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I've been traveling for over a month now... make it stop

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you have no job and you have no career. you literally have nothing to lose.

Best part about that though, is he talks like he knows everything. Yes, taking a job outside your intended career field WILLLLLLLL hurt you. I mean, sitting around living in a car with 0% job is certainly muchhhh better. Oh, wait jk, it's not.
 
Best part about that though, is he talks like he knows everything. Yes, taking a job outside your intended career field WILLLLLLLL hurt you. I mean, sitting around living in a car with 0% job is certainly muchhhh better. Oh, wait jk, it's not.

Clearly he's doing better than everyone else here, right? 😀
 
Clearly he's doing better than everyone else here, right? 😀

As somebody in my limited career thus far who's had a chance to be involved in the hiring process (of engineers) I can tell anybody with out a doubt, my mine and my companies point of view, it was many times better to have ANY job - especially if you weren't a total turd and could relate it to what the company did somehow - than to have no employment for a long stretch of time.

PS to other people out there... Why couldn't TridonG go back to school? If he's not making any income, is independent, etc etc shouldn't he get some serious financial aid? At this point, the bro probably has a slim to none chance at getting the job he wants, so why not go back to school to train to get what he desires? Even if it meant adding some debt potentially. Some debt with positive cash flow is better than no debt and no cash flow.
 
Best part about that though, is he talks like he knows everything. Yes, taking a job outside your intended career field WILLLLLLLL hurt you. I mean, sitting around living in a car with 0% job is certainly muchhhh better. Oh, wait jk, it's not.

Why take a job outside my career field when I can devote more time to getting one in my field?

At this point it looks like this:

Option 1)
Action: I get a low paying job (I mean, really low paying. We're talking $10-12/hr, if lucky). I live in Phoenix still because I cannot afford to live in more expensive and desirable cities.

Result: I make barely enough money to pay for a shitty apartment. I'm living in a miserable hell hole for possibly forever. The reason being that I cannot escape the city because I cannot afford to move to a desirable city. Desirable city is beyond my current earned income because current income is from a low paying job. So, I work 40+ hours/week, make little pay, and lose time in my life. I won't have the energy to apply for jobs full-time and do all the prep work needed with that. (Interview prep, work on projects, etc.) So, I stay here... work at a tenth the effort that I could if I didn't have the job and I continue to lose career opportunities because I'm so far removed from the industry now. (In terms of when I earned my degree and had my last software dev job)

Option 2)

Action: I keep applying for jobs, doing interview prep, and working on projects (although working on projects has taken a downturn in recent weeks).

Result: I can put all my effort towards finding a relevant job. My chances of success are HIGHER because I can put more effort into it. It isn't 100% but it is a lot better than working a dead end job that drains my life away. In the end, this gets me CLOSER to the desired result. The desired result being that I get a software dev job in a desirable city.

I don't see how option 1 is really any better. You say it will give me an in but it doesn't really. Working retail or some shitty helpdesk job isn't going to get you a programming job in another city. I'm willing to put more time and energy towards job hunting for that desirable job in desirable city now rather than putting it in 3+ years later after I've worked tech support for 2 years, worked on a thousand side projects, done thousands of interview prep problems, AND THEN finally get a job at the shit company IN AN UNDESIRABLE CITY STILL... and then maybe after a year of working there I can get a good reference and a better looking resume to help me move to a desirable city with a desirable job. <--- That's basically where I am now already. How many years would I have to work at that shit company? 3+ years as a programmer? 5? 10? 2000? Why restart that process in Phoenix when I've already done it in Seattle, ya jackasses?

Nah, I take option 2. It's better even if I end up living poor for a while. I already have the year of job experience. Why would getting a year here help me after I do tech support for 2+ years? It wouldn't. It'd be worse.
 
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As somebody in my limited career thus far who's had a chance to be involved in the hiring process (of engineers) I can tell anybody with out a doubt, my mine and my companies point of view, it was many times better to have ANY job - especially if you weren't a total turd and could relate it to what the company did somehow - than to have no employment for a long stretch of time.

PS to other people out there... Why couldn't TridonG go back to school? If he's not making any income, is independent, etc etc shouldn't he get some serious financial aid? At this point, the bro probably has a slim to none chance at getting the job he wants, so why not go back to school to train to get what he desires? Even if it meant adding some debt potentially. Some debt with positive cash flow is better than no debt and no cash flow.

Financial aid for me would come in the form of student loans. I have no interest in taking up loans. I graduated debt free and have never had a single loan in my life. I rather it stay that way.

