Millennial seeking new direction with mosaic of side gigs

[smalllife]

My degree is in Environmental Science with minors in history, bible and philosophy.

Is it possible that your institution isn't highly regarded or respected in your local area?  I'm thinking of one or two in my state in particular, given the arrangement of your major/minors which are not seen as an actual college degree from most employers.   

[RollCyclones]

Advice from a millennial here. If I was you I would get a full time or multiple waitressing gig(s) as a stopgap measure until you can land that first job. You make $15-20/hr most of which is in cash and untaxed. Another option would be borrow your parents snow blower and start going up and down the block offering to clear their driveway, easy money. If you can't find a job by next summer borrow the lawn mower and do the same thing.

If you're cute and morally inclined might consider applying to a bikini bar. My friend in college would always bring home great money and enjoyed the 'work'. She paid for college and continued onto med school. Now she's a doctor living in Hawaii. Another out of the box option for ya. Best of luck.

[CanuckExpat]

I want to know more about this job hunting feral pigs in the back country of Hawaii. That sounds awesome.

I hope things work out. All these depressing stories about "Millenials" get to me, because I think life has been great, perhaps the other shoe is about to fall

[Lina]

I think some of you are right that I need to work harder but the jobs I was talking about were closer to a waitressing job; seasonal or part time work for minimum pay in my field, no interviews to prepare for and that wasn't counting the time I attempted to call to 'express my interest' for some of them or the questionaires I had to answer for each job. I suppose I was more complaining that they don't have a very streamlined process, many of the jobs were very similar or even the same, just in different places but I couldn't just reuse any of the same info. So government: snafu I guess...

And I don't know where someone got Texas, I do not live there. I don't have any geology background anyway, so I don't think the oil thing would work. I suppose I could work against them instead lol. ;)

Thanks for all the advice. I think for now I will continue where I am (better than nothing, even if not ideal (ie full time job/income)) for now and look harder. I do have some good networking where I am, we'll see if that beats out resumes sent elsewhere.

I believe you should personalize your application regardless of position. The more interesting the job is the more personalized. When I have dealt with the hiring process I have excluded everyone that haven't bothered to personalize their letters when applying through internet or e-mailing. Why would I bother to interview someone that has not bothered to find out more about the company? After university I basically spent one day per application included time to look up the position, company website etc and spending time adapting my basic application template to suit the company.

[eyePod]

eBay seller hmmmm

You can make a ton on eBay. I just started this year, have a huge stock of inventory that I still need to list, and I have contributed $1200 of my profit to my roth so far this year.  I also started a blog (including all the $$ to cover it for a few years), probably used some of the money on some gifts at one point, and still have $200 in purchase money at the ready.

Feel free to wander over to my blog at flippingadollar.com  Not tons of content yet but hopefully I can help out a few people, even if it's only ideas of what types of stuff can sell.

[StarswirlTheMustached]

And I don't know where someone got Texas, I do not live there. I don't have any geology background anyway, so I don't think the oil thing would work. I suppose I could work against them instead lol. ;)

Do the words "Environmental assessment report" ring any bells? Every project needs one. Be it oil, be it gas, be it hardrock mining or putting up a wind turbine. I'm pretty sure an environmental scientist is the sort of person they'd have drafting them.

Maybe I missed it in the thread, but what do you actually WANT to do? You must have a strong attachment to something, else you'd not be so quick to shoot down everything that's been suggested so far.

[wtjbatman]

Maybe I missed it in the thread, but what do you actually WANT to do? You must have a strong attachment to something, else you'd not be so quick to shoot down everything that's been suggested so far.

To be fair, she hasn't posted in this thread in a week, so she hasn't shot down everything that's been suggested. ;)

[fecklesslayabout]

Hey perpetual intern,

Ever considered teaching English abroad? I'm your age, with a much less practical degree than you and a similar financial background (got out of school with no debt). After graduation I moved to China, taught English for two years, improved my Mandarin and freelanced and networked my way into my field: now I'm in a nice professional job with a good salary and lots of vacation. Even if you're not interested in staying abroad long term, you can make very good money teaching English in Asia with little to no prior work experience (I had a friend who managed to save about 40,000 dollars after two years of working in Japan). The highest paying market is probably Korea, but there are tons of job opportunities all over Asia, the middle east and Central and South America.

