Pages

Sunday, September 26, 2010

No Money

Why is it so hard to make money? I understand having to work in order to make money. Why is it so hard to find a decent job? It's almost impossible to find anything worth while that pays a good amount. Without a college degree or atleast 2 years experience in anything you're pretty much stuck with low paying dead-end factory/warehouse jobs, or a bag boy or cashier at a grocery store.

Sure there are get rich quick scams online everywhere you look, but that's just it, they're a scam. When you do find something that's not a scam it is some small amount of money per ad you click on, or per survey you fill out. Feels like it's worth more than just 32 cents to fill out that survey if you ask me!
How does one live on their own paying rent, electric, insurance, groceries, gas, and other bills/needs, work full time AND go to school? I've thought about doing this numerous times, but at the end of my day at work the last thing I'd want to do is go sit in a class to learn. I'd probably end up falling asleep in class, then it's high school all over again; and I didn't do to well there. I've also looked into online classes, but keep hearing horror stories of how much harder it is to do online classes than it is to actually go to a school and participate in classes. Then again I'm not these people so maybe it wouldn't be as hard for me to do. Filling out financial aid, which I probably won't qualify for seems like such a daunting task. It feels like everything is a dead end or under construction, either I have to turn back around or sit in this long traffic jam waiting to move only a few inches. Seems like every job I'm interested in or think I could get the hang of very quickly, you need a degree and/or atleast two years experience. Nothing that interests me in any way, shape or form offers any on the job training. It really is a bit stressful, and starts to become a bit depressing.

Oh how I wish money wasn't the ruler of everything around us. Seems you can't do anything without money. With making so little money I have barely any at the end of a month to even call worth it. Making it much harder to repair my car, making it impossible to take a taxi everywhere I need/want to go. I'm sitting here trying to remember which class throughout my 12 years of school was preparing me for this part of life. If I was smarter or just less of a teenager and more of a grown up then, maybe I would have participated in a BOCES class like my mom always suggested. I should have known the magnet on her fridge was true (House Rules #1 Mom is always right #2 If Mom is wrong, see rule number 1) and I should have listened to her. I look into taking classes like that now, almost 10 years after being out of school, and it's kind of frightening. Still I worry if I'll be able to do my best if I take these classes and continue on working where I'm at. I don't want to pay for these classes only to end up with grades like I had in high school.

Looking at my options at the local Adult Education Programs there's a small few classes that interest me and I'm not even sure just how much they interest me.

Computer Tech, learn networking in one year and web design in the next year. After two years and pass the necessary exams you'll become certified CIW Associate design Specialist. I don't even know what I'd do with that kind of certification.

Environmental Conservation/Forestry, learn forest logging and heavy equipment operations at the local Miner Institute. Experience maple season, produce maple syrup or work in a greenhouse to seed and grow bedding plant crops, participate in wildlife management or fruit orchard operation. What do I do with this after though? News over the summer was talking about local parks shutting down due to not enough money to keep them open and maintain them. I also have a friend who's area was shut down and he had to search for another place to work which is further, pays less, and he doesn't enjoy it as much as his previous station.

Graphic Design and Communications, learn the basics of photography, layout and design, desktop publishing and computer graphics work as a team to create holiday cards, booklets and posters. Learn print operations, sophisticated four-color separations, darkroom procedures and bindery operations. Description isn't quite what I want from graphic design.

Those are about my only options that I find interesting enough to do. Then what after that though? Everyone that works in the factory I work in now have degrees in things and they're all doing the same thing I'm doing with just my high school diploma. Looking around for jobs gets more and more depressing the more you look. I guess the best I could do is go to the Adult Education School and talk to someone. Maybe they can help me out a bit more.

5 comments:

Don said...

Money is an issue for a lot of people. There are things out there you can do that are not a scam, and that bring you more money than 32 cents a survey (I could never find any that would even do that much!). It just takes some looking, and the desire to make it work once you find it! Go to http://www.tdbellenterprises.com/individuals.html for some ideas on making money. (Yes, in some cases, it takes money to make money, but not all... Be creative in your thinking!).

Don

Anji said...

I was unemployed for 4 years. You know there is nothing to stop you applying for jobs for which you don't have the 'qualifications', you must make your letter and CV so interesting that they want to invite you along for an interview anyway.

I didn't find a job. We turned my husband's hobby into an ebay business for me. It is hard work and I don't make much money, but I'm making a living doing something I really enjoy

Michael Rector said...

Don, thanks I have looked into the TDbellenterprise but it's not something I'm too interested in doing. It does sound like a decent opportunity but wouldn't be able to get the kind of business I would need to make a good income from. Although I will admit I gave it a look and thought about it a bit.

Anji, it's hard to apply for a job that you need these qualifications for if they're not going to offer any type of on the job training. I can lie and bs my way into the job but once put there to do the work I'll be completely lost, haha. Glad to hear you got an income from an eBay business, that can't be very easy to do. Also glad to hear that you're doing something you really enjoy, that's the hardest part about finding a job is finding the joy in the job.

Thanks for the comments!

Robert Scott Lawrence said...

Unfortunately it's true. Everybody needs money, and most jobs aren't that fun. I put myself through college doing the following: (1) waiting tables, (2) cleaning houses, (3) cooking lunch for a disabled woman, (4) building patios, (5) painting houses, (6) volunteering for weird medical trials, and (7) selling my blood (which then gave me enough money to take my girlfriend out for a steak dinner to replenish my red blood cells). Stick in there -- something you like will eventually come up.

Michael Rector said...

@Robert I've heard of fun jobs but they are more than just a job they're a career. I can't see going into a career if you're not going to like it... I think that's what I need, but how to do that without the proper education is beyond me. Hopefully you're right and something I like/enjoy will come around sooner or later. Until then I'll keep my eye on the newspaper.