Going back to school wouldn't help. It's 8+ months away. I'd have to take the GREs, get ridiculous scores on them, and then get into a top school. Maybe I could get good GRE scores but that won't get me into a top school. My GPA from university is pretty low. (3.15 at university, 3.44 accumulative)

Getting a masters in CS wouldn't be worth the $50K+ in debt from a no-name school. It'd put me slightly ahead of where I am now. Who knows where I'd even do that program either. Lord knows I wouldn't have in state tuition. Ouch. I doubt I would get options that would pay for rent/tuition either via some graduate ta program.

EDIT: The debt would heavily outweigh the cashflow btw. Any income I'd get would be, at best, half of what I'd be incurring in debt. (Expenses for grad school living are on the order of $40k/yr. I'd be lucky to get a 20hr part time job that did $20k/yr.)
 
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Option 2)

Action: I keep applying for jobs, doing interview prep, and working on projects (although working on projects has taken a downturn in recent weeks).

Result: I can put all my effort towards finding a relevant job. My chances of success are HIGHER because I can put more effort into it. It isn't 100% but it is a lot better than working a dead end job that drains my life away. In the end, this gets me CLOSER to the desired result. The desired result being that I get a software dev job in a desirable city.

I don't see how option 1 is really any better. You say it will give me an in but it doesn't really. Working retail or some shitty helpdesk job isn't going to get you a programming job in another city. I'm willing to put more time and energy towards job hunting for that desirable job in desirable city now rather than putting it in 3+ years later after I've worked tech support for 2 years, worked on a thousand side projects, done thousands of interview prep problems, AND THEN finally get a job at the shit company IN AN UNDESIRABLE CITY STILL... and then maybe after a year of working there I can get a good reference and a better looking resume to help me move to a desirable city with a desirable job. <--- That's basically where I am now already. How many years would I have to work at that shit company? 3+ years as a programmer? 5? 10? 2000? Why restart that process in Phoenix when I've already done it in Seattle, ya jackasses?

Nah, I take option 2. It's better even if I end up living poor for a while. I already have the year of job experience. Why would getting a year here help me after I do tech support for 2+ years? It wouldn't. It'd be worse.

So... wait. You haven't been putting max effort into finding a job in your career field??? Well, then I don't see what you're bitching about. If you haven't been placing maximum effort in thus far, why did you expect to land a great job??

Have you ever considered that a decent company will pay for your schooling? Here where I work, if you pledge 6 years to the company, you get a FREE masters degree. Free.

FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I mean, if you're basically as good/relevant as a fresh graduate, you could technically just apply to any company for software related positions. Even positions that deal mainly with modeling/analysis that may use languages that you're not totally familiar with, but could easily learn. Maybe if you find a lot of companies are offering spots that require SIMULINK/Matlab skills.. ya know.. you go ahead and learn that, etc.
 
Why take a job outside my career field when I can devote more time to getting one in my field?

At this point it looks like this:

Option 1)
Action: I get a low paying job (I mean, really low paying. We're talking $10-12/hr, if lucky). I live in Phoenix still because I cannot afford to live in more expensive and desirable cities.

Result: I make barely enough money to pay for a shitty apartment. I'm living in a miserable hell hole for possibly forever. The reason being that I cannot escape the city because I cannot afford to move to a desirable city. Desirable city is beyond my current earned income because current income is from a low paying job. So, I work 40+ hours/week, make little pay, and lose time in my life. I won't have the energy to apply for jobs full-time and do all the prep work needed with that. (Interview prep, work on projects, etc.) So, I stay here... work at a tenth the effort that I could if I didn't have the job and I continue to lose career opportunities because I'm so far removed from the industry now. (In terms of when I earned my degree and had my last software dev job)

Option 2)

Action: I keep applying for jobs, doing interview prep, and working on projects (although working on projects has taken a downturn in recent weeks).

Result: I can put all my effort towards finding a relevant job. My chances of success are HIGHER because I can put more effort into it. It isn't 100% but it is a lot better than working a dead end job that drains my life away. In the end, this gets me CLOSER to the desired result. The desired result being that I get a software dev job in a desirable city.

I don't see how option 1 is really any better. You say it will give me an in but it doesn't really. Working retail or some shitty helpdesk job isn't going to get you a programming job in another city. I'm willing to put more time and energy towards job hunting for that desirable job in desirable city now rather than putting it in 3+ years later after I've worked tech support for 2 years, worked on a thousand side projects, done thousands of interview prep problems, AND THEN finally get a job at the shit company IN AN UNDESIRABLE CITY STILL... and then maybe after a year of working there I can get a good reference and a better looking resume to help me move to a desirable city with a desirable job. <--- That's basically where I am now already. How many years would I have to work at that shit company? 3+ years as a programmer? 5? 10? 2000? Why restart that process in Phoenix when I've already done it in Seattle, ya jackasses?

