No work worth doing

i agree about the work not worth doing. my degree is AAS Network admin no certs too costly to get. nobody wants to hire a college grad (class of 2010) i found out now these internships want u to have field work behind you before they consider you not how it was 10 yrs ago.

who wants to work at a low paying job? there is no fulfillment or happiness behind it. if a low paying job still can't pay the bills, how can you be happy? i have no idea what i want to do for work since i cant get into my field at all

Well, I'm deeply feeling this again, and I've reread the thread. I appreciate the encouragement, but I am unable to take it to heart right now.

It's near the end of the school term, and though I've done pretty well in grades, I feel very burdened by seeing how lacking I am in any real connection to the world, and lacking any sense of ability to progress and do anything besides grub for grades. I feel a very dark sense of failure. I see how hard I struggle for meager results, how inefficient and stupid I am. Lately it's been harder to get out of bed. Tonight I swam, harder than ever before, and I feel so tired yet not relaxed. Usually I feel good after swimming. Right now is a lot of pressure at school, and there is no joy. I feel so sad, tears raining out of my eyes so many times a day.

In this time of job instability, so many people feel as you do. I feel out of sync, skillfully, with the labour force too. I have skills in the generalist field...skills applicable to a broad range of fields, or soft skills as they call them, and I have general knowledge of many things. However, this labour market wants people who specialize in hard skills like numbers, typing speed, sales, mechanical skills, etc. I fall short in those even though I have training in them, I am not the fastest or most experienced, blah, blah, blah.

Today's job researchers are saying that companies are no longer "hiring" as much as "contracting" people for shorter, temp terms. Where a person used to be hired, work for and retire from a few companies in their career path, now, they will probably be contracted by hundreds of independent sources for services of many kinds. So, as a graduate of environmental sciences, you would now have to take that knowledge and begin marketing your services rather than yourself. What work will you be willing to do for them?

This is how the labour market is going, now.

I know the labour market has continually changed to less worker security and benefits over the past 20 years or so.

I guess my disenchantment is about more than just work, though. I won't be marketing my services, because I am not a people person. "Not worth doing" isn't about the money I would get. It's about the values the work serves.

Recently I have found people I respect doing work in conservation. Maybe there is a place for me somewhere in there, on the technical side. Yet, I don't particularly care what happens to me in a way, money, work, life. I am waiting for it to be over. I only live for my husband, really. I have no point of my own. Perhaps I should have posted yesterday in a different forum. Only the feeling relates to the original topic. I have lost hope for a real place for me in the world.

Thanks for reply.

Surely a bright person like you could think of something.

Thanks. All I wanted to do is change the world. It's hard.

I feel the same as you…only I'm in the arts rather than sciences. I decided to cut my losses and work towards becoming a professor unless (or until) something better comes along. But that means dealing with people…and I haven't been officially admitted to grad school to start my doctorate yet.

I don't know if you've experienced this, but I'm annoyed by seeing much less talented/skilled people in my field becoming successful for some reason.

At least there's still a place in this world for science. I'm not sure there's as much of one for art anymore. As it is, it barely resides outside of universities anymore and less and less people are able to make a living with their talents and skills. I think that's true for everyone…there's only a few skills that seem to be considered valuable anymore.

Not at all. I know they have skills I don't - like political skills and interpersonal skills, networking, leadership. And you'll need all that and more to become a prof. There is a lot of competition.

Social skills are emphasized and valued a lot more than talent and knowledge, which is very frustrating and intimidating for people who struggle with the qualities you have listed. I often wonder if I will ever work and find my place in this social world too. Thinking this can be so discouraging and depressing.

Maybe you can find a way to make a living by working in conservation.

I wish, I had something more hopeful and helpful to contribute. I feel for you. I just don't know how to word it here.

I think in low level work, what you say is true. In high level work, often both are required, but you can also specialize in one or the other. A recommended strategy for people like us is to specialize in something technical and be really excellent so that we have some leverage to get some of what we need because of our differences. I work hard on the technical stuff, but I cry when I see how incredibly lousy I am at the other stuff, when I see the fallout.