[YK-Phil]

Hey perpetual intern,

Ever considered teaching English abroad? I'm your age, with a much less practical degree than you and a similar financial background (got out of school with no debt). After graduation I moved to China, taught English for two years, improved my Mandarin and freelanced and networked my way into my field: now I'm in a nice professional job with a good salary and lots of vacation. Even if you're not interested in staying abroad long term, you can make very good money teaching English in Asia with little to no prior work experience (I had a friend who managed to save about 40,000 dollars after two years of working in Japan). The highest paying market is probably Korea, but there are tons of job opportunities all over Asia, the middle east and Central and South America.

If you are interested in teaching in China (which I personally recommend to any adventurous and curious young person) and your resume and background is adequate for the employer, I could forward it to a friend who is actively looking for ESL teachers in a mid-size city in Fujian Province. PM if you want.

[Monkey stache]

There's a job lead already! ^

I'm a millennial and in college realized how bleak the job market looked for graduates so I jumped into action. I volunteered with a non-profit working in the field I wanted to go into so I could avoid internships (they're not a bad thing. I just saw so many unpaid ones. Props for getting paid ones!). I also went to networking events like crazy. If you live in a big a city (or near one) there's a good chance there are networking events in your field nearby. I'm introverted and have social anxiety so if I can do it then anyone can!

The other thing I recommend is applying for jobs you don't think you're quite qualified for. Often times job postings are created by someone who may not have a full understanding of what the position entails. I've literally seen job listings for social media managers that required 10 years of Twitter experience when it hasn't even been around that long! The best jobs I've had are ones that I didn't think I was quite qualified for. Sometimes the qualifications are so ridiculous that you happen to meet more of them than other applicants. I wouldn't make this your main strategy but it wouldn't hurt to occasionally apply for a job that's just a bit outside your qualifications.

Have you talked to a recruiter? I found my current job through a recruiter and I love it. It actually started out part time since it was a brand new position and after 6 months it became full time. There's definitely value in part time entry level jobs.

The thing that impressed interviewers the most was my initiative to learn skills independently. I went to school for Marketing but they only taught traditional marketing. I spent my free time teaching myself digital marketing. The internet is an endless source of free information for this (although I did attend some workshops and seminars in person too). Are there skills listed in entry levels jobs that you're missing and could teach yourself?

I've done mystery shopping and like many others have said, it doesn't pay well. It really just covers the cost of meal or purchase. With that said, I'm not against putting together various part time jobs. My friend does that and she's never been happier. I recommend doing those as a side hustle until you can see how profitable they are.

[ch12]

There's a pretty wide variety of advice on this thread already.

OP, I'd like to respond sorta to your first post. I think that it's totally legitimate to piece together a mosaic of jobs, and people are doing it nowadays.

Brad Stone doing on-the-ground reporting for BusinessWeek in 2012, saying that TaskRabbits can make $60,000/year: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-13/my-life-as-a-taskrabbit

Joshua Brustein, saying that TaskRabbit's record is $10,000 in a month (by a woman, no less): http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-24/in-the-future-well-all-be-taskrabbits

Here's a video of a couple that quit their jobs to use PoshMark, AirBnB, and TaskRabbit to generate income: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video?id=9145310

EDIT:
In the video, when their pitbulls are discussed, they said that they just a pet sitter when they travel. They travel frequently. They don't punch a clock. There's no one to say that you get 2 weeks of vacation a year. Self determination is a VERY beautiful thing.
/edit

The beauty of that kind of work is that you set your own schedule. The fantastic upside for businesses is that they don't really have the sort of overhead that they would with a full-time employee. Everyone seems to not have a great opinion of that lifestyle (why does everyone think that a full-time job is so important?), but I think that it's an interesting thing to put on your resume. It sounds extremely entrepreneurial; if you can make a living from this, you're definitely a self-starter. The proof would be in the pudding. I don't think there's any problem with giving it a fair shot.

