Main Area and Open Discussion > Living Room

Hey Mouser... you still drowning in student loan debt?

<< < (2/3) > >>

40hz:
Have you thought about working for a non profit? You can get paid and at same time get loan forgiveness. Same with a govt job.
-nickodemos (May 11, 2014, 06:44 PM)
--- End quote ---

@Miles

Non-profits don't pay all that much where I am. But government jobs do pay quite well, offer very good benefits (especially medical and retirement), and have union protection. Many of the positions have some flex in the requirements to apply - and degrees aren't required for every position. Those that do have firm degree requirements often offer a "career trainee" track that can get you in at a junior level and allow you to apply for the "real" position after a year or two of on-the-job experience.

Time was when government jobs paid less but offered better security. Not any more. It's almost impossible to get laid off or fired from a regular government job in my state. And CT state jobs pay as well (and often much better) than private sector jobs with similar entry requirements.

My GF works for the state. She said the only downside is that you occasionally end up having to work with some totally useless people that cannot be fired - and will never leave government employment. Primarily because there's no place else they can get a job that pays $50K+ per year and only requires a high school diploma.

Seriously - do yourself a favor and go look at your state's website employment pages. Also be aware of the many "target candidate" considerations that can tilt the table in your favor when applying for a position. Affirmative action may be slowly disappearing. But it's not gone yet. And most government employment makes at least a token effort to maintain some level of diversity in their workforce. So if there's anything you can use to get in (age/race/gender/veteran status/disability/special hardship/etc.) - use it. Because it can work for you.

Maybe it's not the ideal way to go about securing employment - but "What price dignity when a stomach is empty?" as my grandfather used to say. I've been there - so I know.

Luck! :Thmbsup:

MilesAhead:
40, thanks for the advice.  One reason I'm thinking the next class I take should be Conversational Spanish is that it can be a deal killer if you no habla Espanole around Miami.

I feel like if I could do even some kind of Windows Help Desk then eventually I'd make contact with someone who would recognize I can do more.

Step one though is to make enough so I can get the transit pass every month, get haircuts, and keep in clean clothes.  The housing will have to come later it seems.

Bit I feel like things are moving a bit.  I do have a subsidized cell phone.

I have to bite the bullet and try doing some web pages.  That may be the fastest way to earn a hundred or two a week to start.

I appreciate all the suggestions.  :)

Stoic Joker:
40, thanks for the advice.  One reason I'm thinking the next class I take should be Conversational Spanish is that it can be a deal killer if you no habla Espanole around Miami.-MilesAhead (May 12, 2014, 03:10 PM)
--- End quote ---

Excellent point, I'm like 200+ miles north of you in central FL and the need for Spanish here is becoming increasingly apparent. Which is a bit embarrassing for me considering that I'm half Portuguese and can't speak a word of it. *Shrug* I just tell people that yes, I'm Hispanic...but I'm not any good at it.

MilesAhead:
yes, I'm Hispanic...but I'm not any good at it.
--- End quote ---
 Heh.  That's like people expected me to know Gaelic.  Especially around St. Patrick's Day.  The only reason I knew what Erin go Bragh meant was I figured it had to be "Ireland Forever" because that's what people said the most around that time.

All I know is if people at the mall aren't lollygagging it's probably because they're gallivanting.  :) Turns out I'm not very likely to have any Irish blood in me at all.  Although because I grew up in an Irish home I did get a big kick out of the movie The Guard.  But I posted about it in detail elsewhere.

When I was a mechanic I worked with 2 brothers. One was a mechanic, the other a truck tire changer/mechanic trainee.  We used to go out for a few beers after work quite often.  I remember at one restaurant someone mentioned his background saying it like "porch chew geese."  This provoked the mechanic to sit at their table and lecture them that the proper reference was "port a gee" phonetically.  At least he felt strongly enough to be willing to fight over it.  But they were from Brockton which explains it.  Anytime there was a headline in The Boston Globe with the word Brockton it was about a murder, prison break or similar.  This also annoyed these guys quite a bit.  :)

Edit:  What was interesting about the brothers was the mechanic was only about 5' 2" inches tall.  But he didn't take any crap from anyone.  His "little brother" was about 6' 2" with huge shoulders.  That's why he handled all the truck tire changes.  He was a gentle giant.  Very mellow guy. :)

40hz:
gallivanting
-MilesAhead (May 13, 2014, 12:50 PM)
--- End quote ---

Awesome! My grandmother's favorite word to describe what her working daughters were doing Fridays after work instead of coming home for dinner! ;D :Thmbsup:

FYI: she was a nice Canuck girl from Fall River. She married an equally nice guy from Fall River with an Anglo-Norman surname. They first met at the mill they were working in back when Fall River MA was a thriving textile center. Wasn't long before 'Anita' (Anouk actually) and 'Bill' became"an item" and decided to get married. Their respective families were absolutely mortified! A mixed marriage? How could they do that to their parents??? 

(My how times have changed huh? And in this context, very much for the better.  ;))

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page