I hate Ireland

Talula123

Im almost 30, I have a degree and havnt worked in so long i'm pretty much unemployable due to not being able to get a job, i've done job courses, have applied to hundreds of jobs, got one interview 6 months ago for a CE scheme that was falsely advertised. I cant afford to learn how to drive, everythings so expensive and everyone I know my age and older is still living with their parents or managed to find work abroad. Its impossible to get started in life here. Not asking for much, just a job I can support myself on, a little car and an affordable living space. Public transport costs are through the roof, familys going homeless everyday of the week, public health is a mess, medical cards being cut while doctor visits and prescriptions are extortionate prices. Ive lived in major cities outside of Ireland that were cheaper than here. 1.50 for metro tickets and buses, 20/30 euro doctor and hospital visits and cheaper housing.
Where's the recovery? Is Ireland just greedy by nature?

While it's perfectly natural to want a job, a car and a house, it's a bit of a jump to hating the country for not providing these.

It sounds like you have issues that AH may not be able to answer, and the provocative title won't ensure helpful responses.

TPD

What's your degree in?

onrail

You'd hate a 3rd world country an awful lot more. We won the lottery of life being lucky enough to be born in a developed country with decent social benefit.

Appreciate what you have and it'll make you happier.

Wompa1

Why not just leave? And that's not in the sense of being defensive. If you hate a place, it's not worth your energy to stay. Try living somewhere else.

HamsterFace

How have you not got a job in years? Seriously, take a retail job or call centre and get promoted a couple of times then not have a good cv.

Collie D

At least you're not crippled by a student loan which you would be had you received your degree outside of Ireland

Tipsy McSwagger

I love Ireland I just hate the moany pricks who have nothing good to say about our great little country.

dan1895

While you do bring up some interesting points with regard to the health system, public transport and our homeless crisis, your reaction is over the top in hating the country. You say its impossible to get started yet it obviously isn't as so many have done it (granted it's harder than it should be).

At the end of the day there is a lot more countries that I'm glad I wasn't born in than there are ones I wish I had.

Jan Laco

Have you applied for any shop assistant, bar staff or restaurant staff jobs or are they beneath you?

Bubbaclaus

OP why do you hate Ireland because of problems you put yourself into and it's up to you to get out off?

Nobody woke up in the morning to find the government has assigned them a job, that's up to you like everyone else.

Kintarō Hattori

OP..... I don't have a degree (a regret), therefore I'm technically unskilled. However:

I earn above the average wage despite technically being a 'thicko'.
I own my own home (well a mortgage).
Just a month or two ago I passed my driving test at the ripe old age of 38.
I started the pension game late but save a healthy portion for that each month.
I have a car.

My point is that there are plenty of things you can do with the right attitude and if you're prepared to be flexible. Ireland isn't really that expensive in the bigger picture. Sure bus tickets might be 55c in Poland but then the average wage is around €300 per month.

If you're not at a place you want to be in life right now, then adapt yourself until such a time that things fall into place for you.
Don't play the blame game.

cjmc11

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

OP..... I don't have a degree (a regret), therefore I'm technically unskilled. However:

I earn above the average wage despite technically being a 'thicko'.
I own my own home (well a mortgage).
Just a month or two ago I passed my driving test at the ripe old age of 38.
I started the pension game late but save a healthy portion for that each month.
I have a car.

My point is that there are plenty of things you can do with the right attitude and if you're prepared to be flexible. Ireland isn't really that expensive in the bigger picture. Sure bus tickets might be 55c in Poland but then the average wage is around €300 per month.

If you're not at a place you want to be in life right now, then adapt yourself until such a time that things fall into place for you.
Don't play the blame game.

I, and I'm sure everyone else that does not have a degree, do not appreciate being branded unskilled or being a thicko, and you shouldn't be branding yourself with that either.
There's plenty of us out there who didn't get a degree doing alot better than those who did, just because someone has a degree doesn't make them a genius and vive versa.
The rest of your post is very valid though.

CardinalJ

A 15 minute walk around Dublin shows quite a few shops/pubs/restaurants that are hiring.

