wolf116 said:
What is wrong with all you people!!!!!!!!!
I left home at 17 (no support from parents), lived in a shared house with no bed, furniture, nothing. Any furniture we owned was salvaged from the dump. Went to uni and worked one day a week. I even learned to fix cars through the net and books and got myself a car on the road for under $200. I also made a great bike from dump parts and made a veggie patch to save on food bills.
That year was by far the best of my life. I lost my virginity on a blanket on a wood floor.
Why people think they need loans is beyond me.
I would like to respond to this. I don't know what year you were 17 man but the world has changed in a-lot of ways I'm thinking since you were 17.
I am one of these 30 year old guys living at home.
Now I tell you this because well it seems like a-lot of people are blindly judging seems like "guys" only. It also seems that everyone here is a guy judging guys.
Meaning 1. You haven't even mentioned about the how society or you guys see woman in this situation but let me tell you a little bit about my story and maybe you will realize how volatile a world we truly live in.
First off. I have two degrees. I just graduated with a masters six months ago.
Yeah it was in anthropology, and before I hear all the attacks about a liberal arts education, let me say that up until a few years ago I wasn't making great money, but I was making decent money in archaeology.
Now I am guessing you don't know so let me explain that most archaeology work done in the United States are completed by CRM companies.
NOw most archaeology work is contract. Meaning that you work until the project is done. After the project is done that's it.
Now how most people work in this field is through networking, thus you finish one project and you then do another.
With this said. It doesn't mean that work is always readily available after you complete a project.
With this said, after I finished the last project I was on, I was going into graduate school. Now Where I ended up going into grad school, due to the amount of work at this level, I could not really work part time or at all.
I was focused on my grad studies. There was a few teaching assistantships I tried out, but I was told that of course they were already taken, and unless the people currently holding onto them ****ed up in some fundamental way, like say sleep with a kid or murder I guess. They basically were going to keep that job until they were done.
Then secondly I got offered a temp position in a archaeology lab that was part of my school that was going to fit around my schedule.
Now I handled this wrong. I had deep reservations of trying to do both graduate work at the time and do this extra part time position.
I handled it wrong by not explaining to the guy why and I just said I wasn't interested and I left.
Anyway a few days later I remember I thought maybe I do need some experience in the lab after all, and I will try to make it work.
Well I went back in on a friday, and told him I could squeeze in fridays. All he did was smile and almost laughing "said eh the position is no longer available".
I thought about going to the dean of the school and saying this guy is preventing me from obtaining skills that might be beneficial to me for archaeology; but after doing one mistake I thought this move would also be a bad mistake.
Thus I felt I learned somewhat and just politely thanked him for his time "though in side I hated this man now".
Anyway I thought if I had bulldozed my way to get that part time position. This is what I might have accomplished.
yeah I might have gotten but
1. It was just one day a week anyway so not a-lot of money, and it would have cut out time for me to focus on work that was required for me to graduate.
2. At the time I felt my graduate work was why I was here in the first place, and would be valued in the marketplace when I got out, so I just wanted to focus on these duties and get out. The plan after that was to get a better job in archaeology than I had after that.
Reason 2 thinking though is based off the old model. The old model that is now somewhat of a lie, where you get more education your basically guaranteed a better job later on.
Anyway 3. Even if I had work, he would have known why I was working with him. Probably he would have hated me or resented having to bring me on, and wanting a reference letter from him; he probably would have laced it with bad things.
Thus anyway I finish my course studies, but then I have this thesis to write. Now This took a-lot of work and effort to complete and of course more time. At this point I was getting worried that I was not making money at this point, but I had come so far, I didn't want to not graduate.
Thus long story short, it took me another 2 or 3 years to finish this work (due to a-lot of reasons out of my control).
I graduated, and while I was waiting on the degree and until now I still have not been able to get a job in archaeology. Even jobs I did before with a B.A. Even though I have work experience (yes as I said I worked in the field) before going onto graduate school.
At this point I no longer see archaeology as viable. I have applied to other jobs but either I get no response or negative responses. Of course I do my work experience and what I was doing in grad school was gearing me for a one type of career (a archaeology one).
I don't regret archaeology in the sense of what we were doing. I didn't completely like the work world in it, but I didn't hate it either.
In the time being though how do I make money. I work in the film and tv industry, but I know this is not a permanent fix, since this industry thrives on youth.
In the meantime I am now trying to learn Ruby and trying to go into programming. I am also continuing to apply to certain positions that I feel I am capable of doing or are similar to things I studied while at school.
Again I don't think I made major life mistakes, I just came out during a very bad time. I am also trying to sell my own independent book right now.
Thus I am doing things. I just haven't been lucky yet.
Again someone who did two degrees and finished them and keeps trying to better himself and doesn't give up does not seem to me as a loser.
Yet I will say when I was younger I never thought the world could get so bad that I would find myself in this situation.
Again bad things happen. Times change. People have to know a-lot more than whatever time you came from.
They are going to keep having to learn I think to, or they will be replaced. Furthermore all of these people saying how loserish these 20 or 30 year old somethings are without knowing these people stories. All I can say is karma is a *****.
Maybe one day in our volatile world you lose your job or you don't get what you expected after doing so much work to complete a goal (which a degree signifies) besides a career interest.
Maybe you will be older than and face the double whammy of being unemployed and being older. Thus, I would try to offer suggestions or support rather than blind judgement, or you could face these same people down the road who are struggling now (us in our 30's) in our 50's when we are secure and we might be your new boss or supervisor.
Again you never know. With this wisdom, I always try to be good to people now. Don't believe me, I destroyed my relationship with a great girlfriend because of some of my kiddish ways. I really regret it, but it's done now. All I can take from it, is to not belittle other people, who don't deserve it.
