[Twigg]

Good luck, Coda!! (:

[littl3chocobo]

ok, so you might have circumstances that would prevent 9 an hour from being ok

[woopdidoodoo]

wow wasn't expecting such a reply level! thanks guys the support is awesome.
I've already lowered my expectations and applied for a coffee making job (I do have a little experience in that) but with those kinda jobs aka younger kids cause cheap labor gah lol. No one is really wanting to look at me, really because they think I should be over qualified and because of my age they dont want to pay me that rate. The would rather juniors.

But Im not gonna give up! I do run a parrot rescue shelter from home so I'm hoping that a vet will take me on as a volunteer until I get my qualifications as a vet tech. Still its hard.

I'd happily do any job be it check out chick, working in kmart, even applied for shelf packers for supermarkets meh hopefully will get a call back.

hugs to you all

[Coda]

"Living in a safe part of Los Angeles" is enough to make $9/hour not okay. Even if I didn't have any student loan debt, if I were living in the cheapest studio apartment I can find, if this $9/hour job were giving me 40 hours per week (spoiler: not going to happen), and if I were single, $9/hour would leave me with less than $300/month to handle electricity, natural gas, a Metro pass (or car payments, fuel, and car insurance), and a phone, and if I were this non-college-educated single white 31-year-old male I'd be getting the lowest possible tier of food stamps to get food. I wouldn't have health insurance. I would have to save up in order to buy something as simple as a pair of shoes.

Heaven forbid I live in San Francisco instead of Los Angeles at that point -- I'd be homeless.

In today's world, you can BARELY scrape by on $9/hour if you live in a large city, and it's still tight in a medium-sized city. If you have any sort of family or debt, $9/hour jobs don't cut it. McDonald's recently had a nasty PR issue because they released a budget plan for their workers that FLAT-OUT ASSUMES that you're working two jobs, and even then it's only "affordable" because they've assigned unrealistically low numbers to some things and left out others.

And if you're working two jobs, you're stuck working two jobs. Forget searching for a better job. Forget going to school to train for a better job. You've got to spend 60 hours per week at work, 56 hours per week sleeping, and then once you factor in traveling to and from work, eating meals, and taking mandatory breaks at work, there's not any time left for searching and interviewing. (And besides, where are you going to get the dress shirt, tie, and slacks to interview in if you're living on $9/hour?)

Telling someone in financial trouble to take any job that they can find is DAMAGING and counterproductive. It doesn't work.

[woopdidoodoo]

Coda I feel ya I'm even tempted to try some work experience through school at the moment just to try and get a foot in the door. Im lucky to be on a part pension through the government because of disability/illness otherwise I'd be screwed. My partner gets his carers allowance as well. It's just rather hard that's all hopefully will get better.

[Ashy]

Woopdi, youre in australia arent you? If you go to centrelink they can refer you to a job network and theyll help you find a job. If its experience you need too theyll help you get work experience and pay for stuff like bluecards and RSA.

[woopdidoodoo]

Ashy oh ok yeah I'll have to go to them I think *nods* thanks for that :)

[Ashy]

theyre also all for people reentering the workforce, companies here get government grants if they hire people under certain criteria

[Quiet Man Cometh]

One thing you can try, Woop, is to play up your age in areas where you can. When I applied for my last job, which was basic retail and at least half of the other employees (and other applicants) were younger than me, I made a point of mentioning that I had finished school and done my travelling and therefore intended to stick around in the workforce. This might make you look more attractive to an employer that might not want to have to hire and train more employees when the younger crowd heads back to school or runs off to Europe. It's something to try.

You sound like you're in a similar position to a friend of mine, who fosters birds. She managed to get a basic job at a bird hospital. It was a heck of a commute but it allowed her to start fostering in the first place once she had enough experience and her duties increased. It was an ugly job to start with, since she essentially started out cleaning cages and such, bottom rung stuff, but she did ultimately get somewhere. She plans to go to school for something vet related as well.

[Coda]

Well, good news: I got a job!

I actually expected it to be at least two more weeks before I actually landed something, but I found a company that was interested in me, and I think I really impressed them because between first contact and signing the contract only took about a week, and they actually INCREASED the benefits and switched me from contract to full-time in the process!

I'm really excited.

And I also wish the rest of you the best of luck. :)

[Lucid:]

I know this is like 2 weeks late, but congratulations Coda! :)