EDIT 2:
Mustachians are very gungho about not keeping up with the Joneses. I don't understand - and maybe I'm getting the wrong end of the stick here - why Mustachians are insistent on the OP working like the Joneses. There are new opportunities nowadays (as we all should know, since early retirement is one of them), and some of them include alternative employment scenarios. I'd happily assemble IKEA furniture for other people throwing $15/hour at me, were I allowed to have alternate income streams from my day job (I signed an employment contract that states otherwise - and I've been assured by a 3L that it's legally binding). Granted, SF has the best pool of TaskRabbit tasks, since that's the home market. The work is probably a little harder to get elsewhere, but that's probably why the couple participating in the "sharing economy" uses three or so sites.

[Perpetual Intern]

OP back for a little update if anyone was curious.

I've figured out the main blockade that is the root problem: depression! Yay! So getting that worked out. It's starting to get slightly better.

Also got a second job walking dogs in my area a few months ago. Of course parental reactions were less than enthusiastic ('Gee I'm glad you went to college...') but they are more on board once they realize that yes, I'm being paid a minimum of 24/hr to play with dogs. As a bonus it almost counts as extra therapy for depression too lol.

Also have sold a few things on ebay and made a little money but I haven't done it in a few weeks. I definitely find it really fun though, I just have to get better at it.

Biggest news though: I have found it! The job that I would apply to every day for a year until they gave it to me, a job I can't stop thinking about because it sounds so awesome, it is the one! Working for the NOAA on one of their research vessels doing marine biology. Hits all my favorite buttons: being outside, being on the ocean, biology related, traveling to new and exciting places, discovery and exploration. I've done a little bit of research and the only downside I can see is it would be hard to have a family while being away a lot but since I'm not even dating anyone currently that seems moot...also if I'm shooting for FI it's not like I have to do it forever. So I'll be keeping an eye out for positions I'm qualified for to come up on usajobs.

On a final ironic note it's funny several of you have mentioned the Joneses....since I am one, in both senses. We used to joke around with family/friends but in the last few years it has actually become a reality. First it was the vacation house, then the jet skis, then the new double size house/mansion, then the boat....My dad makes good money and would never go into debt on things like this but not really how I would spend my money (ok mayyyybe the boat but that's it).

Anyway thanks for the suggestions and help!

[MoneyCat]

OP back for a little update if anyone was curious.

I've figured out the main blockade that is the root problem: depression! Yay! So getting that worked out. It's starting to get slightly better.

Also got a second job walking dogs in my area a few months ago. Of course parental reactions were less than enthusiastic ('Gee I'm glad you went to college...') but they are more on board once they realize that yes, I'm being paid a minimum of 24/hr to play with dogs. As a bonus it almost counts as extra therapy for depression too lol.

Also have sold a few things on ebay and made a little money but I haven't done it in a few weeks. I definitely find it really fun though, I just have to get better at it.

Biggest news though: I have found it! The job that I would apply to every day for a year until they gave it to me, a job I can't stop thinking about because it sounds so awesome, it is the one! Working for the NOAA on one of their research vessels doing marine biology. Hits all my favorite buttons: being outside, being on the ocean, biology related, traveling to new and exciting places, discovery and exploration. I've done a little bit of research and the only downside I can see is it would be hard to have a family while being away a lot but since I'm not even dating anyone currently that seems moot...also if I'm shooting for FI it's not like I have to do it forever. So I'll be keeping an eye out for positions I'm qualified for to come up on usajobs.

On a final ironic note it's funny several of you have mentioned the Joneses....since I am one, in both senses. We used to joke around with family/friends but in the last few years it has actually become a reality. First it was the vacation house, then the jet skis, then the new double size house/mansion, then the boat....My dad makes good money and would never go into debt on things like this but not really how I would spend my money (ok mayyyybe the boat but that's it).

Anyway thanks for the suggestions and help!

Glad to hear that things have worked out for you.

For any Millennials out there who are in a similar situation and are wondering how to impress someone with your resume, I have some unsolicited advice for you:  Know people.  It is much more important to have connections than to have a great resume.  I have gotten every job I have ever had because I knew somebody who was in the position to hire.  If you have family connections, for God's sake, use them!  If you have friends who are managers, use that to get the job.  In the vast majority of situations, it really doesn't matter how effective you are at a job -- just whether they know you and like you.  Most hiring managers are more interested in whether you are a good person to have a beer with than your accomplishments.  It's sad, but usually true.