medicine or law. Any other bachelor is pretty cross-purpose, so skip that hurdle and just take whatever you'll need to graduate in the easiest way possible, period. We can talk more about why this is an advantage later, but trust that burnout isn't a time to make graduating more difficult. When rubber hits the road, it's about what a company can train you to do. Whether you took some advanced course or just the basics is pretty irrelevant in practical, entry level terms.

 

Second, I'd stop limiting my work exposure to a register. It's time to go corporate. Use any time off for a trip to a different temp agency. Start closest to home, and build a radius. Invest the effort on the forms and skills tests on basic applications. (Sending resumes is a waste of time, they only care about their pool of 'actives' and the only way to get active is to go there and build a file.) If you suck at applications, go to link removed and learn. Most agencies will let you test badly then come back to use their tutorials to build better scores--so it's never a one shot deal. (FYI--the agency most far away from me placed me the closest I've ever worked to my home.)

 

You may believe that you're only of value if you're fully trained and graduated, so you're waiting for 'an ideal' before you'll expose yourself to business experience. Skip that. No graduate of any program is considered 'trained'. Get out and use what you've got and stop wasting yourself. You can always go back and add school or training to specialize in something later, after gaining enough general experience to learn where to invest. A decent employer will even pay for that.

 

Temping allows you to explore different corporate cultures, and it doesn't matter in what role. If someone inside likes you as a mailroom clerk, they will find an opening for you in their department. Temping allows you to apply for 'inside' jobs that never open to the public. It doesn't matter if you start there doing data entry, if you've got skills beyond that, you'll be closer to discovery by someone willing to develop you than you'll ever get in a store. This kind of networking is crucial.

 

Lastly, stop comparing yourself with high-school classmates. County schools are tougher because they have a rep to prove by their transfer-student population, and most managers know this. So hold your head up, and stop building mental barriers that keep yourself hidden. It's tough now, so take the sideways door through agencies, and don't worry when they tell you they have nothing. That all say that, but you need to be one of the last people to have joined their 'active' list when the next job comes in. Revisit your first agencies often to renew your application and raise your scores, develop good working relationships with their staff, and let them place you inside a company that looks good on your resume.

 

Head high.

[MattW]

When rubber hits the road, it's about what a company can train you to do. Whether you took some advanced course or just the basics is pretty irrelevant in practical, entry level terms.

 

I guess... Truth be told, I'm better at picking things up in a hands-on environment. Thus far, every class I've taken has been a lot of lecturing, with very little hands-on stuff. So, the more advanced the topics get, the more it starts going over my head. I always end up feeling confused. To make matters worse, it always seem like my classmates grasp the topics better than I do, and I sit there thinking "How do they know that?" or "What did I miss?". As far as graduating as easily as possible, eh, I've already taken quite a few of the lower level classes that would matter to a tech-related degree, and all that's left are the more advanced classes which, again, I tend to struggle with.

 

You may believe that you're only of value if you're fully trained and graduated, so you're waiting for 'an ideal' before you'll expose yourself to business experience.

 

Heh, well, yeah, that's pretty much the "real life" I've always known; that is, in order to get a good job, you either need a bachelor's degree, or have a strong enough social network to know someone that can help you get your foot in the door. I've never been good at building that kind of social network, so my "plan" was to at least get a bachelor's degree, so I'd have that.

 

Plus, every now and then, I browse those sites where you can find job listings (just to see what kind of job opportunities exist locally, for future prospects), and they always list a bachelor's degree as a "minimum requirement" for application.

 

Lastly, stop comparing yourself with high-school classmates.

 

Yeah, I know, I'm trying not to, it's just... Well, all through grade school and most of high school, I was always near the top of my class. My classmates, and even the faculty, generally acknowledged me as one of the "smarter" ones, that would do well in life, and at the time, that sort of gave me confidence in myself, that I had the right assets to eventually make something of myself. But now, I just feel disappointed in myself. I took a year off after high school because I was just so burnt out on school, and now I've spent three years aimlessly taking classes at a community college (which, as it is, are already considered pretty low class), and I'm still not any closer to "making" anything of myself, or even having the slightest idea of WHAT I want to "make" of myself.

 

Only reason I'm "comparing" myself to others is because a year or so ago, I finally jumped in on the Facebook craze, and since then, I've reconnected with a lot of old classmates. It's really brought to my attention how so many of them are doing stuff, and in the process of starting careers, and while I'm not necessarily "embarrassed", it's just made me very aware at how little I've done, and how far back I really am.

[catfeeder]

I guess... Truth be told, I'm better at picking things up in a hands-on environment. Thus far, every class I've taken has been a lot of lecturing, with very little hands-on stuff. So, the more advanced the topics get, the more it starts going over my head. I always end up feeling confused. To make matters worse, it always seem like my classmates grasp the topics better than I do, and I sit there thinking "How do they know that?" or "What did I miss?". As far as graduating as easily as possible, eh, I've already taken quite a few of the lower level classes that would matter to a tech-related degree, and all that's left are the more advanced classes which, again, I tend to struggle with.

