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Help me get out of retail, please.

YodaTunaYodaTuna Registered User regular
edited December 2007 in Help / Advice Forum
So I want to get out of retail. The number one reason being that I want to go back to school, but my schedule at my job is erratic as hell. Anyway, I do have an Associates Degree in E-commerce, which hasn't gotten me shit. I got it about 3 years ago now. I didn't really care for the course either.

For the past year, I've been on and off applying for jobs on the internet and I have gotten somewhere between zero and zero replies. I've just been apply for basic entry level stuff.

Stipulations:
I need health insurance because the medication I take is super expensive.
I need to earn at least 12 dollars an hour.

YodaTuna on

Posts

  • Geek LordGeek Lord Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    You can look into POS support. It's still kind of retail since you support stores, but your retail experience will be a plus. You also won't be dealing with actual customers (god no) and they usually pay well. They will also usually be open to part-time positions, to help fill late/night/week-end shifts. See if a retail company has their head office or regional office in your area and just send your resumé. If not there's always regular tech support for telecom/cell/ISP companies, but then you have the customers (ugh) unless you can work for corporate accounts, which apparently is less tragic.

    Geek Lord on
  • MurphyMurphy Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    You could try working with employment (temporary) agencies that specialize in particular field you're looking for. That's not going to help you with health insurance (depending on the agency), but if you get a permanent position, that employer will likely have a benefits package for you. I've had a lot of success with that sort of thing in the past, but then again I'm not looking for anything tech related.

    Geek Lord's suggestion is a pretty good one though. You may want to try that first.

    Murphy on
  • NexusSixNexusSix Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    Both my wife and I have had luck with placement/temp agencies--they can lead to full-time positions with a benefits package. Dig into your Yellow Pages, call all of them and make some appointments. Placement agencies like working with folks looking for jobs, and you can tell them up front you'd like to find a permanent placement with a company offering a decent benefits package.

    Also, head down to your local welfare/unemployment office and check job listings there.

    Does your company have any internal openings you might be interested in? Be sure to check into that if you haven't already.

    Job hunting on the tubes is so hit and miss... you might find something, but if that's the only avenue you're exploring, you're looking at extrememly limited opportunities for landing a new job. Still, you should keep on top of that and also be sure to check any and all want ads you can get your hands on--both on the tubes as well as in newspaper and other local publications.

    Also: As much as your time allows, I'd try to do as many suggestions as you get listed in this thread, including the ones above mine and below if some more people post. Doing any one of these options is a pain, but the more options you engage, the better your chances of finding something. The more hooks you have in the water...

    NexusSix on
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  • RuckusRuckus Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    YodaTuna wrote: »
    So I want to get out of retail. The number one reason being that I want to go back to school, but my schedule at my job is erratic as hell. Anyway, I do have an Associates Degree in E-commerce, which hasn't gotten me shit. I got it about 3 years ago now. I didn't really care for the course either.

    For the past year, I've been on and off applying for jobs on the internet and I have gotten somewhere between zero and zero replies. I've just been apply for basic entry level stuff.

    Stipulations:
    I need health insurance because the medication I take is super expensive.
    I need to earn at least 12 dollars an hour.

    Is the store you work at now one location in a larger corporate entity? Purchance there's need for store trainers or something elseware, or office jobs at a headquarters office, or something like that. It's usuallyeasier to slide to a different job at the same company than find a different job at a different company (or the same job at a different company, for that matter).

    Also, on your expensive meds, I used to work for one of those Canadian Internet pharmacies, one of the one's that actually sells real drugs. Sometimes they're quite a bit cheaper, and though they weren't able to handle your insurance directly when I left, you can usually submit the bills to the insurance company directly. They're usually happy to pay the cheaper bill. PM me if you want more info.

    Ruckus on
  • meekermeeker Registered User regular
    edited August 2007
    You are in Maple Grove. Go West on Weaver Lake Road, Turn Right at the lights after Applebees, walk in and tell them you would like to work with Prostaff. Get a job on 2nd shift, 1:45-9:45. Go to school in the AM.

