Many jobs

Anonymous

July 29,2022 at 11:20PM UTC

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Many jobs

Hi everyone so I’m 33 and have had many jobs and still feel like I haven’t found my dream job.

Jobs: Admin multiple industries , billing specialist for construction company, claims, case manage, account manager, workforce management, retail manager, office administrator

Many positions were highly underpaid but now I have a plethora of knowledge and different systems usage under my belt how do I break free of the dreaded $20 per Hr being thrown at me every time I speak with a potential employer.

I just want a livable wage I have 3 kids. I’ve never really had a issue with getting a job but have always had issues with being compensated fairly.

Could it be education? I have some college but most employers ever ask about education they go directly to all of my experience and are super interested but don’t want to pay me much.

Is it me? I’m thinking about getting my resume professionally evaluated.

Feeling used really I received a .50 raise from my current job …I feel like I’m a teen here I know I’m not alone on this. I took my current job because I was not working at the time but after being promoted 3 times I only received .50 cents more.

How did you over come salary issues and finally get the amount you believe you should be paid? I am definitely looking to leave my company but don’t know with all of my experience what job title I should be looking for.

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AnonymousJuly 30,2022 at 1:11AM UTC
Hello!
I think the real question is: "what makes you want to get out of bed?". No job is perfect. Everyone that is compassionate about their chosen career and works their butt off is "underpaid".
Maybe try going after advanced projects? Shadow a supervisor?
Try continuing education. I'm an accountant and always having to improve my skill set -- it's a sign of the times.
Keep pushing for what you want. 33 is relatively young. I'm 48 and just now finding a good opportunity that I'm underpaid at. It took effort to walk in the door and a LOT of effort to stay there!
You got this!!!
AnonymousJuly 30,2022 at 4:51AM UTC
What makes me what to get out of bed I guess I haven’t found what I’m truly passionate about.
Thank you for your advice I was a hair dresser about 5 years ago then I moved to a new city and figured I’d just stick to a desk job to keep steady income.
Continuing education maybe the way to go here.
Thank you!
AnonymousJuly 30,2022 at 11:10PM UTC
You never know!!
When I was in college as a 18 year old, my (late) grandpa thought I'd be great at accounting. I took a class and HATED it!!
Graduated with interior Design and worked with autocad.
Long story short, housing market fell, I had a baby so I did bookkeeping since I love math. Years later I got an associates in accounting to support my bachelor's. Now I manage a department!
Yep, I initially HATED accounting.
So you never know!! Hang in there!!
Lorna Rose, J.D., M.S.July 30,2022 at 4:09PM UTC
I overcame salary issues by figuring out my “hard minimum”: not what I BELIEVED I should be paid, but what I actually NEEDED to be paid based on my living expenses.
Sit down with a calculator, give yourself a solid hour or two, and figure out how much it costs you to keep yourself and your children alive, fed, healthy, happy, safe, warm, comfortable, and nourished. Think of literally EVERYTHING you spend money on and list it out. Add up all the expenses to determine how much you’d need to make in order to afford that total amount, and that’s your current hard minimum. Don’t accept nor ask for anything less than that because you just did the math and that is literally the lowest amount of pay you can afford to make.
If you want to make adjustments to your living expenses, take the list of expenses and then label each thing like a stoplight: red = absolutely necessary expenses that cannot be avoided or cut back, green = significant to our overall quality of life and important for us to afford; yellow = anything you would cut out of the budget if it meant affording a green thing.
AnonymousJuly 30,2022 at 11:19PM UTC
I can honestly say I’ve never done this I pretty much raised myself so I never had financial talks with my mom and had a child early. I’m much more mature now and seeing a pattern with my pay but my experience is extensive and I’m feeling stuck.
I really appreciate that you took the time out to write that I’m loving this website.
Hoping I can get 1hour alone to do that project for myself.
Lorna Rose, J.D., M.S.July 31,2022 at 1:40AM UTC
Same boat, my friend. It took me a long time to figure out a budgeting method that works (like the OP says, I’m also in my mid-30s). This one’s been reliable for me and I am always happy to share it, if it can be helpful for someone else!
