So, in my current area i’m having a lot of trouble finding a job. Most places if not ALL only hire part time (what reason is this? are there any corporations that hire full time for entry level jobs?) and it’s not enough money for me basically.
So older people say to me(i’m 21) “go to college” … i can’t.
I only recieve a limited amount in financial aid because from what i understand on the forms it asks for your household income. My household income is “too high” to get a decent amount of financial aid. My mom and dad have a lot of debt, the financial aid does NOT take that into consideration.
So i’m more or less not ABLE to go to college. Literally unable.(Technically i can, if i wanna have a massive debt and might still not get a job due to the awful job market ALREADY)
Older people (such as some of the ones probably on this board) always say things like “you’ll be making X amount with that college degree and will be able to pay off a debt in NO time!”
Yeah right. The job market isn’t like it was and none of the baby boomers seem to understand how fucked our generation is. All the fucking debt they put themselves in and are now 80 years old buying golf carts and equipment with 10 maxed out credit cards. Just gunna make it harder for me to get a job once grandpa dies!
Anyways, that rant aside, it really is becoming increasingly hard to become employed. So is it worth a risk for me to go 150-200k in debt to get a 2-4 year degree? There are people with 4 year degrees working at starbucks.
What’s the best thing i can get right now very CHEAP that pays well? I was gunna become a phlebotomist (draw people’s blood) but when i called this cheap college (it is a technical college. looks ghetto as hell too) it costed 17k to become a phebotomist!! They only make like 14-15 an hour! That’s IF i get hired!
What’s a CHEAP certification i can get where i will make at LEAST 11 an hour and there is a job market for? Don’t say cna. They make less then that where i live and most places.
My advice is to learn a skilled trade: mechanic, welder, carpenter, plumber, etc. According to Mike Rowe from “Dirty Jobs”, these are the jobs that will always be in demand, and they’re portable.
You’re going to need to go to a tech school for any job like that. I’m saying that it’s money well spent. Those are typically 2 year programs, and you can pay off your student loans in no time. Have you ever had a plumber or a mechanic do work for less than $25 an hour?
You just have to keep applying for jobs. Maybe check out apprenticeship programs that might interest you. There are several fields that have them.
Or be a truck driver? Mail carrier? Barber? What interests you?
Here (Twin Cities) its a year program for $6k at a state run tech school to become a pipefitter. You are then an apprentice pipefitter making $30k a year - while the union pays for you to go to school. At the end of four years of apprenticeship, your income doubles.
There aren’t entry level jobs in corporations for people without degrees - unless they are minimum wage part time call center type jobs. If what you want is office work, the path is college - with the possible exception of starting as a bank teller (part time).
If you’re looking for full time work then having a part time job is better than having no job. Has no one told you that yet?
When I was laid off from my nice, cushy corporate job in 2007 I had trouble looking for work, even with decades of experience and a college degree. I feel your pain. However, I took part time work when I couldn’t get full time. My current employer hired me part-time and within 6 months converted me to full time. Don’t diss part time, it can be a way to get your foot in the door, especially at companies that genuinely try to promote from within.
If you don’t mind traveling you could try government jobs - they need people in some remote, hard to staff places and doing that might enable you to build up a nest age.
Skilled trades would require you go to school, and I can understand your reluctance to take out a loan, but if you’re a certified plumber or welder or whatever and at all competent you have a good chance of being employed, and if your local area isn’t working out they’re very portable skills.
You have options, but all of them will involve trade-offs. Sorry about that, but welcome to adulthood.
Look up income-based repayment programs. Taking out major student loans is definitely a decision to put a lot of thought in to, but it shouldn’t be a deal breaker. There are many ways to repay them that may not be as onerous as the scare stories would have you believe.
Between community college, part-time employment and modest loans, college is a possibly.
There are other paths, but if you are able to do college level work, attending college is your best options for getting a shot at being middle class, and it gets harder and harder to do it as you get older.
Community colleges are usually cheaper. Our local one has a bunch of 2 year certificate programs, including one on the operation and maintenance of electron microscopes. I’ve heard that graduates from that program are heavily recruited at graduation for about $50-55k.
You’re going to have to increase your skills, either in a school or on the job. One skill that will serve you well in any future job is research and networking. Asking here is sort of watered down research and networking. You need to research and network to find what’s available in your area, and what’s affordable for you.
One thing to research is which jobs in the area are part time or temp as a way to check out the talent. You do that by finding companys that only hire part time and finding a way to ask a few of their current employees if they know anyone who went from part time to full time. I hired on as a “part time” temp at two grades below the job I’d applied for. But “part time” was just a designation of the account the salary came from - I got the hours, and during the tour I talked to three guys who had been switched from temp to permanent within a year.
It worked. I was switched to the job I’d applied to, full time, within a year.
I’m a Human Resources Manager IRL, so thought I’d weigh in.
Fully agree with the advice to learn a skilled trade. This is a rapidly-shrinking talent pool and prices are going up accordingly. We are always scrambling for skilled trade employees. I recently hired two guys fresh out of an apprentice program at $35/hr. It’s that competitive.
Try to get yourself into a major corporation in some capacity. I also second the advice to work through a temp agency. They will work hard to find you a job, because they only make money if you are working. Tell them to send you on assignment with the bigger companies. Large companies often use temp jobs as a tryout of young people without significant previous experience. If you rise above the usual level of energy and ability (and that isn’t hard, there are far too many who don’t), you will quite likely get a job at the end of your contract period. We really DO want good young employees.
