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Ingridave2 said:
A Ph.D for minimum wage!!! It seems that all I can ever do is serve coffee. Now I have to pay off $40,000 in student loans with another damn waitressing job?

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Yup. Welcome to the club.

My only piece of advice is to remember that those of us that pursue higher education tend to be perfectisionist and OCD. As a consequence when we do less than perfect, we perceive ourselves as failures.

A lower than expected grade does not mean you are bad. Sometimes we equate grades with who we are. That is not true.

Another piece of advice. The more degrees you have, the harder it is to find a job. Because you demand more $$ than someone with a lower degree. It is not uncommon to be on the market for a while.

Many PhDs can be found in book stores and starbucks. It's ok. Something will happen. But, it does not mean you are a failure.

Can you volunteer somewhere while working at Starbucks? The volunteer will give you some experience. For example, a friend of mine worked at a battered women's shelter counseling clients for "free." Yes, it was not paid, but she built up her resume and had another recommendation.... to help get the REAL job,

As for student loans.....

the whole concept of paying to goto school to become more eduated to help people is screwed up. I have just come to realize that I will be paying until I die.

Hang in there....