Have you had someone look at your CV to make sure it's not written badly?

I was looking for work after finishing my degree in 2008/9 there was f all out there. Took an admin Job in an insurance company just to be working. I was handing out post. Utterly hated the job. Got promoted to a totally different roll after 7 weeks, again after 6 months.

Just take anything to get your foot in the door.

FalconGirl

If I hate anything about Ireland its the ah sure it will be grand attitude from the political class to our housing and health crisis. Everyone talking about the situation and producing soundbites while no one is actually doing anything to solve it.

It's a genuine reason why I may end up leaving the country. The cost of living is becoming obscene also.

WesternZulu

You live in a country that has one of the most generous social welfare systems in the world...for that you should be grateful.

People like you are very quick to forget that when they bitch and moan about Ireland!

Kintarō Hattori

cjmc11 wrote: »

I, and I'm sure everyone else that does not have a degree, do not appreciate being branded unskilled or being a thicko, and you shouldn't be branding yourself with that either.
There's plenty of us out there who didn't get a degree doing alot better than those who did, just because someone has a degree doesn't make them a genius and vive versa.
The rest of your post is very valid though.

Look I was saying it in jest, don't take offence. Having one isn't the be all and end all but for many it is and not yet being in the workplace, having put years into obtaining one can be a real kick in the teeth. My point to the OP was that yes, technically I'm unskilled but many times the biggest obstacle to achieving goals is ones ownself.

BrookieD

Talula123 wrote: »

Im almost 30, I have a degree and havnt worked in so long i'm pretty much unemployable due to not being able to get a job, i've done job courses, have applied to hundreds of jobs, got one interview 6 months ago for a CE scheme that was falsely advertised. I cant afford to learn how to drive, everythings so expensive and everyone I know my age and older is still living with their parents or managed to find work abroad. Its impossible to get started in life here. Not asking for much, just a job I can support myself on, a little car and an affordable living space. Public transport costs are through the roof, familys going homeless everyday of the week, public health is a mess, medical cards being cut while doctor visits and prescriptions are extortionate prices. Ive lived in major cities outside of Ireland that were cheaper than here. 1.50 for metro tickets and buses, 20/30 euro doctor and hospital visits and cheaper housing.
Where's the recovery? Is Ireland just greedy by nature?

Too much time spent worry about what you do not have, stop and look at what you have and appreciate this. Ireland is great in fairness. I moved here 20 years ago from the UK and never looked back. I am not saying for a min I have all the trappings of wealth as i do not. I work dam hard in a great job but am under paid bu 20k to 30k, have a small house in negative equity , and a child with a life crippling illness.

However,

I feel that there are so many people a lot worse off so I dont complain about what I dont have, why? well i dont have so not point really. I thank my lucky bloody stars that I have a wife whom i love and loves me for me. 2 amazing kids and enough money to pay the bills and keep the roof however small over our heads.

jamesbere

Op could be worse, you could be dead.

cjmc11

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Look I was saying it in jest, don't take offence. Having one isn't the be all and end all but for many it is and not yet being in the workplace, having put years into obtaining one can be a real kick in the teeth. My point to the OP was that yes, technically I'm unskilled but many times the biggest obstacle to achieving goals is ones ownself.

Agreed, but I think that's where alot of the problems lie here, people heading off to college for 3 or 4 years and just expecting to walk into a job as soon as they graduate, and alot of times these people wouldn't even dream of taking a job that is outside of their qualification.
How many times did you see on prime time and the likes during the recession, people being interviewed that were out of work that had a qualification in x and saying 'oh sure there's no work in x industry', I wonder did these people ever think to go working in a pub, shop, factory etc. to tie them over until things improved, i doubt it in alot of cases.
(and I'm not saying that there's anything menial about pub or shop work, there as perfectly a legitimate place to earn a living as any)
majority of people in my age group, mid 20s, think they deserve a job with a high salary, just because they have been to college, and its also true that alot of them look down on people who never went to college.
A qualification is just the very start of a career and it shouldn't be seen as a way of skipping a few rungs up the ladder.

