Are these my only choices? 1) learn Spanish 2) get a degree 3) move to where Spanish is less common?

[Gizmo j]

(I am NOT trying to start a conversation about race or immigration so please do not bring it up)

I am a 21 year old black male living in Los Angeles and I have have been struggling to hold a job since I was 18 I have no car and only a couple hundred dollars of savings.

I have been going from youth shelter to youth shelter,
low paying temp job to low paying temp job
low cost job training to low cost job training

for 4 years and I'm SICK OF IT!

All the money I try to save up ends up burning away.

It seems to me that the primary reason I cannot land a stable job that pays a living wage is because I don't speak Spanish which is almost mandatory for all jobs that do not require a college degree that pays at least $30k a year.

Would you guys agree that the only option for people like me is to either:
1. Learn Spanish
2. Obtain a degree
3. Move to a city where Spanish is less prevalent
4. Join the military?

 

[pcgeek11]

Yes, One of these.

1. Learn Spanish
2. Obtain a degree
3. Move to a city where Spanish is less prevalent
4. Join the military?

If it were me I would move out of Mexifornia all together.

Just do not move to southern Florida as they have the same problem.

 

[Skyclad1uhm1]

5. Find a way to start a small business (requires a good business idea)
6. Find something you're good at that doesn't require a new degree but does pay the bills (Sports, E-sports, newscaster at a local small radio/tv station (bigger ones will require a bachelors in journalism), etc)
7. Look for an apprenticeship
8. Try get a rookie job aboard a fishing vessel
9. If you have good communicative skills, can keep your calm and can handle stress you could look for a community manager job at a gaming company or so.

There's lots of options. What they all have in common is that you have to go out and search what you want and can do. Which means that you have to make a list for yourself what you definately don't want and what you like doing. And then crosscheck it with what you can do.

E.g. If you suck at sports and are no good or only average at e-sports like me you might like those options but they're not valid options. Maybe in a few years time if you have a job and can practice e-sports in the evening you can try improve in that field, but I still wouldn't count on it then.

 

[zinfamous]

what about getting into a trade skill--certified electrician or something like that?

I have a buddy that brought some general skills into an apprenticeship gig doing installs for Solar City for a few months, learning the ropes, all the while he worked on getting licensed to become a full installer. Of course, there are other avenues of work for a licensed electrician--Solar City is pretty big right now. It could start you down the path of general home repairs/inspections/plumbing. Shit man--become a plumber. You could earn bank and you don't really need a degree for that.

If you are good with people and gain some solid general home repair skills, you could offer to be a super for various buildings. Many landlords and management companies offer cheap/free living space if you take care of the property and deal with various tenant issues. (living in LA...consider all of the universities with nearby students, and the various "fringe benefits" of living in such a building ). Handyman type skills are a good thing to have and you can always advertise on Craigslist and start doing gigs.

I have a buddy with no college degree that turned a moving/handyman/Ikea delivery & assembly (no joke) CL-only gig into a real business now with 6+ employees that pays him 6 figures per year. He's awesome with people and really hustles, so those are inherent skills that are necessary to make something like that work.

How about working to reverse the situation: start teaching ESL classes at shelters and community centers for migrant workers? Hispanic immigrants, and especially those with young kids are actually eager to learn the language as it's very useful for at least one in every group to be able to translate to their pals on the construction site or whatever.

But if getting around Spanish is a big problem, then it sounds like you will probably have to move out of LA--but be aware that much of the southwest, west, and even mid-atlantic has the same situation for that sector of work.

 

[Joepublic2]

Honestly If I were in your position I'd think hard about the military. You'd get a much better paying job than the temp ones you've been doing and they'll actually help you get housing. Depending on what you do in the military you could even pick up some skills you could use to make money as a civilian, and you get the GI bill to help pay for school. Both of our presidential candidates are hawks (well, one's a hawk and the other is a retarded eagle) though, so you might get sent on a foreign misadventure to some shit-hole middle eastern country. Do you have any family you can fall back on?

 

[MrA79]

If you don't mind the discipline\structure of the military and don't have anything that would DQ you from enlisting, I'd say that's your best bet. At 21, you've still got more than enough time to get the benefits from it short and long term.