Nah, I take option 2. It's better even if I end up living poor for a while. I already have the year of job experience. Why would getting a year here help me after I do tech support for 2+ years? It wouldn't. It'd be worse.

QT pays almost $40k/yr for entry level full time. Have you actually tried to find a real job here yet? eBay/Paypal, American Express, US Airways, Intel, GoDaddy, etc. are all in the Phoenix area.
 
Financial aid for me would come in the form of student loans. I have no interest in taking up loans. I graduated debt free and have never had a single loan in my life. I rather it stay that way.

Going back to school wouldn't help. It's 8+ months away. I'd have to take the GREs, get ridiculous scores on them, and then get into a top school. Maybe I could get good GRE scores but that won't get me into a top school. My GPA from university is pretty low. (3.15 at university, 3.44 accumulative)

Getting a masters in CS wouldn't be worth the $50K+ in debt from a no-name school. It'd put me slightly ahead of where I am now. Who knows where I'd even do that program either. Lord knows I wouldn't have in state tuition. Ouch. I doubt I would get options that would pay for rent/tuition either via some graduate ta program.

EDIT: The debt would heavily outweigh the cashflow btw. Any income I'd get would be, at best, half of what I'd be incurring in debt. (Expenses for grad school living are on the order of $40k/yr. I'd be lucky to get a 20hr part time job that did $20k/yr.)

Good luck.

What's your backup plan when the "oh shit i'm unemployed and still living in my parents basement that is in FUCKING PHOENIX wahhhhhhhhhh" bank runs out of funds?
 
This thread is awesome. I've never seen someone so boneheaded and unwilling to accept personal responsibility. Good luck with life TridenT.
 
So... wait. You haven't been putting max effort into finding a job in your career field??? Well, then I don't see what you're bitching about. If you haven't been placing maximum effort in thus far, why did you expect to land a great job??

Have you ever considered that a decent company will pay for your schooling? Here where I work, if you pledge 6 years to the company, you get a FREE masters degree. Free.

FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I mean, if you're basically as good/relevant as a fresh graduate, you could technically just apply to any company for software related positions. Even positions that deal mainly with modeling/analysis that may use languages that you're not totally familiar with, but could easily learn. Maybe if you find a lot of companies are offering spots that require SIMULINK/Matlab skills.. ya know.. you go ahead and learn that, etc.

Because I'd like to spend the rest of my 20s in Phoenix working a dead end job? no...

I posted my resume multiple times here before. You guys know what I have.
 
Why take a job outside my career field when I can devote more time to getting one in my field?

At this point it looks like this:

Option 1)
Action: I get a low paying job (I mean, really low paying. We're talking $10-12/hr, if lucky). I live in Phoenix still because I cannot afford to live in more expensive and desirable cities.

Result: I make barely enough money to pay for a shitty apartment. I'm living in a miserable hell hole for possibly forever. The reason being that I cannot escape the city because I cannot afford to move to a desirable city. Desirable city is beyond my current earned income because current income is from a low paying job. So, I work 40+ hours/week, make little pay, and lose time in my life. I won't have the energy to apply for jobs full-time and do all the prep work needed with that. (Interview prep, work on projects, etc.) So, I stay here... work at a tenth the effort that I could if I didn't have the job and I continue to lose career opportunities because I'm so far removed from the industry now. (In terms of when I earned my degree and had my last software dev job)

Option 2)

Action: I keep applying for jobs, doing interview prep, and working on projects (although working on projects has taken a downturn in recent weeks).

Result: I can put all my effort towards finding a relevant job. My chances of success are HIGHER because I can put more effort into it. It isn't 100% but it is a lot better than working a dead end job that drains my life away. In the end, this gets me CLOSER to the desired result. The desired result being that I get a software dev job in a desirable city.

I don't see how option 1 is really any better. You say it will give me an in but it doesn't really. Working retail or some shitty helpdesk job isn't going to get you a programming job in another city. I'm willing to put more time and energy towards job hunting for that desirable job in desirable city now rather than putting it in 3+ years later after I've worked tech support for 2 years, worked on a thousand side projects, done thousands of interview prep problems, AND THEN finally get a job at the shit company IN AN UNDESIRABLE CITY STILL... and then maybe after a year of working there I can get a good reference and a better looking resume to help me move to a desirable city with a desirable job. <--- That's basically where I am now already. How many years would I have to work at that shit company? 3+ years as a programmer? 5? 10? 2000? Why restart that process in Phoenix when I've already done it in Seattle, ya jackasses?