Agent Smyth

Talula123 wrote: »

Im almost 30, I have a degree and havnt worked in so long i'm pretty much unemployable due to not being able to get a job, i've done job courses, have applied to hundreds of jobs, got one interview 6 months ago for a CE scheme that was falsely advertised. I cant afford to learn how to drive, everythings so expensive and everyone I know my age and older is still living with their parents or managed to find work abroad. Its impossible to get started in life here. Not asking for much, just a job I can support myself on, a little car and an affordable living space. Public transport costs are through the roof, familys going homeless everyday of the week, public health is a mess, medical cards being cut while doctor visits and prescriptions are extortionate prices. Ive lived in major cities outside of Ireland that were cheaper than here. 1.50 for metro tickets and buses, 20/30 euro doctor and hospital visits and cheaper housing.
Where's the recovery? Is Ireland just greedy by nature?

The Luas should be hiring soon for the Cross City Line, that might be the answer to your problem, might even apply myself

Polo_Mint

TPD wrote: »

What's your degree in?

Im betting an Arts Degree

ted1

Rather than blaming the country , you need to look at yourself. Why are you unemployable ?
Is it your appearance ?
Is it your attitude?
Is your CV a mess?
Are you applying for the correct jobs and tailoring your CVsnd cover letter?
Is it your interview skills?

All these are easily addressed, in 2016 there's not many excuses for a 30 year old to be unemployed.

12Phase

You might also need to move to another town or city with jobs.

Doesn't have to be Dublin either. There's a major housing crisis there due to economic up tick and lack of supply at present.

Try Cork, Galway, Limerick etc

Limerick in particular is much better value.

Talula123

Jan Laco wrote: »

Have you applied for any shop assistant, bar staff or restaurant staff jobs or are they beneath you?

Never said anything was beneath me, if you read the post you'd see i said ive applied for hundreds of jobs including CE schemes.

endacl

Polo_Mint wrote: »

Im betting an Arts Degree

Is that the one where they teach apostrophes?

fred funk }{

OP, I wouldn't employ you either. You've a terrible attitude and not one I'd have working work me.

endacl

Talula123 wrote: »

Never said anything was beneath me, if you read the post you'd see i said ive applied for hundreds of jobs including CE schemes.

Hundreds? Not to sound harsh, but the problem is you. Not the country.

Polo_Mint

endacl wrote: »

Is that the one where they teach apostrophes?

No, That would be an English Degree

seamus

OP, you've got a degree in fine art and all you want to do is be an art teacher.

Now, being that focussed is admirable, but I don't have to tell you that you've narrowed your prospects massively by being so dead set on going down this path. It's simply a case that for some careers, not everyone can get to do it. That's not the country's fault, it's simple supply and demand.

Rather than languish in unemployment and woeing over your situation, it's time to go explore other options. There are still plenty of other options in the creative sphere, such as graphic design, which are in high demand but don't require a multi-year M.A. programme to get into.

But for the time being you'll probably have to suck up some bar work, or coffee shop work, or whatever. Not working at all is way worse than doing work you don't want to do.

eezipc

Talula123 wrote: »

Im almost 30, I have a degree and havnt worked in so long i'm pretty much unemployable due to not being able to get a job, i've done job courses, have applied to hundreds of jobs, got one interview 6 months ago for a CE scheme that was falsely advertised. I cant afford to learn how to drive, everythings so expensive and everyone I know my age and older is still living with their parents or managed to find work abroad. Its impossible to get started in life here. Not asking for much, just a job I can support myself on, a little car and an affordable living space. Public transport costs are through the roof, familys going homeless everyday of the week, public health is a mess, medical cards being cut while doctor visits and prescriptions are extortionate prices. Ive lived in major cities outside of Ireland that were cheaper than here. 1.50 for metro tickets and buses, 20/30 euro doctor and hospital visits and cheaper housing.
Where's the recovery? Is Ireland just greedy by nature?

