Trying to land a bloody decent job in this country.....
#61
Re: Trying to land a bloody decent job in this country.....
#62
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: Trying to land a bloody decent job in this country.....
A degree is almost essential in the US and Canada now if you want a good job, and don't want to do trades.
I am in the same boat, most I can get wage wise with no degree, is around 12-13/hr in Canada, and lack of degree holds me back in my industry as well, as few hotels these days will consider anyone without a degree.
I worked in aviation and still know a few people who now work in airport ops who worked at the airline with me, and all of them have degrees, they found it very difficult to move into airport positions without the degree, but once they had the degree all found jobs pretty quickly, also with airport jobs, they may post them to the public because they have to, but many times they hire someone who works at the airport and has built a network with airport management and such, never hurts to try and get on with a ground handler or airline, and then start to get to know airport managers and ops people.
If I was better at academics I'd go and get a degree, but I can't pass college level courses, and I know I'll fail, so not willing to spend anymore money trying. Plus college tuition is way out my ability to pay here, and I make too much to get much student loan wise. (I am in Canada)
I agree with some that it is possible to land a good job with no degree, but its also possible to win the lotto, and its very possible to go a lifetime without a degree and never find anything good, where others luck out.
I've been looking for that good job for 17 years, but I keep looking, but its not likely to happen at this point. But dont lose hope.
I am in the same boat, most I can get wage wise with no degree, is around 12-13/hr in Canada, and lack of degree holds me back in my industry as well, as few hotels these days will consider anyone without a degree.
I worked in aviation and still know a few people who now work in airport ops who worked at the airline with me, and all of them have degrees, they found it very difficult to move into airport positions without the degree, but once they had the degree all found jobs pretty quickly, also with airport jobs, they may post them to the public because they have to, but many times they hire someone who works at the airport and has built a network with airport management and such, never hurts to try and get on with a ground handler or airline, and then start to get to know airport managers and ops people.
If I was better at academics I'd go and get a degree, but I can't pass college level courses, and I know I'll fail, so not willing to spend anymore money trying. Plus college tuition is way out my ability to pay here, and I make too much to get much student loan wise. (I am in Canada)
I agree with some that it is possible to land a good job with no degree, but its also possible to win the lotto, and its very possible to go a lifetime without a degree and never find anything good, where others luck out.
I've been looking for that good job for 17 years, but I keep looking, but its not likely to happen at this point. But dont lose hope.
Last edited by scrubbedexpat091; Apr 5th 2014 at 1:43 pm.
#63
Re: Trying to land a bloody decent job in this country.....
Can you succeed without a degee? Sure you can, but the deck is going to be stacked against you.
#64
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: Trying to land a bloody decent job in this country.....
I hear that. Approaching 40, bored with my current job and wanting a new career here. No one will listen unless you have the specific Masters degree for that job despite me having a Masters already. then again, I'm not really sure what I want to do any more. My own business would be great but doing what?
When I applied to all the grocery stores, not one call, but didn't surprise me really, nobody working in the store outside of management looks to be over 25.
#65
Re: Trying to land a bloody decent job in this country.....
I believe you are underestimating yourself. You write well, clearly and with good sentence structure and punctuation. I wish that many of the people I hire, who are by definition holders of a bachelors degree, could write even half as well you do. None of them write as I had previously expected someone with degree level education to write.
Last edited by Pulaski; Apr 5th 2014 at 7:21 pm.
#66
Bloody Yank
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: USA! USA!
Posts: 4,186
Re: Trying to land a bloody decent job in this country.....
I'm inclined to largely agree with Pulaski on this one, although with some caveats. The US is highly degree-conscious, and not having one will simply screen you out of many white-collar jobs; you just won't be considered.
The fact that a few people can get away without having one does not disprove the point that most of those who have white-collar aspirations would benefit from having one. Exceptions to the rule don't disprove the rule.
That being said, a degree is not a panacea, either; having a degree alone won't solve your problems.
Add to this that the OP needs to do something now, while getting the degree will take awhile. In this case, putting life on hold for education is presumably not an option.
If you're intent on staying in this field, then I would suggest trying to network and grovel as necessary to land some sort of job, then earn the degree at the same time. Use the job to build a network and finesse your way up the ladder.
Mind you that getting a degree will be hard on your family -- don't underestimate how much extra time will be required to do this. You will need the support of your significant other; she needs to understand that there will be times when this is going to keep you too occupied to deal properly with domestic matters.
Otherwise, you should consider acquiring a skill for which the degree is not necessary. That may require a radical career change, or perhaps starting your own business.
The fact that a few people can get away without having one does not disprove the point that most of those who have white-collar aspirations would benefit from having one. Exceptions to the rule don't disprove the rule.