 

[werepossum]

Gizmo, what do YOU want to do for a living? If there's some passion there, for anything, let's work with that. If not, then I suggest the military, or a trade apprenticeship - although in construction, speaking fluent Spanish is pretty much mandatory nowadays - or college. Just be absolutely sure if you choose college that it's a marketable skill. Far too many kids get degrees in anthropology of sociology or psychology that pay only marginally better than unskilled labor. An apprenticeship as an electrician, plumber, or sheet metal worker/HVAC technician generally runs seven years and generally you have to have a car, but you earn why you learn (going to school at night) and at the end you have an excellent paying job with a union looking after your best interests and (usually) licensing requirements to protect you from the lowest common denominator. I second the super/property manager idea too, especially since it's room and board together, and usually has broadband access too so you can work on something else - you WILL get bored. A closely related field is hotel/motel management, but in your city those probably require Spanish. Might as well learn it now, it's going to be THE American language by the time you retire.

Also, don't forget about free programs. There are usually free or near-free programs taught in Spanish, computer skills, office software skills, etc. Besides something to pad the resume, you may be able to leverage one of those into a certification for a couple hundred bucks' test which is something concrete and marketable.

Lastly, don't forget the growth industry of the future: government. If you can land a job with government, even as a janitor, you are in a favorable position to bid on other government jobs as they become available.

Best of luck.

 

[DrunkenSano]

Going to trade school is much, much better than getting a degree these days. That's one thing that our high schools are failing to teach. Trade skills such as welding pays a fuck ton, more than what most college graduates get. And I would get out of California. A college degree is not the best course these days, especially when you tack on tuition cost/student debt.

 

[fskimospy]

Honestly If I were in your position I'd think hard about the military. You'd get a much better paying job than the temp ones you've been doing and they'll actually help you get housing. Depending on what you do in the military you could even pick up some skills you could use to make money as a civilian, and you get the GI bill to help pay for school. Both of our presidential candidates are hawks (well, one's a hawk and the other is a retarded eagle) though, so you might get sent on a foreign misadventure to some shit-hole middle eastern country. Do you have any family you can fall back on?

I agree with this as well. The military pays well, gives you experience that employers like even long after you're out, and you get the GI Bill when you finish your four years. The GI Bill is unbelievable, assuming you would actually like to get a degree. If I were you, I would stick with the Air Force or the Navy as you can get decent technical training and, well, nobody shoots at you. I was once in a similar situation to you and joining the Navy let me basically start my life over. It was the best choice I ever made.

That being said, the military isn't for everyone. If you have problems with authority, can't stand to be away from home/family, things like that, joining the military can easily be the worst thing you ever do. While nobody can know how they will react to a situation until they're in it, if you suspect you will have trouble with adjusting to military life, don't do it. Getting kicked out is way worse than never joining at all. Final tip would be that if you join, have a plan. Do you want to stay in for 20 years? Do you want to get out after 4 and go to college? So few people who enlist have a plan. It's super important.

 

[HumblePie]

I did my 4 years in the Air Force. It worked for me and most of my family. So long as you aren't completely braindead, don't have any felonies or major health issues, then the military for 4 years is a very good option.

 

[DrunkenSano]

There is a downside to the military, it takes a toll on your physical body, even if you're not deployed to a combat zone. Just make sure you are fit enough to join the military, especially if you are enlisted.

 

[Cozarkian]

If you have been struggling to hold a job for 3 years that is a major setback in getting a new job. You need to do something that shows you have matured and are serious about work. That could include volunteering, going to a trade school, taking community college classes, etc...

Learning Spanish is also a good idea. The local library will have learn Spanish self study programs and probably Spanish children's books.

 

[DrPizza]

Learn a trade in the military. Focus on that - make sure you're going to learn a useful trade that will lead to a career when you get out. Or stay in for 20 years. When you leave the military, you'll likely have been able to save up enough money that you can relocate anywhere in the country.

 

[retrospooty]

(I am NOT trying to start a conversation about race or immigration so please do not bring it up)

I am a 21 year old black male living in Los Angeles and I have have been struggling to hold a job since I was 18 I have no car and only a couple hundred dollars of savings.

I have been going from youth shelter to youth shelter,
low paying temp job to low paying temp job
low cost job training to low cost job training

for 4 years and I'm SICK OF IT!

All the money I try to save up ends up burning away.

It seems to me that the primary reason I cannot land a stable job that pays a living wage is because I don't speak Spanish which is almost mandatory for all jobs that do not require a college degree that pays at least $30k a year.

Would you guys agree that the only option for people like me is to either:
1. Learn Spanish
2. Obtain a degree
3. Move to a city where Spanish is less prevalent
4. Join the military?

How about learn a trade? Not trolling, I am giving you serious advise. If you are young and have decided you are not going to college, you really should learn a specific trade so you can always have a better job. Its fine now, but you dont want to wake up in your 40's without something. Computer repair, automotive... Something.

