Subject: PLumbing and being an electrician aren't outdoor jobs.
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Posted on: 2018-03-16 15:39:00 UTC
And trade school isn't college. You aren't going to be getting white-collar jobs without more than an HS education, and the entry-level service industry treats its workers notoriously bad.
I've been fired from the Wal-Mart I worked at for nine months.
I'm just feeling lost, confused, and inadequate.
One of my friends tried to convince me that my bosses were just jerks itching for an excuse to fire SOMEone, but the people I worked with liked me, so I don't really buy that.
But the alternative... I just feel miserable, because... well... how incompetent and brain-dead do you have to be to get fired from WAL-MART?
And this is the second time my employment has ended. The first was a fast food place that I left because it wasn't a friendly place to work.
So I've failed at holding jobs as a dishwasher and as a retail associate, the most basic entry-level jobs in the universe.
I don't feel I have much hope of doing well anywhere if those are the results I get.
Tomorrow, I start looking for more jobs... time to repeat the arduous process of applying for every entry-level job within twenty miles, including ones I know I'll hate. Beggars can't be choosy.
I've interviewed at Meijer and Dick's Sporting Goods, and I have another at Jo-Ann Crafts and Fabrics tomorrow.
I'm not holding my breath, though... in my experience, prospective employers completely forget I exist once the interview ends. Almost ALL of the interviews I've had resulted in complete and total radio silence. Not even a rejection; nothing at all. Literally 90% of my interviews (maybe more) end that way.
Construction can be pretty decent blue-collar labour if you don't mind the physical labour, and employees are treated better than chain shops do.
You might also want to look into becoming a plumber, electrician, etc, etc once you've got a day job and some money for trade school/an apprenticeship/whatever's the norm. They pay well and there's a lack of people to fill the jobs.
No construction or anything like that.
I also have absolutely no intention of ever going to college. It is literally a gamble; you're giving them thousands and thousands of dollars in the hopes that you get a good job that can pay well, when the odds are about as good as your average slot machine. I'm not doing something like that if I don't have an absolute certainty that it'll pay off.
And trade school isn't college. You aren't going to be getting white-collar jobs without more than an HS education, and the entry-level service industry treats its workers notoriously bad.
I manifestly do not have the resources to go to school. Even if I did, school is NOT what I'd use them for. I'm no gambler; I don't want to give some institution my money if I'm not absolutely 100% certain that it'll pay off.
Which I'm not, because a lot of college graduates still work as baristas or waiters or retail associates, which is nowhere near enough to stave off debt from student loans.
The only places I have experience with are the only things I qualify for. But... my experience in fast food was a nightmare, and after being let go from Walmart, I'd spend every day of retail in constant fear that my bosses are just itching for an excuse to kick me out; bad experiences tend to color my opinion of general groups, unfortunately. Same reason I don't like competitive gaming.
Construction also has a worker shortage, so you can get hired pretty easily.
Electricians and plumbers get paid really well in first-world countries.
Chain retail places don't want to keep anybody around so long that they get promoted into earning benefits or a living wage, heaven forbid, and Wal-Mart has a reputation for not treating its employees very well on balance. I'd say you were well shut of it, but I know how much job-hunting sucks, and I'm sorry. It makes everyone feel like scum.
Try a Starbucks, if you've got one. (They're almost everywhere, but I don't know where you are, so I'unno.) The CEO actually believes in using his power for good, and helping store employees go to school and stuff.
... I was gonna say something in my signature, but it got too long, so: A few years ago, I wanted to work at Teavana, or Adagio Teas, or Argo Tea, because those were cruddy retail jobs I thought I could actually get into. I love tea. But somehow, despite having all the enthusiasm in the world and being an intelligent, educated, fairly personable individual, I couldn't convince any of them to take me. Now, thanks to a rec from a church choir friend, I'm the receptionist at a small acupuncture clinic in one of the nice suburbs. I'm not getting paid a ton, but it's a great place to be, the people are awesome, getting there is easier than getting to the technically-closer pizza place I was at before, and it's opened up other opportunities, too.
(And if I have time, I make tea when I get in, and offer it to the clients. They usually want their own thing, though, rather than whatever I've got in the kettle. Sigh.)
Life isn't fair. This is a good thing. Yeah, it means you have to work hard for the good stuff, but it also means you probably don't deserve the crap that happens to you, and you never know when you might luck into something you never imagined.
~Neshomeh
I think they just fire people at random, from what I've heard.