 

Decide whether you can handle the courses without flunking them. If so, plow onward. If not, shoot for an easier degree. If you try to plow but can't manage it, then change course for the easier degree. If the goal is to finish a bachelor's, then get a bachelor's. You can always layer more on top of that later, if you need to, but if you're burning out before your last year, then just get A degree done, tech or not--any way you can.

 

Heh, well, yeah, that's pretty much the "real life" I've always known; that is, in order to get a good job, you either need a bachelor's degree, or have a strong enough social network to know someone that can help you get your foot in the door.

 

Well, you haven't exactly 'known' that, you've only 'heard' that, and it's only partly true. Yes, anything less than a bachelor's or strong vocational training can make it tough or impossible to break out of second-class citizenship--so that part is true. But waiting until you've graduated to attempt exposure to a job beyond a cash register could be equally troublesome.

 

I've never been good at building that kind of social network, so my "plan" was to at least get a bachelor's degree, so I'd have that.

 

Nobody's saying ditch the degree, but rather ditch the register. I'm trying to address the networking part with you. It isn't about who you know NOW. It's about exposure and who you're willing to meet. You can get that exposure and get paid for it at the same time, you just need to apply for it, show up and do a decent job of easy work. Then your resume will have the words 'Panasonic,' or 'Cisco' or 'Citibank' on it instead of x solid years of cashier experience.

 

Plus, every now and then, I browse those sites where you can find job listings (just to see what kind of job opportunities exist locally, for future prospects), and they always list a bachelor's degree as a "minimum requirement" for application.

 

The kinds of entry level jobs you can get through an agency aren't listed there, and the end job after the degree is premature. I'm talking about bridging the gap between zero experience and the kinds of jobs you'll hope to apply for after graduation. You'll be competing with people who have a BA or BS plus some legitimate exposure to a company. You're missing the second part, and you can start getting it this year, if only you'll lose the register.

 

[…] I'm still not any closer to "making" anything of myself, or even having the slightest idea of WHAT I want to "make" of myself.

 

I understand. Look, I know temping and how it can help you figure this out. During my sophomore year I had zero idea about 'making' anything of myself, either. I took a temp job for an IT project manager as an admin assistant. The job was simple, the team needed more from me, so my boss approved me being taught various development tasks. He also gave me the project plans and let me update those--it's how I learned to write them. I updated training manuals and process diagrams--it's how I learned how to write those. I turned around and started billing myself through consulting firms as a tech writer (more 'temp' jobs). From there I took on project management (more 'temp' jobs). From there, vice president of global development at a major financial firm (not-so-temp job).

 

School is important, but partial completion is no barrier to laying down some pavement and getting a good company name or two on your resume before this fall or before you graduate. Your only barrier to doing that is the cash register. You get to decide whether to address that, or not--but your future course work has nothing to do with how your spend your summer.

 

In your corner.

[MattW]

Yeah, I guess I'm just really hesitant to look elsewhere, because I don't want to find myself without a paycheck, yanno? I mean, I'm not happy being stuck in retail, or making little more than minimum wage, but at least it lets me pay the bills. I'd hate to look elsewhere, and not find anything, or even find a new job, but quickly get let go from that one, and end up with nothing.

 

Admittedly, I never really looked into any kind of temp agency, or anything like that, partially because A) I didn't think there really were any locally, and B) I assumed you needed qualifications for them to be able to place you anywhere.

[catfeeder]

Yeah, I guess I'm just really hesitant to look elsewhere, because I don't want to find myself without a paycheck, yanno? I mean, I'm not happy being stuck in retail, or making little more than minimum wage, but at least it lets me pay the bills. I'd hate to look elsewhere, and not find anything, or even find a new job, but quickly get let go from that one, and end up with nothing.

 

Admittedly, I never really looked into any kind of temp agency, or anything like that, partially because A) I didn't think there really were any locally, and B) I assumed you needed qualifications for them to be able to place you anywhere.

 

I understand, and this is why I'm trying to clue you in. You're 'stuck' because you assume too much. You don't need to ditch your job to apply at agencies on your time off. If that means taking on more weekend work to free some workdays, isn't retail open on evenings, Saturdays and Sundays?

 

Nobody says you need to accept an assignment for a week. Some are 3 months, some are 6 months, some are undetermined. If you have a good relationship with your cashier boss, give him/her the heads up that you're going to need to start doing some internships, and while you don't have one yet, this could impact your schedule and can they be flexible with you for this? It's a legitimate request from someone who's been loyal and dependable--for how long? It's not likely they'd want to burn bridges with you, they'll probably want to keep a good relationship with you for your help filling in during emergencies and stuff in the future.

 

Also, if you land something good at a company and want the work to cross into your fall schedule, look into night and weekend classes. County programs are flexible, as most of their students don't have the luxury of not working.

 

Think outside your current scope, and you'll 'unstuck' yourself ; )