 

[JSt0rm]

leave LA. Most any job requires spanish skills. Mine doesnt but Im in the entertainment bubble. A college edu still requires speaking spanish at some level.

 

[evident]

+1 for the military. It's a great vehicle for you to improve your life and social standing, and you get to support our country.

 

[werepossum]

If you have been struggling to hold a job for 3 years that is a major setback in getting a new job. You need to do something that shows you have matured and are serious about work. That could include volunteering, going to a trade school, taking community college classes, etc...

Learning Spanish is also a good idea. The local library will have learn Spanish self study programs and probably Spanish children's books.

He's been working temp jobs. Unless you particularly stand out AND they are looking for a full time employee, they generally won't carry you over. This is nothing against Gizmo and his work ethic, it's just that employers don't want any one temp hanging around long enough to get any kind of legal standing.

Guys, even taking community college classes can be difficult if one is only working temp jobs. Going to trade school as an apprentice pays you, but only if one can get into the program. Around here, three-quarters of the applicants are turned down. One can still take the same classes outside the apprenticeship program - when my neighbor lost a director-level IT job at a local hospital and decided to reinvent himself, he did it outside the apprenticeship program, as nobody would hire a middle-aged apprentice - but it's community college and costs money.

 

[werepossum]

leave LA. Most any job requires spanish skills. Mine doesnt but Im in the entertainment bubble. A college edu still requires speaking spanish at some level.

He's in LA, you're in LA - hook a brother up. Gotta be somebody looking for an apprentice grip or best boy's assistant or one of those many other things that we don't recognize.

 

[werepossum]

Gizmo, one other idea. A friend of mine who had been unemployed long term (six or eight years) just got a job with Homeland Security in Montana or Wyoming or someplace way the Hell far from Ider Mountain Alabama (though nowhere near the border.) He's basically doing clerical for the Border Patrol, but with zero experience he makes as much as I do and besides those yummy federal benefits, they fly him home three or four times a year at taxpayer expense.

 

[maddogchen]

Join the military where you will pick up all four options.

In the military you will be moved to a city where Spanish is less prevalent- somewhere in Iraq or Afghanistan

Learn Spanish to communicate to all the Spanish speakers in your platoon

Maybe get a degree if you don't die first


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Cozarkian]

Another thought, look into an EMT class.

 

[OverVolt]

Keep working... network, and and try to snag an electrician apprenticeship, plumber apprenticeship, etc.

Those maintenance guys at apartments don't have it too bad either. Some of the places give a big discount if you live there.

Take advantage of what IS near you. Someone mentioned the DHS. You can work your way up starting out at the TSA. I'm sure LAX is stupid busy.

There is also a test you can take (PTCB) and you can apply for Pharmacy Tech jobs after registering with the state. Thats about all the job advice I'm good for. Though I was pretty broke for awhile and didn't have my degree done until I was like 26 or something so I suppose I know a thing or two about entry level highschool + skill jobs in the $15-20/hr range. EMT is also a valid option just kind of stressful for the pay.

I would do automotive in a heartbeat. Get ASE certified. Alot less drama in that work environment I'm sure. Mechanics who work on big rigs bill insane amounts if you dedicate yourself to that career.

Lots of options I would say it mostly depends on connections. An uncle who repairs cars, a cousin who is an electrician, etc. and there is your in.

 

[Puffnstuff]

You could joint the military in the short term and save all of your money towards college. Take classes while you are on active duty and get a degree in an in demand field and never look back.

 

[leper84]

I'd think any skilled trade in your area is going to require you to learn Spanish. HVAC, plumbing, electrical, maintenance, even working city/county wastewater or maintenance.

The military is a good idea but go in smart. Research jobs that translate well into the real wold. You get to brag about big balls if you go 11b Infantry but that limits you to Law Enforcement/ Security in the real world (as far as transferring job experience). While IT or an information security MOS could translate to cash in the real world. Talk to a recruiter, have them do your ASVAB (aptitude test), have the recruiter give you a list of what you qualify for. Not only would you get GI Bill benefits but IIRC you get completely free tuition while you're currently in service.

 

[Puffnstuff]

If you do go military look at the AF so you can be land based without field duty. Pick a MOS that will allow you regular hours and take advantage of that to go to school and don't hang round guys who don't share your vison so you won't get sidetracked. Research career fields that are in demand such as nursing. I chose human resources which is in the top 5 in demand and I'm not locked into any particular type of setting.