So Frustrated!

fuzzles

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I am getting so frustrated. I just graduated with my master's of public health degree about two weeks ago, but I have been looking for a job for the past 4 months trying to prepare my life for after that. I swear every job that I can do with my degree requires 5+ years experience, and I do not have that. I'm about to apply for some dental assistant/veterinary technician jobs because having some money is better than no money right now and they sound quite enjoyable. In fact there was a cat only vet looking for a tech
Maybe I should apply for that one since I love kitties.

To top it off my boyfriend who is paying the rent and bills right now is starting to get angry with the fact that I haven't found anything yet. It's not like I'm not trying! Keep in mind that when he moved here 6 months ago I lended him 1,000 dollars so he could buy himself food and stuff for that month and he never paid me back and says that his payback is happening right now because he's paying my share of the rent. I'm sorry that I had to inconvenience him for 4 months...And right now he says he doesn't care what kind of job that I get as long as it's a job and it brings home money.



What do you guys think I should do about my job situation? Hold out and find something that really utilizes my degree, or go ahead and find something that will give me some income and get me out of the house for a few years? I'm so sick of sitting at home and I really hate feeling broke all the time.

Thanks for letting me ramble!
 

yarra

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I would suggest you find something that gives you income right now. I have have been uprooted on a few occasions and been in your predicament of needing money ASAP vs holding out for the job I want.

You will be MUCH more relaxed and less stressed if he bills are payed and you are interviewing for your "dream job" because you CAN, not because you HAVE TO.

Employers can tell whether or not you NEED the job you are applying/interviewing for and it turns them off if they feel they are a "Last Resort".

Find something you enjoy, preferably something that would let you off earlier in the day, or start later in the day, so that you can continue to interview for any jobs that come up in your preferred profession.

Get something quick to take the stress off your life and relationship.
You will be a lot happier and interview for that dream job better.

Good luck!!!
 

rockcat

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Absolutely take a job - even if it's not your thing, for now. Continue to look for something in your field.

The longer it takes to generate an income, the more likely you and your boyfriend are to resent each other over money. It's pretty obvious that it has already started.

Don't delay. Take what you can get. The economy is the worst I've ever seen. My husband has been a landscaper for over 30 years. He is very good at his job - he knows the botanical names of plants and where they will thrive, does hardscapes and builds waterfalls. He was laid off recently (due to the business closing) and cannot find a landscape job locally in Florida! So, he is looking for other work. It stinks, but we have to make a living.
 

sohni

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I was reading your post and was curious. I am an academic counselor and this sort of thing interests me. Did you go to college/university right out of high school? Did you enter the Master's program right after graduating with a Bachelor's?

I am wondering what experience you have outside of school. Anything that you did prior to grad school could be considered. Even part time work that you did while you were in studies...

I just finished a M.Ed program, but I have been working full time all through it, and I took 10 years off to work between the BA and the M.Ed.
 
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fuzzles

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I started college straight out of high school. My bachelor's degree is actually in poultry science. I originally wanted to go to vet school and heard that poultry was the way to go because they want vets who will work with birds, and I've loved chickens all my life.

As for my jobs I've had, I was in a lab for my first job. Mostly I would pour agar into plates for microbial research, clean glassware, clean autoclaves/centrifuges stuff like that. I took on a temporary job while I was still working the lab job. That job put me working with donkeys and collecting fecal samples as they dropped on the ground. It was good if you wanted to sit around in the freezing cold outside and study for 4 hours straight. I was lucky I never got kicked by the blasted things though. They were really unpredictable.

My next job was actually in the lab that I did the temp. job for. Except we mostly received cattle fecal samples, some sheep, even panda fecal samples. That and this job was not outside like the other one was. What I did was put them into an oven when they arrived, let them dry over night, and then the next day grind them up in a grinder then put them in a desecater to further remove any moisture that was in the fecal sample. We then read what nutrient values were in the fecal samples with a machine (near infrared spectroscopy). They could tell a rancher how much feed they needed to feed their animal in order to gain so many pounds a week. It was kind of cool in a way, but also kind of dirty in that the fan on the hood didn't work so well (yay fecal dust!). I always went home and took another shower after work because of it.

The last job that I was at, I did mostly customer service stuff. I worked in a parking garage in a booth, most of the time with another person and handled money for the people paying to get out of the parking garage. We also had to work events like football (12 hour days) out in the sun in a parking lot taking money and having people yell at you for no good reason...yeah..that was a fun job. I applied for their office position about 2 years ago and left the booth mostly unless someone was sick then I had to go work the booth again. But mostly the past two years I just answered the office phone, and did office stuff for them. I'm glad I got a little bit of customer service experience in there.

I also grew up around cattle since I was a little kid..also chickens. We always had several cats running around outside as well. My sister always had a horse so you could say I had a lot of animal experience ever since I was young.

I decided I didn't like organic chemistry (icky!!), which you need for vet school. Sooo..I finished my degree because I didn't want to take an extra year from switching majors over to animal science or something else, and I applied to get my master's degree in public health, which was a two year program. And here I am today 6 years later! LOL

I'm going to a vet's office this afternoon to apply for a kennel/vet technician job. Hopefully it will turn into something!
 

strange_wings

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You know, your experience with livestock/farm animals could probably really help you if you tried a more rural type vet that treats these animals.
 
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fuzzles

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Believe me, I really wouldn't care if I had to move to find a job, but we renewed the lease on this house back in July and it isn't up again until October of 2009. I also do not think the boyfriend really wants to move. His brother also lives here in Austin and his parents live 3 hours away, mine 2 hours away, plus he has a good job. It's my fault for thinking that I would be able to find a job around here so I told him he could get a job here while I was finishing up my degree and he went ahead and did so. It's the state capital so a lot of the health agencies/environmental agencies are here, but I'm not qualified for any of their job postings so I'm getting a bit discouraged. I have mentioned to him that I could get a job somewhere else in another state but I mention a city such as Atlanta, and I get the response of, "I don't want to move to Atlanta, there's nothing in Atlanta!!!" I'll figure something out eventually. I hope!
 
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