catch22-experience-job Wrote:
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> I had to hustle at lot when I was in my late teens
> and early twenties. I graduated in 1989 into the
> recession of the early 90s. You can't get
> experience without a job and you can't get a job
> without experience. It was frustrating trying to
> find a job that provided value beyond a paycheck,
> even if it sucked.
>
> The path I took might not be viable today. My
> advice to your son is to never stop pushing
> yourself, don't let your first job define your
> career, pick something practical, and don't be
> afraid to change it for the better. My career
> field didn't exist when I graduated. Also - focus
> on career and save the dating/relationships for
> later.
>
> I picked up vocational training in high school. I
> worked part time at fast food shit jobs making
> $3.35/hr. Being male, white, and having an income
> made it hard to get any scholarships or grants for
> college, so I couldn't afford it. Working kept me
> out of extracurricular activities like football
> and studying. I didn't have the grades or
> associations for merit scholarships. A clerical
> error blessed me with a 3.8 GPA but no potential
> employer ever bothered to check.
>
> The vocational skills got me $10/hr in 1991 when I
> was 20 years old. What. The. Hell? 25 years of
> inflation later and people are scrambling for jobs
> that pay less. Seriously - track gas prices and
> rent over that time. $10 in 1991 is $17.55 in
> 2015. $10 in 2015 was $5.70 in 1991. (according
> to some random inflation calculator) - Now factor
> in how expensive it is to live here.
>
> I worked three jobs for a few years while going to
> community college. I got into computers. Worked
> every weekend for $10 under the table assembling
> clone PCs and fixing the stuff the weekday techs
> couldn't figure out. I worked banquet serving
> jobs here and there. I fixed computers here and
> there. Then... BOOM - I broke the job/experience
> catch-22.
>
> I completely burned out. I quit community
> college. I quit the field that used my high
> school vocational training. I started working
> computers full time. That was the best decision
> of my life. Contacts from past jobs gave me side
> work fixing computers that paid more in a month
> than my vocational job.
>
> The job I have today didn't exist a decade ago. I
> have been well employed through the early 90s
> recession, 2001 dot com bust, and 2008's great
> recession. I have earned six figures for the last
> 15 years and am on track for my best year ever. I
> wish I could earn this much in a place not as
> expensive as Fairfax County.
>
> I never finished that degree but I never stopped
> pushing. I am very fortunate and every
> opportunity required hard work. Those fast food
> places still smell the same. They vividly remind
> me of when I was making $3.35/hr. I hope that
> everybody ambitious and capable enough to go far
> has the opportunity to do so - but it sure looks
> tough nowadays.
You may make 6 figures now but you will never be as cool as the teenage version of you who used to hang out at Springfield Mall on the weekends.