Not sure where you are but in MI it's like that too. I'm finding that employers expect A LOT and give back very, very little. I can't count the ads that ask for just what you describe--round the clock availability and almost no hours, plus low pay. It's like they want you to put your life entirely on hold but give you nothing for it, and they can ask for that because for every opening, no matter how awful, there are hundreds of applicants.

As to your dad, I don't think older people who are still working or retired really understand how bad it is out there. Many of them don't realize how drastically the world has changed.

I'm really sick of being judged by how employed I am. I'm down to four hours per week at my retail job with pretty much no hope of a raise, ever, and I try to keep a good attitude but if I think about it at all it's totally demoralizing.

Hang in there. It isn't you. It's the times.