30F unemployed, MSc degree. Should I consider customer associate roles?
Background- Hi guys I prepared for govt exams(upsc) for most of my 20s. My academic background is in Food Science and I have a great academic record. I did work at a place(nutrition domain) for a few months but had to leave it. I tried giving some other exams but that did not work out.
I am really struggling with finding jobs that suit me- location, salary and job role wise. I am not keen on working in production(interned and did not like it), fresher salaries are as low as 15,000 to 20,000. I live in a small town and moving out and renting itself is so much. I also have a few opportunities to do a funded full time PhD. But being unemployed for 3-5 years again scares me. Plus teaching jobs in this domain are limited and I can’t uproot my life to move to do a different corner of the country given that more often than not we are seeing guest faculty recruitment only. Hence academia scares me.
All this has also affected my mental health.
I feel over qualified for certain jobs, and under experienced for most jobs.
Preferred location- Delhi NCR, Chandigarh tricity, any other north Indian cities or Remote
Open to working in Food industries, Hotels, Catering businesses, Food Supply Chain, e- commerce or related industry
Help I need:
-Does anyone here who runs a food based business want to hire me for QA/Food Safety related role. I am currently getting certified in this area.
- Can anyone offer me any reference?
- Should I consider PhD(given the risks)?
- Should I try to work in a customer support role to earn money (tbh they are paying better than some technical roles), what skills would I need? Any HR here who is hiring or has any leads? (I have good communication skills- Hindi, English and computer proficiency. My previous role was customer facing)
tl;dr: Struggling to find jobs in the food tech sector after preparing for govt exams. Need job leads and advice.