Students doomed for bad jobs?

Crash Override

Aside from the fact that there are basically no jobs out there at the moment, I still think trying to get a Part-Time Job as a student is difficult.

I'm a Computers Student living in Dublin and rather than getting a crappy basic job in a retail outlet (assuming you can find a job going there), I'd much prefer to get a job somewhere that is more relevant to what field I want to eventually work in.

So for example, I'm a computers student and would much prefer to work in some sort of I.T enviornment like a telecommunications company. Even if the work I was doing was pretty basic, I'd rather that then stack shelves or work on a til - No offence to anyone who does these things, a job is a job - But it seems to get any sort of job in those places you need some sort of experience and while I have a little, I don't have the required amount. And any place that I could get into with out experience etc has not got back to me about placements.

So does anyone know of ways to maybe getting jobs in these places even if it's just doing the simplest of things? Or - as the title question suggests - Are students doomed to bad jobs until they graduate? The fact that students are also stuck with certain available hours doesn't make things easier either.

Also just to note: I'm not flamming retail or any related jobs, at the end of the day I'll take whatever is going (which at the moment is nothing) and I'd be greatfull to get any part-time job, be it in a shop or anywhere.

doolox

The best thing that can be said about entry level retail jobs is that it will make your arrival in job suited to your qualifications all the more sweeter and more bearable when you know what the "real world" at the coal face of direct customer service and price competition is like.

Most people I know who worked in shops, pubs and the like and then got into the jobs relating to their technical qualifications were easier to get on with, more rounded individuals and had less problems coping with stress.

I worked with a guy who started off working in a Hotel where he was bullied and screamed at by the management on a regular basis. While other people who knew nothing but tech roles found meetings and investigations hard going he was able to cope with the pressures after the rotten time he had in the Hotel industry. Also such people value and look after their tech job better than those with more limited experience

tenchi-fan

I worked in retail jobs when I was in college. I really enjoyed them. Many managers began their careers in retail and several people I worked with in Dunnes stores are currently managers.

Just to let you know, "I.T enviornment like a telecommunications company" for students translates into callcentre work... it's really not that superior to retail work. If anything you could be stuck in callcentre and service desk work for the first 5 years after graduating

The big thing is actually having worked while you were in college. I honestly don't think the type of job matters too much to your career in the long-term.

DeadMoney

OP I know exactly what you mean. I am 24 and finishing up in college this year, I've worked in my fair share of crappy jobs over the past 6 years including retail and bars/hotels. I am on the job hunt again at the mo to carry me until June when I finish and once again am concentrating on retail and hospitality service jobs as this is where all of my experience lies in. The thing I hate most about these jobs is not the actual work, but the people that you are often working for.

I've worked for some real **** heads who are unqualified in anything and are roped in to these manager jobs where they just treat you like **** coz they are so miserable in their jobs. Nothing annoys me more coz all I ever want to do is keep my head down and do my work without confrontation. Even now when I apply for jobs and talk to managers I am always just thinking in my head 'is this guys gonna make my life hell if I work here?'.

Not that all retail managers/ bar managers are like this and of course there are always nice people out there but in my experience I've encountered mostly ***** in my jobs. Ha, hopefully this will not always be the case. I'm doing Business and I'd love to get part time work in even a customer service call center environment, but I've never had any success in applying for countless jobs of this nature as I've never been a customer service agent before. For this reason, I've sort of accepted that I am only suited towards retail and bars/hotels. Ha, I ****ing hate these jobs so much purely because of the high amount of confrontation that comes with dealing with customers and slimy managers in the service environment but I guess beggars can't be choosers. Just take what you can get, keep the head down, and when you finish college, you should be taken more seriously and treated with more respect.

spider guardian

If you have an opportunity to take a job in retail or a similar sector then take it. Every job utilises transferable skills. You won't learn much about void pointers in a retail job but you learn how to work as part of team, time management, coping under pressure etc. Plus the money is nice!

DeadMoney

spider guardian wrote: »

Plus the money is nice!

lol really €7.65 per hour??? I agree though experience is experience regardless of which field it is.

Dermo

If you are in computers you should always make sure you do an internship in the summer before your final year. There are quite a lot of IT jobs available in Ireland at the moment, maybe not all of them are graduate jobs but some are.

For the last 2 months we were looking for graduate java & .net developers but the standard among a lot of the candidates was really poor when it came to doing a technical test.

Don't give up, keep looking and good luck.

mikemac

If you fail to get your desired job then go work in retail anyway.

You'll learn to deal with abusive customers, bullying managers, dealing with money, time management, stress and lots more.

As said, what you learn is transferable

Denerick

If you look - I mean really look - you will get a job in a shop somewhere. You need to print off c. 500 cvs and blitz every shop in a three square mile radius. Its hard and frustrating, but throw enough **** and the wall and something will stick. Eventually.

spider guardian

DeadMoney wrote: »

lol really €7.65 per hour??? I agree though experience is experience regardless of which field it is.

what i meant was it's nice to have SOME money on top of all the experience, we all have to start somewhere

HooterSnout

Nothing wrong with the 7.65 quid an hour. At least they are doing their bit instead of plodding down to the dole office every week. Most of the long time dole scroungers should be thrown back into the mixer but I know it's never gonna happen.

