Quick Frustration with Job Market

Matthew Frazier

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I am 2 years outside of my undergrad years (Geosciences) and finished grad school in GIS and Remote Sensing (scientific mapping and satellites) in May. I’ve been involved in an online part time job as a GIS Analyst but I am searching for a full-time in earnest due to the job’s unpredictable nature (work based on funding).

The array of resources given to me by a counselor from my former university has helped me to discover jobs that were far from Google searches and Indeed. I have applied to somewhere between 5-10 jobs in my home state and its neighbors, and was considered enough for a couple of interviews, but now I’m quickly in despair. I’m probably stupid for feeling this way compared to others who have had hundreds of applications out there with no response, but after non-responses from most of my potential employers and a failed attempt after an interview on Monday, my soul has been throwing a pity party.

I am interested in all things Geography and environmental due to my experience and natural passion for these fields but so far I’m being yoked by areas I’m terrible at. I’m already getting flustered because most of the jobs I’ve found so far just use my skillset for a different agenda, such as engineering and oil/gas, which are not my cups of tea. Most jobs I’ve looked at seem to require experience during college, so I will forever be at a disadvantage for putting my education first during my college years. This frustration and fear over not finding a job with an ulterior motive kept me up until 2:30 last night. I’ve been suffering anxiety for almost 3 years now so I tend to filter out the positives and hyperfocus on how I’m not good enough.

Any hope?
 

ChicanaRose

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I am interested in all things Geography and environmental due to my experience and natural passion for these fields but so far I’m being yoked by areas I’m terrible at. I’m already getting flustered because most of the jobs I’ve found so far just use my skillset for a different agenda, such as engineering and oil/gas, which are not my cups of tea. Most jobs I’ve looked at seem to require experience during college, so I will forever be at a disadvantage for putting my education first during my college years. This frustration and fear over not finding a job with an ulterior motive kept me up until 2:30 last night. I’ve been suffering anxiety for almost 3 years now so I tend to filter out the positives and hyperfocus on how I’m not good enough.

Any hope?

Are you willing or able to relocate ? That might expand your possibilities.
Also, have you considered teaching?
 
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Messerve

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I know how you feel. My younger brother makes more money than I do and skipped college entirely. Whereas I went to college, studied hard for a very challenging degree, graduated and made barely anything for three years and finally now just starting to catch up to my brother with a job in retail. It feels like college basically delayed my future by four years rather than helping it. I'm still not doing anything remotely connected to my degree, though those credentials still look good on my resume. It was a lot of work for one line of text on a piece of paper though!

I'm sure you'll find something. It just might not happen as fast as you'd like. If people close to you are giving you a hard time like "Are you even trying to find a job...?" just ignore them. They're being rude and have no idea what the modern-day job market is like.
 
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Matthew Frazier

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Are you willing or able to relocate ? That might expand your possibilities.
Also, have you considered teaching?

I am willing to relocate, and even interviewed with a city on the other side of a neighboring state out west, but I’m also afraid of moving away from a few of my closer friends.


I actually have considered teaching at one point but the only thing I was interested were the hours and the summers off, and I don’t want to be like the teachers I had in high school who valued the same thing and burned out because they valued this above students.
I know how you feel. My younger brother makes more money than I do and skipped college entirely. Whereas I went to college, studied hard for a very challenging degree, graduated and made barely anything for three years and finally now just starting to catch up to my brother with a job in retail. It feels like college basically delayed my future by four years rather than helping it. I'm still not doing anything remotely connected to my degree, though those credentials still look good on my resume. It was a lot of work for one line of text on a piece of paper though!

I'm sure you'll find something. It just might not happen as fast as you'd like. If people close to you are giving you a hard time like "Are you even trying to find a job...?" just ignore them. They're being rude and have no idea what the modern-day job market is like.
You sound exactly like my undergrad years, because my major was not fun lol I’m sure there are people out there who are successful know but delayed their careers but society is just has harsh as it was 100 years ago, the pressure to work even at a tender age such as the teenage years is present.



I hope so. If I don’t find anything then I am foolish for pursuing my education in the first place. I’ve experienced that pressure from my parents when they have hassled me for sleeping in and not getting as much done but maybe I need that after 6 years of schooling. Maybe some boundaries like you hinted might be in order….
 
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mama2one

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even if "not your cup of tea", you may need to take such a job to get experience

the company who hired husband, didn't even have a job opening at the time but "fit" him in & he took a big pay cut

eventually he worked his way up in company
so don't be afraid of taking any job that will give experience & can be a stepping stone in a company

get working & then eventually you can find a job more to your liking
 
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Messerve

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I am willing to relocate, and even interviewed with a city on the other side of a neighboring state out west, but I’m also afraid of moving away from a few of my closer friends.


I actually have considered teaching at one point but the only thing I was interested were the hours and the summers off, and I don’t want to be like the teachers I had in high school who valued the same thing and burned out because they valued this above students.

You sound exactly like my undergrad years, because my major was not fun lol I’m sure there are people out there who are successful know but delayed their careers but society is just has harsh as it was 100 years ago, the pressure to work even at a tender age such as the teenage years is present.



I hope so. If I don’t find anything then I am foolish for pursuing my education in the first place. I’ve experienced that pressure from my parents when they have hassled me for sleeping in and not getting as much done but maybe I need that after 6 years of schooling. Maybe some boundaries like you hinted might be in order….
Yeah, I know what you mean. College left me exhausted for a long time, but no one seemed to really get that. I think it may have something to do with the fact that I'm very introverted, so that constant socializing and late nights and moving from farmlands to a major city and balancing my class schedule with my job schedule and even preaching at a nursing home... Yeah, I was ready for a break!