Nah, I take option 2. It's better even if I end up living poor for a while. I already have the year of job experience. Why would getting a year here help me after I do tech support for 2+ years? It wouldn't. It'd be worse.

you can do all of option 2 while doing option 1.
 
Because I'd like to spend the rest of my 20s in Phoenix working a dead end job? no...

I posted my resume multiple times here before. You guys know what I have.

How much time per day do you spend actively submitting resumes and speaking with potential employers?
 
I don't see how option 1 is really any better. You say it will give me an in but it doesn't really. Working retail or some shitty helpdesk job isn't going to get you a programming job in another city.
Is that a fact? :colbert:

I hired an entry-level developer that had no career experience in development, but had been working at a help desk. I doubt I would have even interviewed them if they hadn't been working at all for months. Working at a help desk was definitely a factor in my decision. The help desk job, where the person lived, was in a city about 200 miles away.
I personally went from customer service to development, and know a few other successful developers who did the same.


And now I wait for a glib, irrelevant response, or excuses about how none of that is applicable to your situation...
 
Is that a fact? :colbert:

I hired an entry-level developer that had no career experience in development, but had been working at a help desk. I doubt I would have even interviewed them if they hadn't been working at all for months. Working at a help desk was definitely a factor in my decision. The help desk job, where the person lived, was in a city about 200 miles away.
I personally went from customer service to development, and know a few other successful developers who did the same.


And now I wait for a glib, irrelevant response, or excuses about how none of that is applicable to your situation...

You're a single data point, aka worthless.
 
Because I'd like to spend the rest of my 20s in Phoenix working a dead end job? no...

I posted my resume multiple times here before. You guys know what I have.

So you would rather spend your 20's continuing to suckle the tit of society?

IIRC, those of us working paid for your college. I remember you posting here when you didn't even have $5 to buy a CAT5 cable to hook up your computer and had to rig something out your window. I don't know how you got the entitled mentality that you have now.

Look kid, you work your way up in the world. You start off at a job you might not like, maybe in a city that isn't perfect. You earn your way in this country, its not handed to you on a silver platter.

I've stuck up for you a lot over the years. I applauded you fighting to be able to go to college. I was honestly sad when you lost your car. But right now, you are the definition of what is wrong with this country.

Get over yourself Tridentboy.
 
Why take a job outside my career field when I can devote more time to getting one in my field?

At this point it looks like this:

Option 1)
Action: I get a low paying job (I mean, really low paying. We're talking $10-12/hr, if lucky). I live in Phoenix still because I cannot afford to live in more expensive and desirable cities.

Result: I make barely enough money to pay for a shitty apartment. I'm living in a miserable hell hole for possibly forever. The reason being that I cannot escape the city because I cannot afford to move to a desirable city. Desirable city is beyond my current earned income because current income is from a low paying job. So, I work 40+ hours/week, make little pay, and lose time in my life. I won't have the energy to apply for jobs full-time and do all the prep work needed with that. (Interview prep, work on projects, etc.) So, I stay here... work at a tenth the effort that I could if I didn't have the job and I continue to lose career opportunities because I'm so far removed from the industry now. (In terms of when I earned my degree and had my last software dev job)

Well if all you can make is $12/hr, that's probably all your skills are worth. I believe you can find an entry-level job making more, however.

Option 2)

Action: I keep applying for jobs, doing interview prep, and working on projects (although working on projects has taken a downturn in recent weeks).

Result: I can put all my effort towards finding a relevant job. My chances of success are HIGHER because I can put more effort into it. It isn't 100% but it is a lot better than working a dead end job that drains my life away. In the end, this gets me CLOSER to the desired result. The desired result being that I get a software dev job in a desirable city.

I don't see how option 1 is really any better. You say it will give me an in but it doesn't really. Working retail or some shitty helpdesk job isn't going to get you a programming job in another city. I'm willing to put more time and energy towards job hunting for that desirable job in desirable city now rather than putting it in 3+ years later after I've worked tech support for 2 years, worked on a thousand side projects, done thousands of interview prep problems, AND THEN finally get a job at the shit company IN AN UNDESIRABLE CITY STILL... and then maybe after a year of working there I can get a good reference and a better looking resume to help me move to a desirable city with a desirable job. <--- That's basically where I am now already. How many years would I have to work at that shit company? 3+ years as a programmer? 5? 10? 2000? Why restart that process in Phoenix when I've already done it in Seattle, ya jackasses?