AnonymousAugust 1,2022 at 2:36PM UTC
" figure out how much it costs you to keep yourself and your children alive, fed, healthy, happy, safe, warm, comfortable, and nourished. " ... and have some left for rainy day savings and a retirement plan!
Cyndi RosenblattAugust 1,2022 at 2:59PM UTC
Excellent advice!
Crystal HowellJuly 30,2022 at 6:37PM UTC
You should look into working for a Commercial Real Estate Company with your skills, as executive secretary, perk up the resume. Request $25 an hour or $20 with a monthly bonus.
Look up https://www.salary.com, for your area and title.
AnonymousJuly 30,2022 at 11:13PM UTC
I left that out lol I worked for a mom and pop commercial real estate company in 2017. I leased our units, hired maintenance men to get the units up to date for move in’s I learned how to reconcile and balance the month end budgets I was just a receptionist and did everything the office manager did except cut my own check. I did onboarding for other employees, renewing contracts, even credit and background checks. Now that you have brought this up I think it’s me. I won’t even say the pay I took but they loved me and I actually loved the job but started to feel silly driving 1 hr from home for such little pay. I truly loved talking with new clients learning about there business and writing up contracts. I’m starting to see a pattern I believe I’ve took jobs because of my lack of experience in that industry now I have so much experience in so many industries it’s time to be paid fairly I know it can be done I’m actually going to check that website out I actually wouldn’t mind doing that kind of work again.
AnonymousJuly 30,2022 at 11:20PM UTC
Which firms give a monthly bonus? You'll also need Adobe Creative Suite experience most likely. If you get your RE license you can collect commissions if the brokers you work for put you on vouchers. It's a TOUGH industry so know what you're getting into.
AnonymousJuly 31,2022 at 7:14PM UTC
You never said or clearly laid out what your professional goals are? Have you taken the time to think that through? Ask yourself, what do you want to do in your career? Once you figure that out, you need to lay out a career track that will get you there. Have you considered finishing your degree at a community college? Unfortunately many employers will overlook a package without a B.S. even for jobs that should not need one to perform. Other jobs like project management and program manager you can work towards a certification where that is all you need to get in. Give us an idea of what you are looking to do, and we can give you some ideas on where to apply and a short term, long term career track to get there
AnonymousAugust 1,2022 at 1:23AM UTC
So I haven’t found my dream job hence the many jobs. After some stated I should write out my expenses and see what my minimum is that was some really good advice so I’m starting there. Longterm goal is to work for myself right now I can only focus on the bills. But being fairly compensated until that happens will help toward my long term goals thank you again! Really good advice.
AnonymousAugust 1,2022 at 7:32PM UTC
That is good. I would suggest getting a journal and writing down what interests you in a profession, other than money. Start researching the path to build a career based on your genuine interest. You may come to find that the path that interests you to get you to a state of increasing your earning bracket, might not even require a degree, but perhaps a specific certification. Carve out some time for you to do the internal deep analysis. Good luck!
JJJuly 31,2022 at 10:19PM UTC
A college degree is a common expectation for decent salaried jobs. I put myself through school with 4 babies and 1 crappy ex so it’s doable. Not easy but worth it.
AnonymousAugust 1,2022 at 1:18AM UTC
I can’t say I agree but it does work out for a lot that way. And way to go!
AnonymousAugust 1,2022 at 2:35PM UTC
There are lots of online options, so it's very doable and there is less bias against online degrees than there was pre-pandemic.
AnonymousAugust 1,2022 at 2:34PM UTC
Not having a college degree will limit your earning capacity unless you go into the trades (like construction or plumbing).
When I was in my 20s I invested in testing from Johnson O'Connor Research, which identified my strengths and weaknesses then linked them to potential career paths. The idea is that if you go into a field where you use your strengths you'll be more successful and happy. I only sort of followed their advice, but the testing really helped me identify which jobs would be best for me and give up on my "dream" which wasn't really a good fit. I really struggled in grad school for this "dream" and then when I did the actual work I hated it.