After graduating and going back home from college, I was mentally, socially and physically exhausted for probably a year. I never slept in before or during college, but at home I just wanted to sleep forever and do nothing. Now, five years later, I get up at 6:30 AM with no problem and I've taken up running and have so far run eight miles without stopping. I've also gotten myself a Spanish tutor do become fluent in Spanish finally (a life goal of mine). I never would have been able to do any of that immediately after college.
 
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ChicanaRose

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even if "not your cup of tea", you may need to take such a job to get experience

the company who hired husband, didn't even have a job opening at the time but "fit" him in & he took a big pay cut

eventually he worked his way up in company
so don't be afraid of taking any job that will give experience & can be a stepping stone in a company

get working & then eventually you can find a job more to your liking

Totally agree. I used to be super-picky but then realized I've got to start somewhere.
 
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ChicanaRose

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I actually have considered teaching at one point but the only thing I was interested were the hours and the summers off, and I don’t want to be like the teachers I had in high school who valued the same thing and burned out because they valued this above students.

Tutoring may be another option. Even if this is not your first choice, working leads to networking opportunities. It expands your professional connections and opens up more possibilities in the future. Career coaches told me it's more about who you know than what you know to get your foot in the door.
 
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Matthew Frazier

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Totally agree. I used to be super-picky but then realized I've got to start somewhere.
I take full accountability in my actions and decisions, including the impression that I give off to people for slow-moving decision making. I even bring up this trait as perfectionism in my interviews lol I have been even more paralyzed with this habit because of my first job experience. It was an intern in California, where housing was paid for by the government, so technically it wasn't a job. It wasn't even a permanent position, which I am glad it wasn't because that couldn't allow me to proceed to grad school. Even with these benefits, I had problems because I developed anxiety symptoms after several stressful years of college. The program was misrepresented so I ended up spending a whole summer doing something I hated and the people I worked with were cliquey and toxic. I have warmed up to the idea of working in oil and gas, so I applied for a position with a said company, since I have become familiar with applications of my field in this realm. The disastrous results of working outside my field, and how selfish people seem to be in my generation like they were in Cali, plus wanting to hold sinister intentions against me - that's the reason for my trust issues and fear to put myself out there.
 
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Matthew Frazier

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Yeah, I know what you mean. College left me exhausted for a long time, but no one seemed to really get that. I think it may have something to do with the fact that I'm very introverted, so that constant socializing and late nights and moving from farmlands to a major city and balancing my class schedule with my job schedule and even preaching at a nursing home... Yeah, I was ready for a break!

After graduating and going back home from college, I was mentally, socially and physically exhausted for probably a year. I never slept in before or during college, but at home I just wanted to sleep forever and do nothing. Now, five years later, I get up at 6:30 AM with no problem and I've taken up running and have so far run eight miles without stopping. I've also gotten myself a Spanish tutor do become fluent in Spanish finally (a life goal of mine). I never would have been able to do any of that immediately after college.
Thank you for sharing your experiences and demonstrating your ability to relate! Grad school was helpful in that I rediscovered a passion that I may follow through with, but I left some stressful situations both in school and family life unresolved for many years, so I have come home this summer absolutely drained. My social life was a large contributor to my stress, and my imbalance with my priorities left me several years behind on sleep! :sleep: Though I still have my stressors that I discussed previously, I have found a support group to reason these out with, further promoting my well-being and sanity, albeit I could definitely still make progress. Now I found work with my part time job again, this has also kept me busy and engaged! Maybe I am getting closer to the well-thought out lifestyle you enjoy now also.
 
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Matthew Frazier

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Tutoring may be another option. Even if this is not your first choice, working leads to networking opportunities. It expands your professional connections and opens up more possibilities in the future. Career coaches told me it's more about who you know than what you know to get your foot in the door.
I like the sound of that, because I have quite a bit of experience working with children/students. That's also a means of giving back to the people who have helped me in college ;)
 
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I am 2 years outside of my undergrad years (Geosciences) and finished grad school in GIS and Remote Sensing (scientific mapping and satellites) in May. I’ve been involved in an online part time job as a GIS Analyst but I am searching for a full-time in earnest due to the job’s unpredictable nature (work based on funding).

The array of resources given to me by a counselor from my former university has helped me to discover jobs that were far from Google searches and Indeed. I have applied to somewhere between 5-10 jobs in my home state and its neighbors, and was considered enough for a couple of interviews, but now I’m quickly in despair. I’m probably stupid for feeling this way compared to others who have had hundreds of applications out there with no response, but after non-responses from most of my potential employers and a failed attempt after an interview on Monday, my soul has been throwing a pity party.

I am interested in all things Geography and environmental due to my experience and natural passion for these fields but so far I’m being yoked by areas I’m terrible at. I’m already getting flustered because most of the jobs I’ve found so far just use my skillset for a different agenda, such as engineering and oil/gas, which are not my cups of tea. Most jobs I’ve looked at seem to require experience during college, so I will forever be at a disadvantage for putting my education first during my college years. This frustration and fear over not finding a job with an ulterior motive kept me up until 2:30 last night. I’ve been suffering anxiety for almost 3 years now so I tend to filter out the positives and hyperfocus on how I’m not good enough.

Any hope?
Look into the x prizes. They have better agendas.
 
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