Posts by Kimberly Ramos5

rustywalker42 said:Not quite. It starts at an average of $1,500, quickly jumps to $1,800, and those rates are already for people with decent experience and a mountain of certifications.

True, we aren't all the same, but I don't really get your angle. You said you finished accounting. A good accountant is worth their weight in gold. Are you actually good at it?

I think there are a lot of inaccuracies in what was written. Especially that part about "educational institutions." If his IQ is 150, he clearly wasn't using the full capacity of it.

You know how much an accountant without experience is worth? Nothing. At best, they're just a trainee. And you know what an experienced one makes if they aren't a manager? $1333, maybe slightly above that. They'd probably make more money working as a waiter, but I'm done breaking my back behind a bar...

Thomas Patel6 said:Hmm. Honestly, out in the Midwest, that economics degree is basically useless. You're pretty much stuck.

Maybe you could dig something up in Washington, D.C., at least something better than those dead-end minimum wage gigs.

But living in D.C. is insanely expensive if you don't already own a place there. Like, after you pay rent, you'll probably have nothing left to live on.

Why not look abroad? Career-wise, you really don't have anything to lose. Sure, you're tied down to that Midwest town, but being loyal to a place isn't gonna do you much good if you're unemployed.

To be honest, I was planning on moving to Germany with my girlfriend, but we broke up ages ago. Others are calling me to come to Ireland, but I'm just not feeling it. I don't even know German, though my English is perfect since I use it every single day. Look, it's not like I'm starving or facing eviction because I own my place, but things aren't exactly comfortable either, and time is ticking. Right now, let's just say I'm "looking" for a job in my field, and in the meantime, I can always drive for Uber or mess around with odd jobs. I've thought about starting my own thing; I still have some capital, but aside from service-based gigs, I haven't got any ideas because nothing seems to stick.

stormylynx4 said:You're not an idiot. I was just wondering why you picked economics. Honestly, the only way that makes sense is if you were naive enough to think that degree would actually land you a job in a country where the economy is basically flatlining.

So you're back at it, implying I was stupid for picking that major. I guess I had a job lined up, but things fell through. My dad actually ran his own business and managed to sell it a couple of years before the recession hit, luckily. You can never be 100% sure what tomorrow looks like or how things will shift. Besides, what was I supposed to pick? Pre-med? Civil engineering? After an econ background? Give me a break... The only thing I regret is losing interest in programming and IBM.

stormylynx4 said:Don't take this the wrong way—I'm genuinely curious—but why did you choose to study economics?
I'm guessing you're somewhere in your early 30s and graduated about a decade ago. Given that the American economy has been a rollercoaster for the last twenty years rather than just the recent stretch, I’m really wondering what led you to pick economics.

I went to an economics high school, then finished college two years ago. Honestly, I just dragged myself through it to get the piece of paper, though I did pick up an accounting course on the side to supplement my resume. I wanted to actually specialize and master a field instead of bouncing from business school to law, then to philosophy, and eventually retraining as a chef. So, everything followed its own "natural progression," and I was naive enough to think there would be actual jobs waiting for me. Fine, go ahead—call me an idiot.

Samuel Kim50 said:Why are so many young people fleeing this beautiful country? Once you finish school, you've got a decent career path ahead of you, and if you land a job with a starting salary of around $3,000 or $4,000, isn't that plenty for a young person just getting started? If there aren't enough opportunities in the Midwest, then pack up and head to California, the Coast, or even down to Florida—anyone with a real work ethic can always find a job somewhere.
Take a young family, for instance, where both the husband and wife are working and each brings home about $1.75. That adds up to $3.25 a month, which, in my opinion, is more than enough to get by. And if you’re lucky enough to live in a house provided by your parents, you're basically set for life; you won't be dreaming of moving to some gloomy place like Germany.😵 Even here, dishwashers can pull in about $1333 a month, and you don't need an advanced degree for that kind of work. I have a friend who is only 25, married with kids, and he drives a semi-truck making nearly $3.25. What I'm trying to say is that you can absolutely live a solid, comfortable life right here in America; you just have to be resourceful and make things happen.

First off, why don't you try moving out to the Midwest and seeing for yourself how much "work" there actually is...

Second off, if I’m leaving Washington, D.C., I don't really care if I end up in San Francisco, Seattle, or wherever. If my rent eats up more than half my paycheck, what's the difference? It might as well be Ireland for all I care. I guess I still like D.C. somewhat because there are actually things to do here, even if it is pricey. Besides, traveling back and forth just for job interviews is getting expensive.

And thirdly, that whole "jobs are everywhere if you just roll up your sleeves" argument is absolute garbage. I’m a college graduate with an economics degree and I'm unemployed. Sure, I could pick up some low-tier gigs like delivery driving, taxi work, or hauling crates—jobs I've done before—but there's no way I can actually survive on that in a different city. It isn't realistic to assume everyone is a universal worker. Just because your friend is a truck driver doesn't mean I am. Or if your buddy is a CNC operator making good money, does that make me one? No. Am I a doctor or a foreign language professor? Also no. Maybe I missed the mark with my major, but I’ve put in the work through formal education and various courses. I’ll admit I’ve worked lower-paying jobs in the past, but I was barely scraping by even while living in my own place. At the end of the day, I’m not some jack-of-all-trades who can jump between 150 different careers. Honestly, I'm pretty much done with more training and retraining; it’s all been a massive waste of time.

The biggest issue is that I lack industry experience and, obviously, connections. Employers won't even look at me, even if I had a hundred degrees, because they’re all looking for a "finished product"—someone they can just exploit immediately. A friend of mine actually just got fired from her job after ten years because she got pregnant. It seems smarter for some clueless employer to dump someone with that much experience and hire a stranger who'll need training from scratch. It’s paradoxical, really; employers have zero patience for anyone without experience, yet they expect you to give 200% starting on day one. Honestly, the employers are the real scum here, and the state of the country isn't helping either. There are no jobs. Nothing is being manufactured, nothing is being traded—just a few service jobs here and there, and that's about it.

On the other hand, things work differently overseas. No games, no late paychecks, no unpaid overtime. They don't care who you are or how old you are—all they care about is whether you actually want to work. Even if you're starting from scratch, most places will give you a trial period and a few weeks of training just to get you up to speed. You only get fired if you're an absolute idiot, lazy, or a thief, which I guess is pretty standard for us Americans.

Money isn't everything to me, honestly. I'd be perfectly fine making maybe $2,500 or $3,000 a month—just enough to cover the bills and call it a day. But I have no clue who I'm supposed to pull strings for to land a job like that, especially since I've lived in this city for 30 years. And no, I'm definitely not joining a political party to get ahead. So, what am I left with? I haven't decided yet, but I'm right on the edge. One foot is already out the door; my suitcase is just sitting there, staring at me like, "Are we doing this or what?" Since I own my place here, an average salary would be plenty, but getting one feels impossible. Moving away to live in some cramped little room just to wash dishes or work construction doesn't exactly sound like the dream either. So, yeah, you tell me how to be smart about this... A person just snaps sometimes, breaks, and leaves. I guess I haven't hit that breaking point yet because I'm so tied to my hometown, but I'm getting pretty close.

Anyone claiming it's easy to find work around here should try spending two or three months on unemployment with a degree that nobody's hiring for, then they can come talk to me.