u/Fawnspotts

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.