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Help me figure out a career
The Brayster
UKRegistered User regular
UKRegistered User regular
Hey folks.
I need some help here as I may have landed myself in an awful situation.
For the last five years, while I finished school and made my way through University, I have been employed by McDonalds. After graduating last year, I stayed on full-time. Due to several reasons, much of which regarding an uneasy relationship with my Business Manager, I handed in my notice a few days ago, saying that as of Christmas I will no longer be working for them.
I do not have another job lined up, however. I do need one sooner rather than later though, and I'd like it to be the kind of job where I have a fixed Schedule so I can actually make plans with my life and maintain a regular sleeping pattern.
I have a Degree in Psychology (2:2) and am based in Northern Ireland, UK.
Being a chartered psychologist requires further training I haven't the means to do yet, and I really REALLY don't want to work retail ever again if I can so help it.
I'm currently going through all the job sites either way, but if anyone has been in similar shoes who has any kind of advice I would much appreciate a fresh look at the situation and how to resolve it.
I need some help here as I may have landed myself in an awful situation.
For the last five years, while I finished school and made my way through University, I have been employed by McDonalds. After graduating last year, I stayed on full-time. Due to several reasons, much of which regarding an uneasy relationship with my Business Manager, I handed in my notice a few days ago, saying that as of Christmas I will no longer be working for them.
I do not have another job lined up, however. I do need one sooner rather than later though, and I'd like it to be the kind of job where I have a fixed Schedule so I can actually make plans with my life and maintain a regular sleeping pattern.
I have a Degree in Psychology (2:2) and am based in Northern Ireland, UK.
Being a chartered psychologist requires further training I haven't the means to do yet, and I really REALLY don't want to work retail ever again if I can so help it.
I'm currently going through all the job sites either way, but if anyone has been in similar shoes who has any kind of advice I would much appreciate a fresh look at the situation and how to resolve it.
Steam: TheBrayster
PSN: TheBrayster_92
PSN: TheBrayster_92
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I've never gotten any jobs from job websites, you have to compete with so many people. Hit up psychologists in your area with established practices and try to find an in doing clerical work or what ever you're qualified to do. You'll have regular hours and you'll be in a position that is exposing you to the field you studied in.
Get ready for a bunch of no's, but you just need one person to say yes.
A lot of these will also help, if not pay for all, of that extra schooling you said was needed.
What do you want to do?
I don't know, OP says they've worked for 5 years at a McDonald's if I'm reading correctly. That sounds (to me, at least) like a person with an abnormally high tolerance for bullshit and not someone who's quitting in a huff because the boss said something mean. OP also says they've given more than a months notice. I don't know if that's expected there, but here 2 weeks is generally sufficient, and "just stop showing up" isn't unheard of when leaving a McJob.
But yeah, we kind of need to know where you want to go before we can try to help you get there...
Sorry, reading back over my post I realize I am very sparse in detail. I blame being tired. Yes, that's it.
McDonalds thus far has been my only job. I started working there while I was still finishing up in School, then stayed to keep myself drunk fed during University. Once I graduated I stayed on full time, and that has been about a year and a half now (at school and uni I was working weekends, naturally). I started as a Crew Member for the first 3 years then was made Crew Trainer which I held for the remaining 2.
A Crew Member is your typical McWorker. A Crew Trainer holds all the same responsibilities but is also expected to take it upon themselves to carry out the training of all the regular crew, and also act as leadership in the absence of management. I like to think I have been quite competent in my responsibilities and holding training/leadership role in a stressful, fast-paced work environment on top of remaining 'job loyal' for 5 years as someone who hasn't reached 25 yet paints a decent picture of me, I like to think (I will certainly convince future employers that it does either way).
I guess the essence of my question is what kind of 'other' careers are open to me? I have studied Psychology and did very much enjoy it, but the further training to actually pursue that line of work is long and expensive. I need a different job in the meantime regardless of whether or not I actually pull off the further education. I would just really prefer this career didn't involve me dealing with the public too much (at least, not subordinate to them anyway, if that makes sense).
On top of the degree being what it is, I also have skills in statistics, data manipulation & Interpretation, research skills, and due to my degree have spent a lot of time studying human behaviour and identifying 'tells' and patterns of behaviour based on varying/changing stimuli. It is no joke nor surprise that a large chunk of Psychology graduates who don't take the science further go into Marketing, which is my primary area of job seeking right now.
I am wandering what other jobs/fields would want someone who is young, with both my work history and/or my skills from study.
PSN: TheBrayster_92
The issue here is not what is available but what do you want to do? Are you bound by a location? Do you want to see the world? Do you value stability over pay or vice versa? Do you want indoor or are you willing to work outdoors? Nights and weekends or just 9-5? What core industries are in your city and have you looked into their employment opportunities?
No employer "wants" you as an entry level BA or BS employee. You have to make yourself known and choose how where you want to go and how you want to apply for those positions. Until you have 8-15 years in field and a lot of experience you generally aren't ever going to be "sought after" by an employer. Psychology gave you a toolset you can use for a large amount of positions, it will be up to you to find those positions and explain what you can bring to the table through your degree and previous work experience.
So, what do you want to do in general (or specific)? Once you know that, the rest is a lot more straightforward.
What exactly do you want to do here though? This can swing either to the public relations side or the advertising side.
The best place for someone with no background in marketing would be in-house because they are not a specialty shop like a PR firm or an ad agency. You can search for corporations with headquarters near you that would have an internal marketing department and hit them up.
This is very good advice. Take your Psych degree and aim for Human Resources positions. Also, I very strongly consider you relocate to Belfast or to a larger UK city across the channel if you're not already there. You are not going to have an easy time finding HR jobs in locations that lack a critical mass of moderately sized companies.