I advise you to search for work with a larger company because most have fairly generous tuition reimbursement programs. If you truly want to get your degree (and I hope you do) this is a zero cost way of doing it. Most companies will reward you for completing a degree by finding you the type of job you want within the company. Why not, after all? You are already trained, known to us, and clearly have some energy and ambition to better yourself.
Still and all, this takes persistence and hard work. There is no longer an easy path to workplace success unless your parents own the company.
You might want to double check that on the off chance that a 2 year certificate from a community college doesn’t have the same job market value as an engineering degree from a 4 year school.
My wife works with a lady whose son got into an intern program with the electricians union in this state. He will get formal training with which to get his certification, a part time job, and expects to be making $40-50,000 in 2-4 years out of high school. No debt plus some pay all along the way.
I’m confused, so he has to intern and work for FREE for 2-4 years and then he finally recieves pay?
All of these options people are saying sound completely awful. I mean, are there any options i can make “okay” money and be FULL time easily and quickly?
Like for example, a CNA, it’s a real quick certification. Real quick. BUT. The pay is 9 to sometimes 10 dollars an hour. I know someone is gunna be like" but that’s life. everything is so hard and you gotta work so hard" yeah, no, not always. I’m not saying i’m against working hard. I’m just saying if i bust my back i want bust my back pay at least or close to it.
Are there no certifications i can get in 1-6 months for something like a CNA that only cost a couple thousand or less and be making about 12 an hour? Just to be some button pusher at a company at a desk? I’d be fine with that if it’s full time. Sounds wonderful.
What do all those 40 year old ladies have that input people’s information at hospitals or dentists offices? Shit seems mad easy and the ladies are dumb as hell. How do i be a front desk receptionist at a dentist? I’ll do that.
Son, you were born at least 20 years too late for that. I’m sorry.
It’s not easy, and they’re not dumb.
Frankly, if you want to go anywhere in corporate America you’re going to have to drop the attitude that receptionists are “dumb as hell”. Back when I worked for Blue Cross the last step of the job interview for a manager or executive was for the department head or, in some cases, the CEO to go out front and ask the receptionist how the candidate treated her (or him). If the answer was anything other than “professional, courteous, respectful, and friendly” the candidate did NOT get the job, no matter how well qualified otherwise.
Anyhow, if you are still interested in the job, despite your obvious contempt for anyone having such a job, there are 2-year associates degrees that give you the credentials to work in such a front office. There are secretarial skills, knowledge of confidentiality laws, how to deal with a bajillion different insurance companies, medical terminology… it’s actually quite a bit more difficult than you assume. Oh, and a LOT of patience and customer service skills are required.
I’ve met people who don’t have degrees that work as receptionists. Has to be another way besides an associates.
Maybe the ones you’ve met are intelligent, the ones i’ve met aren’t. I did come off as having an attitude, but from my perspective i’m right.
I don’t have an attitude when applying to places even though i normally do. I’m aware of social standards and i do an excellent job of sucking the interviewers dick (or imaginary dick ) " yes sir." " of course sir!" " absolutely ma’m"
It’s not hard. People love the whole power plays, typical america.
I mean i’ve asked some and they said they were just certified or something like that.
Confidentiality laws are not complex to understand. My girlfriend volunteered at a hospital and had a full and complete understanding of them. Tell no one anything, more or less. Don’t say anything over the phone, only to the person once it’s confirmed they are who they say they are. Very simple.
Yes, some people have gotten such jobs without a degree, or even a certification. Do you have extensive office experience? Do you already have a personal or business relationship with a doctor or dentist? If the answer to either of those is “no” you’re going to need more than just an employment application.
And your perspective is correct because…?
It’s painfully obvious you’re young. Yes, your perspective can have some validity, but what YOU perceive and what others perceive and what reality actually is may all be different things.
If you’re doing such an excellent job of “sucking dick” why don’t you have a job?
In an interview you aren’t there to “suck dick”, you’re there to sell yourself. You have to convince the interviewer that you’re capable and a better choice than the other people also being interviewed.
Certified, associates degree, 10 years job experience… they’re all different ways to the same goal. As I said, you have options. They all have trade-offs.
So… how much information are you allowed to pass on to the insurance company billing drone you have on the phone? What constitutes valid authoritization to allow someone else to access/discuss patient records? How do you know a letter of medical power of attorney is legitimate or not?
The level of confidentiality law knowledge a volunteer in a hospital setting who does not engage in medical treatment or billing is different than that required of actual office staff.
Computers are now doing the easy, button-pushing sort of work I did to get my start 35 years ago. We’ve automated away a lot of the entry-level work and outsourced the rest.
Wow. You really need to adjust your attitude before you unleash yourself on the business world. Those 40 year old ladies have experience/education/on the job training; in other words, everything you DON’T have. It may seem easy. Perhaps they make it look that way.
As for getting certification as a CNA, please reconsider. I started as a CNA and worked at it for a few years before I got my nursing degree. You have to love the job. It’s thankless and rewarding at the same time. It’s your job to care for patients with dignity and respect. From what you’ve written in this thread, I can’t imagine you are capable of either.
Why do you think going to college will put you over $100k in debt? It certainly doesn’t have to. The state school I attended is <$4k a semester and the state’s flagship school is a little over $5k/semester.