u/Fawnspotts

when i was around 10, i lived in a super remote area, so small it didnt come up on the weather channel. If we were going to be closed for snow, for instance, we would just see if the town next to us was closed for snow because our town wasn't on there. there was basically just a school, a gas station, a pizza/movie rental/arcade, a dry goods store, and a restaurant. after that, a lot of cows and forests. you had to drive 45 min to get to a grocery store and people didnt have money for any kind of entertainment.

i was outside in a swing reading calvin and hobbes comics. i saw a small airplane high overhead. then there were two. then more. they were swooping around like they were doing aerial tricks. it felt like they were right over me. i watched them til i got too hot to stay outside (at least an hour) and waved frantically hoping they could see me. i never saw anything like it. i wonder if they came out to a remote area to practice? i was a pretty lonely kid so it was always a nice memory. i always hoped they saw me down there in the clearing in the forest and they saw me wave.

(we didnt have internet out there so i never looked anything up to see if something was happening nearby.)

My friend just started a new job that also pays for tuition. They sat her down and told her what degrees they pay for and what jobs she could get with those degrees. I wanted a meeting like that because I'm not getting much response applying.

*go to career counselor* "That's a question for your advisor." *go to advisor* "That's a question for the career counselor." "They told me to talk to you." "Oh..." *vague chuckle, avoids eye contact*

"You can get any job with your degree, don't worry."

"You're gonna want to open Chat GPT. Type in "jobs for my degree" and it'll give you a list!"

"Do you have any friends in the industry? No? ... Okay. Do you have any family in the industry? No? ... Okay. Hmm!"

One advisor kept me on the hook for a month while I was unemployed talking about fellowships. At one point I asked if I should take another job or if the fellowships were pretty guaranteed and she sternly said that made her question if I was really wanting a fellowship. Eventually sends me an email with a bunch of links and two people who supposedly want to talk to me. I click instantly and all links are broken. She says they have all expired a week ago but I can prepare for them for next year. In the meantime, look on job boards and apply to entry level jobs. I can't even prep because the links lead to nothing. Also, one person sent me a rejection and the other never emailed back.

Just got off the phone with someone who has missed two job counseling appointments and emails with me, only for her to say to me very slowly "You are looking to see what jobs you are qualified for? What do you mean by that? We don't do that here. Did you get the jobs I emailed you?" and she just had emailed me a link to a website that lists jobs. My initial email was "I have these degrees and I want to know what jobs I'm qualified for. is that a service you provide?"

I know there's something between retail and my post grad career but i dont know what.

When I was a kid, I had that Galadriel's-prophecy-for-Legolas moment where my heart first belonged in the forest and then the sea. Re-read Sevengill constantly, played with my marine biology Barbie, kept saltwater fish, played Save the Whales, all that. I grew up in a really rural poor area and we did not have high school science classes, so when I went to undergrad, I realized I couldn't even do basic biology (without risking a low grade that would lose my scholarship). So no marine biology degree for me.

I've come a long way and have a master's in Ecosystem Science and Management from a "public ivy". The main fish professor retired right before I came to the school, so there were less fish classes than I thought. I took 2 intensive fish classes and had a capstone with a Coastal Studies org (altho my capstone was focused on birds). Had a recent trip to the beach where I swam by a blacknose shark (!!) and rescued a stingray from a fisherman who was too scared to unhook it. I love chondrichthyes. It made me remember what I loved the most in nature. Came home and my boyfriend broke up with me. He was the only reason I'm still here, so I can go anywhere after I pick my soul back up. I keep trying to get career advice, but everyone says "your degree is so broad you can do anything!" so if I'm totally off, let me know gently.

I applied (and was turned down) to be a Fisheries Observer, which sounds miserable but purportedly teaches you marine biology stuff. Are there other entry level jobs like that I could try? Is it all a toss-up and I should just start throwing my resume out there? If I could even do something like coral restoration, that would be sweet.

I graduated with my Master's in Ecosystem Sciences two years ago and have been applying to a variety of jobs. I work in retail now. I volunteer with a couple environmental organizations, apply on conservation job board and texas a&m, make art, eat a lot of dried peas.

I am dreaming about...

...switching my current entry level job for entry level job that is vaguely related to my future career--like landscaping or working in an aquarium?

...changing my name on the resume to my middle/mother's maiden name so I sound less French? (3rd generation I'm normal.)

...Not mentioning I grew up on a farm? Because it makes me sound poor, which I am?

...Pursuing another fun sounding job and giving up on environmental work?

I don't knowwww. I just saw another job come up on Indeed that I applied for last week. And my rent is my whole paycheck. And my well-meaning customers always bring up if I have graduated and what I want to do. And demoralizing to sell products all day you can't afford to the same retail friendly songs you heard at work when you were 15. Like my whole life has been retail and fast food so I could have a degree and now that I do it is STILL retail (at least not Wendy's anymore).

Wait one final complaint. Career counselors have been so bad to me. Okay that's all.

I worked at a catering company throughout grad school. One of the managers asked me out after I was promoted to jr. manager. I said no. (I had a longtime crush on a guy I saw from afar in a hobbyist area and never spoke to, which my coworkers knew about.)

That manager started spreading rumors that I was sexually harassing him. It was really disgusting to hear and made me super uncomfortable, but I addressed the situation with my fellow managers and the VP since -everything- was disprovable. He said I "flashed" him in my company uniform, a dress with shorts built in. I texted him a dirty message when I actually texted him a work related message. And more. My fellow managers agreed the situation was crazy but sort of felt bad for him since he is an unstable person and says a lot of crazy stuff, plus they knew about my real crush and knew I wasn't even interested. The VP, who I had felt very welcomed by and close to my whole time there, kept trying to suggest/convince I had really done those things. ("Had you cut the shorts out of the dress uniform, maybe?") A couple weeks later (after a huge successful wedding!) I got fired for that reason. I don't know if the boss believed him or if i was more replaceable since he was the only one in his department.

I'm currently employed in a similar place. During that interview, they asked why I left my previous job. They thanked me for being SO honest with my experience, to a point where I felt like I shouldn't have been, if that makes sense? Anyhow, I'm applying to post grad jobs. What should I say if the question comes up again? I'm considering saying I quit for a fellowship that fell through or something. I feel like it makes me sound like a drama magnet even though i did not bring that on myself.

Surprise, I am job hunting! I graduated with my master's in Environmental Sciences from a top 5 in the nation, top 30 in the world, 20% acceptance rate "public ivy" type school. They told us even using our school email would "get us an in" in whatever we wanted because the school is so prestigious. (Should have clocked that as baloney.) Personally, I'm still job hunting after two years. I'm applying to a broad range of jobs that sound interesting all over the country, but have only gotten two local interviews. Currently, I work in retail selling things I can't afford, and sometimes I see my professors who ask why I haven't gotten a job yet. Not that they can help, of course.

Career counseling was and is humorously bad, so I wanted to hear from actual people. What was your first job post graduation (and how long did it take to land), what's your current one, and what's your main goal? What were you qualified for with your degree, or did you get something you weren't actually qualified for and learned on the job?

I feel doomed to be a wage slave.