    PS. I work there in IT as a Business Analyst. Oh, and they pay for school...

    meeker on
  • YodaTunaYodaTuna Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    meeker wrote: »
    You are in Maple Grove. Go West on Weaver Lake Road, Turn Right at the lights after Applebees, walk in and tell them you would like to work with Prostaff. Get a job on 2nd shift, 1:45-9:45. Go to school in the AM.

    PS. I work there in IT as a Business Analyst. Oh, and they pay for school...

    I think this is the most specific anyone has ever been in a help thread. Ever.

    YodaTuna on
  • HewnHewn Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    YodaTuna wrote: »
    meeker wrote: »
    You are in Maple Grove. Go West on Weaver Lake Road, Turn Right at the lights after Applebees, walk in and tell them you would like to work with Prostaff. Get a job on 2nd shift, 1:45-9:45. Go to school in the AM.

    PS. I work there in IT as a Business Analyst. Oh, and they pay for school...

    I think this is the most specific anyone has ever been in a help thread. Ever.

    It's pretty damn awesome, that's for sure. In my job hunt thread I actually met somebody from the town I ended up moving to, and it was a massive help. The community around here is first rate, no doubt.

    I was going to say the agency thing was the best way to go to get your foot in the door at places, but you've got some scouting on Prostaff to do.

    Hewn on
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  • VeeveeVeevee WisconsinRegistered User regular
    edited September 2007
    meeker wrote: »
    You are in Maple Grove. Go West on Weaver Lake Road, Turn Right at the lights after Applebees, walk in and tell them you would like to work with Prostaff. Get a job on 2nd shift, 1:45-9:45. Go to school in the AM.

    PS. I work there in IT as a Business Analyst. Oh, and they pay for school...

    Ok mr magic, do me next.

    Veevee on
  • AresProphetAresProphet Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    YodaTuna wrote: »
    meeker wrote: »
    You are in Maple Grove. Go West on Weaver Lake Road, Turn Right at the lights after Applebees, walk in and tell them you would like to work with Prostaff. Get a job on 2nd shift, 1:45-9:45. Go to school in the AM.

    PS. I work there in IT as a Business Analyst. Oh, and they pay for school...

    I think this is the most specific anyone has ever been in a help thread. Ever.

    It's not every day the question "How do I get a job?" is answered with driving directions.

    Restaurant work meshes well with school schedules, as co-workers over the years have told me. Evening hours are the good ones and the early morning classes at schools are pretty easy to snag since everyone hates them. So, yeah. his advice is good.

    AresProphet on
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  • supabeastsupabeast Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    My sister found that working in big hotel was the perfect job while she was in school. She was able to get regular hours working late evenings into the night, long after everyone had checked in or out so she just got paid to sit around and do homework. This probably won’t work in a busy city, but in the burbs or a small town, it’s the way to go.

    supabeast on
  • JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    edited September 2007
    I do not know what your degree actually is. "ecommerce" is an incredibly generic term.

    All I know is that out there, there are stupid people with money who are trying to make web sites. I deal with them every day, and they need business plans written by people who understand the internet and how to start and run a web based business. It is confounding how many rich stupid people there are who want to make web sites but have little or no understanding of the internet in its entirety.

    I don't know if this is what your degree pertains to or not, but if it is, you should definitely put your resume out there.

    Have you considered being a project manager for a web design company? These people are basically the middle men between the clients and the developers, they also toss ideas back and forth between the two parties to get stuff completed.

    You probably could not start as a PM without experience, but there are plenty of things to do in an office environment to get your feet wet, reception, office assistant, etc.

    Just throwing out ideas. I don't think your degree is worthless, I do think it's very vague and tough to utilize however.

    Jasconius on
  • LifeVirusZEROLifeVirusZERO Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    meeker wrote: »
    You are in Maple Grove. Go West on Weaver Lake Road, Turn Right at the lights after Applebees, walk in and tell them you would like to work with Prostaff. Get a job on 2nd shift, 1:45-9:45. Go to school in the AM.

    PS. I work there in IT as a Business Analyst. Oh, and they pay for school...

    Ok, sorry for bringing up such an old topic, but I had this one bookmark'd. Did you actually ever do this? I want to know how it turned out for you, OP?

    LifeVirusZERO on
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  • PeekingDuckPeekingDuck __BANNED USERS regular
    edited December 2007
    I think he still works at Gamestop, but I'm not positive.

    PeekingDuck on
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