Nah, I take option 2. It's better even if I end up living poor for a while. I already have the year of job experience. Why would getting a year here help me after I do tech support for 2+ years? It wouldn't. It'd be worse.

You've "put in" 5+ months trying to find a job and haven't gotten very far. Instead you come here and make excuses. You don't have the life or work experience the rest of us do, so you should listen.

I don't give a crap what you do, but why come here and whine constantly?
 
Why take a job outside my career field when I can devote more time to getting one in my field?

At this point it looks like this:

Option 1)
Action: I get a low paying job (I mean, really low paying. We're talking $10-12/hr, if lucky). I live in Phoenix still because I cannot afford to live in more expensive and desirable cities.

Result: I make barely enough money to pay for a shitty apartment. I'm living in a miserable hell hole for possibly forever. The reason being that I cannot escape the city because I cannot afford to move to a desirable city. Desirable city is beyond my current earned income because current income is from a low paying job. So, I work 40+ hours/week, make little pay, and lose time in my life. I won't have the energy to apply for jobs full-time and do all the prep work needed with that. (Interview prep, work on projects, etc.) So, I stay here... work at a tenth the effort that I could if I didn't have the job and I continue to lose career opportunities because I'm so far removed from the industry now. (In terms of when I earned my degree and had my last software dev job)

Option 2)

Action: I keep applying for jobs, doing interview prep, and working on projects (although working on projects has taken a downturn in recent weeks).

Result: I can put all my effort towards finding a relevant job. My chances of success are HIGHER because I can put more effort into it. It isn't 100% but it is a lot better than working a dead end job that drains my life away. In the end, this gets me CLOSER to the desired result. The desired result being that I get a software dev job in a desirable city.

I don't see how option 1 is really any better. You say it will give me an in but it doesn't really. Working retail or some shitty helpdesk job isn't going to get you a programming job in another city. I'm willing to put more time and energy towards job hunting for that desirable job in desirable city now rather than putting it in 3+ years later after I've worked tech support for 2 years, worked on a thousand side projects, done thousands of interview prep problems, AND THEN finally get a job at the shit company IN AN UNDESIRABLE CITY STILL... and then maybe after a year of working there I can get a good reference and a better looking resume to help me move to a desirable city with a desirable job. <--- That's basically where I am now already. How many years would I have to work at that shit company? 3+ years as a programmer? 5? 10? 2000? Why restart that process in Phoenix when I've already done it in Seattle, ya jackasses?

Nah, I take option 2. It's better even if I end up living poor for a while. I already have the year of job experience. Why would getting a year here help me after I do tech support for 2+ years? It wouldn't. It'd be worse.

Option 3 If your too lazy to work full time and look for a job get this there are part time jobs with flexibility. So your not a broke lazy bum.

Option 4 Is a requirement no matter which option you pick. Stop making excuses and complaining because your too lazy to make it happen. Just do something without crying for once in your life. Yes it all sucks we all know. The difference is most of us don't bitch and make shit happen anyway its called being a man. I'll say it agian stop being a cry baby boy let your nuts drop so they can swing back and forth when you walk like a man.
 
you can do all of option 2 while doing option 1.

Nope. I already explained why. Some of you are used to working 28 hour days for 400 days a year but I am not.

How much time per day do you spend actively submitting resumes and speaking with potential employers?

Depends. I don't job hunt on everyday. (It gets exhausting and there's only so many times you can check indeed/whatever to see the same postings over and over) But I do the rest of this shit every single day: Most of my time now is spent reading/watching-videos (related to software dev, job hunting in CS, career related stuff, or whatever), working on improving my resume, improving answers to behavioral questions, and technical prep (coding questions).

I'm sure there's other stuff I'm forgetting but that's the gist of it.

I'd say I probably spend 8+ hours a day in front of the computer actively working on the job hunt stuff.

Of those 8 hours, maybe 1 is spent on average applying for jobs. There's maybe 10 jobs a week I can apply for across the country. Mostly in SF, anyway, since that's where my response rate is the highest. I've gotten 1 interview out of 32 jobs I applied for in NYC. Tough crowd there.

EDIT: And submitting resumes and talking to employers is a small portion of the job hunt. That takes maybe 30 minutes a day. That doesn't mean you'll be ready for the interview. Especially since we already covered the ground that I have relatively poor interviewing skills. (In terms of coding speed)
 
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