Depressing post about my future. AKA me looking for career advice



sinnedk said:

you guys give him some good advice, the past couple of comments are completely useless to him (no offense), he needs something white collar, i doubt a manual oil rig is any solution to him also its dangerous and requires some oil knowledge.

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I know several people who have worked on oil rigs in adminstrative positions, made good money and matured.

a little danger is a good thing for a young man, espectially one like the OP. try the army, an oil field, something like that. good luck.



imatlas said:

Right now, with a communications degree and little work experience, I'd see if I could get into an entry level marketing position with a software company. There's almost always a shortage of workers in Silicon Valley, but it feels like we're getting back into a hiring frenzy like the early 2000s.

Make use of alumni network, friends, family, whatever connections you have to find out about companies and openings. A LinkedIn account is definitely key. Line up a job before you move if at all possible. Can you afford to be an unpaid intern for three months? That's about the best way possible to get your foot in the door.

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Everyone suggests this everywhere, in books, in articles, advice columns. But from my own experience and from what I hear, there seem to be no internship opportunities for non-students. I hear about the advice for career changers to do an internship as well, maybe the have better luck but I doubt. If there are internships for non-students, they are probably just as hard to get as a job you'd like to start off in.



bringusingoodale said:

Everyone suggests this everywhere, in books, in articles, advice columns. But from my own experience and from what I hear, there seem to be no internship opportunities for non-students. I hear about the advice for career changers to do an internship as well, maybe the have better luck but I doubt. If there are internships for non-students, they are probably just as hard to get as a job you'd like to start off in.

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In my opinion it seems like there are tons of internships out there, but it is just as hard to get hired from being an intern. Seems like a lot of people I know are career interns.

FWIW, I would look for companies that hire interns that have a degree. That is what I did at my current company. They paid me at a 10% discount for a while and made me jump through hoops and almost act like a student, but it paid off.



sinnedk said:

you guys give him some good advice, the past couple of comments are completely useless to him (no offense), he needs something white collar, i doubt a manual oil rig is any solution to him also its dangerous and requires some oil knowledge.

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I see no reason to think he is incapable of physical labor. Why does he need white collar? In the oil patch you need to stay alert and do as your trained. Dangerous? Life is dangerous.



sinnedk said:

you guys give him some good advice, the past couple of comments are completely useless to him (no offense), he needs something white collar, i doubt a manual oil rig is any solution to him also its dangerous and requires some oil knowledge.

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Why does he need a white collar job? Just because he graduated college? If he wants to pay for his self described expensive tastes, then oil field services work is a good way to do it. Steve Smith threw the OFS suggestion out there and I just responded with how much those guys make. Right now, the OP sounds like he wants a fun, exciting, high paying job straight out of college. Unfortunately those don't exist.

FYI. I have a friend that works in OFS and does nothing but drive a truck to and from drilling sites transporting sand. I doubt that's really dangerous. While he doesn't make 6 figures working 80-90 hours a week, he still makes in the $45-$55,000 range.



patrickBOOTH said:

Do you happen to have fibromyalgia?

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patrickBOOTH said:

OP, you forgot to include at the end of your post, "I am the 99%".

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This needs a shout out.

I have a friend with a Ph.D. in communications. Seems to me he had to take a great deal of stats courses. Can you do stats? Maybe move into something quantitative?

Piobaire said:

patrickBOOTH said:

Do you happen to have fibromyalgia?

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patrickBOOTH said:

OP, you forgot to include at the end of your post, "I am the 99%".

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This needs a shout out.

I have a friend with a Ph.D. in communications. Seems to me he had to take a great deal of stats courses. Can you do stats? Maybe move into something quantitative?

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patrickBOOTH said:

bringusingoodale said:

Everyone suggests this everywhere, in books, in articles, advice columns. But from my own experience and from what I hear, there seem to be no internship opportunities for non-students. I hear about the advice for career changers to do an internship as well, maybe the have better luck but I doubt. If there are internships for non-students, they are probably just as hard to get as a job you'd like to start off in.

Click to expand...

In my opinion it seems like there are tons of internships out there, but it is just as hard to get hired from being an intern. Seems like a lot of people I know are career interns.

FWIW, I would look for companies that hire interns that have a degree. That is what I did at my current company. They paid me at a 10% discount for a while and made me jump through hoops and almost act like a student, but it paid off.

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Yes, if you notice, I was referring to non-student internships only. I know there are tons of student internships, but for non-students i.e. those with a degree, I rarely see any postings or hear about these. And I would imagine why since I figure there may be no incentive for companies to get interns, probably more work for them and little rewards. And then there is always the "if you were good enough for us, we'd have hired you"

And like I said, it seems to get an internship with a degree is just as hard to get a crummy job somewhere, so I realize why many people don't bother, especially if money is an issue. Curious to how you got your internship as a non-student? Did the place have a posting for internships, did you solicit an internship, did you "network" your way into a conversation with someone to get an internship?



imatlas said:

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I don't know. Drive a new 'Vette, drinks good wine, seems to be happy. Does research in language re-acquisition after TBI, CVA, etc. Good stuff.



Steve Smith said:

I see no reason to think he is incapable of physical labor. Why does he need white collar? In the oil patch you need to stay alert and do as your trained. Dangerous? Life is dangerous.

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Texasmade said:

Why does he need a white collar job? Just because he graduated college? If he wants to pay for his self described expensive tastes, then oil field services work is a good way to do it. Steve Smith threw the OFS suggestion out there and I just responded with how much those guys make. Right now, the OP sounds like he wants a fun, exciting, high paying job straight out of college. Unfortunately those don't exist.
FYI. I have a friend that works in OFS and does nothing but drive a truck to and from drilling sites transporting sand. I doubt that's really dangerous. While he doesn't make 6 figures working 80-90 hours a week, he still makes in the $45-$55,000 range.

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Unless i missed something, working at an oil rig requires him to move away and is dangerous. Also i am pretty sure without prior experience that he won't get hired to work on an oil rig because of said dangers. Thus, your advice to him is not helpful. If it is and he decides to work on an oil field, well then my bad.



sinnedk said:

Unless i missed something, working at an oil rig requires him to move away and is dangerous. Also i am pretty sure without prior experience that he won't get hired to work on an oil rig because of said dangers. Thus, your advice to him is not helpful. If it is and he decides to work on an oil field, well then my bad.

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You missed something.

1. He didn't say he couldn't move.
2. You can get hired in the oil fields with no oil field experience.
3. If you read my post you can understand that my primary advice is to get off his ass and do something.

if he's a type 1 diabetic his #1 concern should be finding a job with good health insurance. period. working on an oil rig is a stupid ******* idea.



Teger said:

if he's a type 1 diabetic his #1 concern should be finding a job with good health insurance. period. working on an oil rig is a stupid ******* idea.

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Also means he can't join the military, which shoots down all those suggestions.

He should be able to stay on his parent's insurance for awhile, which somewhat mitigates the insurance issue.

in most states he'll get booted at 26.

also wtf lifestyle are you living where 30k isn't enough? you still haven't explained that.

Teger said:

in most states he'll get booted at 26.
also wtf lifestyle are you living where 30k isn't enough? you still haven't explained that.

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in the northeast 30k would be about the real poverty line.