That being said, a degree is not a panacea, either; having a degree alone won't solve your problems.
Add to this that the OP needs to do something now, while getting the degree will take awhile. In this case, putting life on hold for education is presumably not an option.
If you're intent on staying in this field, then I would suggest trying to network and grovel as necessary to land some sort of job, then earn the degree at the same time. Use the job to build a network and finesse your way up the ladder.
Mind you that getting a degree will be hard on your family -- don't underestimate how much extra time will be required to do this. You will need the support of your significant other; she needs to understand that there will be times when this is going to keep you too occupied to deal properly with domestic matters.
Otherwise, you should consider acquiring a skill for which the degree is not necessary. That may require a radical career change, or perhaps starting your own business.
Last edited by RoadWarriorFromLP; Apr 5th 2014 at 6:20 pm.
#67
Re: Trying to land a bloody decent job in this country.....
I've been in technical sales the past 7 years.
Not every position required a degree funnily enough but did require a persistent personality of course.
The advantage of sales roles that cover a large geography, the position is often home based.
Not every position required a degree funnily enough but did require a persistent personality of course.
The advantage of sales roles that cover a large geography, the position is often home based.
#68
Re: Trying to land a bloody decent job in this country.....
i would also note - that just because the closing date was 8 days ago - it doesn't AUTOMATICALLY mean you have been discounted. I work for a large bank and the hr recruiters are complete *****w1ts. Even for an internal job transfer into a sister team where i wasnt really even formally interviewed- i was just chosen - took over a month to get through HR. They tie the whole process up its slow and has lots of chokepoints.
#69
Re: Trying to land a bloody decent job in this country.....
God, what a depressing thread I started
#71
Re: Trying to land a bloody decent job in this country.....
........ Without a sodding degree!!!!! It seems bloody impossible. Have applied for a job at San Jose International doing pretty much what I was doing at Heathrow. Terminology is sometimes different, but on the whole the processes are the same. Even if I say so, I put together a killer application, making sure to show how my experience on the airfield at Heathrow was transferable to the US. I even tapped up my linkedin contacts over here to check publications I needed to be familiar with where effectively the same as the UK ones. It said in the description a BA was needed although if you could demonstrate work experience, the BA could be waived. Well, I'm starting to think that's not the case, as the job closed 9 days ago, and I've heard sweet FA. I'm pee'd off because 1, I want to pick up my career where I left off in the UK, and 2, it seems t reinforce my view thvt without a degree here, no matter what my experience, I'm destined I a relatively menial job!!!!! It's flipping ridiculous!!
#72
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: Trying to land a bloody decent job in this country.....
It was not the type of job you went for if you need something right away, and with the high turnover we had, we basically always had people in the stream.
Starting pay was a mere 6.04/hr.
#73
Re: Trying to land a bloody decent job in this country.....
I had the same length delay (September - January) for an internal role for reasons of management lethargy, though it was a brand new department; that was nine years ago. A role I applied for recently, again internal, took three weeks to get called for an interview, and another six weeks to be told I hadn't got the job, by which time I already NEW that as I knew that the hiring manager had been in town and given a second interview to someone else.
#74
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: Trying to land a bloody decent job in this country.....
I believe you are underestimating yourself. You write well, clearly and with good sentence structure and punctuation. I wish that many of the people I hire, who are by definition holders of a bachelors degree, could write even half as well you do. None of them write as I had previously expected someone with degree level education to write.
I am going to be taking some high school level math in the coming months online, since I need high school math, science, and English to get into most college programs here, so I'll see how well I can do this time around.
My learning style is very much by doing, and not so much by listening to lectures, memorizing things, and then taking a test.
I also struggle with finding something I think I would enjoy, I honestly haven't a clue what I would want to do career wise. I suppose it might be one reason, why I job hop trying new jobs so much.
I did enjoy the airline, and if it had been a viable long term option would have stayed, but with outsourcing, and such, airlines are not viable careers anymore unless a pilot or in management of some sort.
#75
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: Trying to land a bloody decent job in this country.....
I had the same length delay (September - January) for an internal role for reasons of management lethargy, though it was a brand new department; that was nine years ago. A role I applied for recently, again internal, took three weeks to get called for an interview, and another six weeks to be told I hadn't got the job, by which time I already NEW that as I knew that the hiring manager had been in town and given a second interview to someone else.
My job code included 4 or 5 different positions at varying levels, if trying for outside your job code, it was a little harder, the company had to show the union for that job code, there was nobody interested in the position first.
But leaving your job code meant losing seniority, so I was never interested in moving to another job code.