Denerick

HooterSnout wrote: »

Nothing wrong with the 7.65 quid an hour. At least they are doing their bit instead of plodding down to the dole office every week. Most of the long time dole scroungers should be thrown back into the mixer but I know it's never gonna happen.

Too many people sneer at the low paid. Pride comes before the fall.

Welease

You need to be a bit more specific about what type of job you want, and work out if you have anything that an employer would be interested in, then target those employers who would use those skills.

Part of the problem is.. you might not actually have any useful skills in a computerised environment yet (as you are still a student).. A company in the current climate is unlikely to hire you part time so that they can spend more time and money to train you.. what would be in it for them?

I personally wouldn't let you (or anyone) near my networks, servers etc until I knew you actually had a clue. So you need to work on getting over that barrier.

If you want to be a coder, then getting a job as a part time coder might be difficult. Having a resource only available a few hours a week might be more of a hinderance than a help in a project.. But if thats the way you want to go, then start signing up for some Open Source work maybe.. It's a good way of demontrating that you have skills and a work ethic,and could be a valuable asset.

Its the same if you want to go down other routes like comms/engineering etc.. Do you actually know anythign which would be of use?.. and can you demonstrate that you might be worth the effort.. Maybe trying offering your services to charities for free to build some experience..

Failing that.. you may find stacking shelves is what you are actually qualified to do at the minute, especially in comparison to the masses of qualified people already looking for work.

HooterSnout

Denerick wrote: »

Too many people sneer at the low paid. Pride comes before the fall.

I have nothing but the utmost respect for the people working in the Burger King's, McDonalds, etc and working tills in local Londis or whatever. I respect them coz I know I couldn't do the jobs that they do. I'm not man enough.

doolox

.....because maybe the boss is a c$$t and people tend to stay longer in jobs with reasonable bosses and those jobs do not become vacant as often.

Be prepared to ditch a job at the drop of a hat if you do not get a satisfactory answer to bullying in the workplace. Being a victim will only poison your attitude to work in general, destroy your ability to develop as a person and jeapordise your personal relationships over time.

You will be the loser in the long run.

It is healthy to jump from job to job as better or newer opportunities arise especially if working in junior, non related fields to what you studying.

Do not let on to any boss what debts you owe or what your financial position is, they can use that info to leverage more work for less and put extra tasks your way if they think you are desperate for the work.

Keep all your personal info to yourself where possible and also personal relationships with management or their associates is a minefield.......

DeadMoney

Denerick wrote: »

Too many people sneer at the low paid. Pride comes before the fall.

I know I wasn't sneering though, I have only ever worked min wage or little above and i'm pretty sure my next job will be 7.65ph. Its still peanuts though and basically survival money. But yes totally agree its better to be working for small money than to not be working at all.

Denerick

Denerick wrote: »

Too many people sneer at the low paid. Pride comes before the fall.

Who is sneering? Someone pointed out that 7.65 an hour isn't good money, well, it isn't. I'd take it rather than face starvation or be out of work, but it's just about a survival wage in Ireland.

doolox

Minimum wage positions should be looked at as a start in your working life.
They can be used as a jump-off point to a higher wage once you develop and increase your skills. It is important to keep open as many links to the greater outside working world as possible.

This does two things.

It keeps you informed of better paying opportunities as and when they arise so that you can use the offer of those opportunities to leverage more money from your present employers at review time. Unfortunately at the moment it is impossible to do that now because of the scarcity of opportunities out there but this won't last forever.

It prevents exploitation if the boss sees you as being connected to outside workers in your field and being aware of the going rates etc for your work.

Try not to come across as over-loyal or over grateful for any job you may get as the boss will see you as an easy target for a paycut, or extra unpaid hours or other imposition he can think of.

Try and build up your skill levels as high as you can go, seek feedback from all the people you deal with, not only your boss, this will give you a more balanced view of your performance. Because of their position bosses tend to see things in very black and white terms and demand more from their employees at all times, you may not get a balanced view from him alone.

If you are lucky enough to get a boss who has your development as a worker at heart, who is reasonable without being too lenient and putting the companys interests at risk ( he will be replaced by a stricter boss....) and who is prepared to meet reasonable requests for money or other resources, course fees , time off for study/training etc.... then grab the opportunity and keep externally certified records of all courses done, all tests passed and all experience gained. Do not be afraid to seek references from as many colleagues and customers as you can. This will show that you are competent, value yourself as a worker and aware of the need for validated performance rating in the modern workplace.

Always, when dealing with the stories of how much other workers are paid, take their accounts with a grain of salt. People will always try to inflate their pay/conditions etc for the sake of pride. Others will try to inflate the amount of their paycut in these hard times so you cannot get a true picture from idle talk.