Ponderings on important future things

[lucia_tanaka]

So I troll around ONTD_Political a lot and more and more I'm being drawn into the various terrifying articles about people who go through school and come out with no prospects and end up deeper in debt with nothing to show for it. And that kind of terrifies the shit out of me

Comments

I have two Useless degrees under my belt

[cattraine]

If I could do things over I would have quickly picked up a certificate in something like IT or Pharmacy Tech--both travel easily--you can find jobs everywhere, and then pursued my dream job. Because face it, crap subsistence jobs DRAIN your energy from what you really want to do and they barely pay enough to live on.

Re: I have two Useless degrees under my belt

[lucia_tanaka]

I will likely look into doing IT. I'm just kind of sick of being poor, TBH. I couldn't do Pharmacy Tech-- working in anything related to health care would make me go home every single night sobbing.

Re: I have two Useless degrees under my belt

[cattraine]

If I thought I could do it I would get certified in IT--jobs everywhere and the field is always growing.

[sunflower1343]

I work for a law firm. Hiring there is very soft. I just read that hiring in law in my state is down 20%. However, I'm IT at this firm, and IT is as strong as ever. The three people in my group are constantly getting calls for interviews. IT always needs more people.

I was an independent consultant for a number of years, and it's really hard work. You have to have a bunch of contacts, so either you leave a job or school with some seed people who want to work with you, or you have to go out and make the contacts on your own. You can set up your business online very easily, but you have to sell it if you want to make enough to live off it.

Also, if you're serious about this, you really should take a couple of small business classes, specifically about accounting and taxes. I've had to learn it on my own to do this for my husband's business and I wish I'd had some classes around here to attend so I could learn it in a way that makes sense instead of flying by the seat of my pants.

[lucia_tanaka]

Haaaaarvey~

I don't want to start my own business, is the thing. I do not think I have the managerial skills at all. I may have what it takes to be good at computers though, so I thought fostering that would be a good idea. Also, in my area it seems there is a lack of IT folks, as my aforementioned friend only just started his business a year ago and is apparently doing great. Lucky fucker.

[alanddizzy]

I work in what is referred to as "Environmental Services" as a "Floor Care Technician

[deerang2002]

I'm in the global health field...but to be honest, there really is no real global health degree. It's an amalgamation of epidemiology, health policy, economics, biostatistics, etc.

I'll be applying for a PhD in Biostatistics next year, because it's an easily transferable skill across multiple career fields (govt organizations, pharmaceutical industries, non-profit)...but it's also going to be an expensive process, if not a long time of training involved, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.

[a_brighter_dawn]

Have you considered social work? You seem to have a passion for social justice, which is one of our guiding ethics. I work for a domestic violence shelter as a crisis responder in the sexual assault program. We go on SANE calls, do case management, court advocacy, community organization and education, etc. Social work is a pretty broad field, easily transferable between lots of different roles, both micro and macro. It’s not the highest paying job, but it’s enough to live on. Definitively can be taxing emotionally at times, but it’s also very rewarding, and there is always a need for more social workers in the field.