What are my options if I can't find a job within my career field?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Not sure what to do here. I have a degree in industrial design, which is essentially an art degree. It’s a great field to get into and you work on things such as product styling. I left my internship a year ago and moved back into my parents house working as quality control at a warehouse for a pretty good hourly wage. It’s not the wage that I care about it’s the time wasted that I should be doing which is working in a creative role. Could be product design, graphic design, UX/UI design, etc.

I’ve been applying for a year, received a dozen rejection emails, went to four interviews and nobody has offered me a job. My social media and resume is clean. I’ve emailed people, talked to people on Linkedln, and my resumes been forwarded but it’s the same thing…no one’s hiring. I’ve had friends and even my parent try and reach out and see if anyone’s hiring…again, no luck. I am losing energy in applying online, I still do it here and there but most of the time hardly anyone reaches back. I’ve applied outside my major including 3D modeling, graphic design, UX/UI design, photography and even printing technician and still nothing. I’ve applied for CAD design and those are the ones that actually get back with me and to be honest I have no clue why. But when I interview I don’t make the cut for the job because of the lack of knowledge.

Because I get interviews for CAD roles the most, my current plan is attending classes at nearby college to major an A.A.S. in CAD design, because when I interview for CAD positions they find out I don’t know anything about tolerances and other CAD knowledge, so I get passed up for the job. So I am wondering if I should go for it and use this degree as a safety net.

Thoughts? Should I go back to school for a CAD A.A.S. degree, or just keep applying towards a creative role? Other options?

2

You didn’t tell us where you live. If you lived in New York, LA, or Chicago that would be different than if you lived in a small town in Iowa.

3

Ohio.

4

You need to determine whether Industrial Design jobs exist where you live. If that’s what your degree is in, and that’s what your passion is, then that’s where you belong. While CAD Design is similar, you could go back to school and get a CAD degree, but if that’s not what you really want to do for the next 40 years you may have to consider relocating.

I assume you have a portfolio that shows off your artistic talent. If you don’t, you need to create one so people know how good you are. You also might want to hook up with a headhunter to see what long-term opportunities there are for Industrial Design in your area.

It doesn’t matter how good you are if jobs are few and far between where you live and you’re competing against 20 other candidates that have more experience than you do.

5

Despite all the remote working blah blah, people from the big cities where the real employers are think of Ohio as the benighted hinterlands filled with the mouth-breathing unwashed overweight Loozers of 'Murrica.

Since you are trying to get a job in a modern & hip field, you need to break that perception somehow. You are cool & hip & skilled and worthwhile. Sell the shit out of that. Even if you have to fib a bit to make that impression. “Fake it 'til you make it.” has a long and well-pedigreed history.