I'm in my mid 30's and I have the opposite view to you. I love Ireland. I have lived in UK, US and Australia for fairly long periods and I would definitely say Ireland is a much better place to live. My wife is not Irish and she would agree. In fact it was her idea to move back to Ireland.
You are expecting too much too soon. Some people in life are lucky and they get handed advantages. Others (like me) have to work for it. You need to start small. All you want is a "job I can support myself on, a little car and an affordable living space".
First get the job. There are plenty of jobs out there, regardless of what people might say. I work in Galway and on the walk into town this morning I saw at least four shops looking for staff.
You need to take any job and then start looking upwards. You cannot expect things to be handed to you on a plate.

It wasnt me123

Talula123 wrote: »

Im almost 30, I have a degree and havnt worked in so long i'm pretty much unemployable due to not being able to get a job, i've done job courses, have applied to hundreds of jobs, got one interview 6 months ago for a CE scheme that was falsely advertised. I cant afford to learn how to drive, everythings so expensive and everyone I know my age and older is still living with their parents or managed to find work abroad. Its impossible to get started in life here. Not asking for much, just a job I can support myself on, a little car and an affordable living space. Public transport costs are through the roof, familys going homeless everyday of the week, public health is a mess, medical cards being cut while doctor visits and prescriptions are extortionate prices. Ive lived in major cities outside of Ireland that were cheaper than here. 1.50 for metro tickets and buses, 20/30 euro doctor and hospital visits and cheaper housing.
Where's the recovery? Is Ireland just greedy by nature?

When was the last time you worked? What field was it in. You sound like someone who now has a degree and expects a job. Life doesn't work like that, you might have a bit of growing up to do. What about volunteering with SdeP or Simon Community, etc. Its a great way to make contacts and looks good on a CV. You aren't just sitting at home on the dole, you are contributing to your community - employers look favourable on that, I know that from personal experience. Were you working while you got your degree? Get someone to have a look at your CV or your initial letter to employers, you might not be presenting yourself in the best light. Try getting practice with interview questions to give you confidence when applying face to face for jobs.

No real excuse for not working now - I live in rural Ireland and I've seen staff wanted notices on café/pub windows - cheer up, put a smile on your face and try and try again. Best of luck with your job hunting.

JustShon

seamus wrote: »

OP, you've got a degree in fine art and all you want to do is be an art teacher.

Where does OP say this? I think I missed it. Or were you just using fine art and art teacher as examples to represent what you think OP's attitude to job-seeking is?

SEPT 23 1989

Have you ever had a job OP?

anotherfinemess

All over Europe good people your age with degrees are working as waiters, carers, shop assistants, in call centres. Why don't you do the same? I have met plenty of Europeans who come here to do these sort of jobs because our minimum wage is a whopping €9+, unlike in Greece or Spain where its at least half that. If they can do that, so can you. Good luck.

Senna

Talula123 wrote: »

Never said anything was beneath me, if you read the post you'd see i said ive applied for hundreds of jobs including CE schemes.

Well maybe you need to stop blaming the country and accept that maybe you are the problem.

JustShon

JustShon wrote: »

Where does OP say this? I think I missed it. Or were you just using fine art and art teacher as examples to represent what you think OP's attitude to job-seeking is?

In other threads the OP has said s/he is a graduate in fine arts from Sligo IT and has worked 6 or 7 years towards becoming an arts teacher.

JustShon

Deleted User wrote: »

In other threads the OP has said s/he is a graduate in fine arts from Sligo IT and has worked 6 or 7 years towards becoming an arts teacher.

Ahh ok, thanks for the info.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Instead of whinging and moaning about how life owes you your own car and house, how about getting out and make it happen for yourself? I'm younger than you, I'm self sufficient and have a very comfortable life. Because I make things happen for myself. There were no jobs in the town im from willing to pay me in line with my experience, or willing to give full time contracts so I commute about 1.5 hours each way every single day.

Time to suck it up, find a job in a different area and stop expecting opportunities to drop from the sky onto your lap. Nobody owes you a living.

Polo_Mint

Can you not apply for any of there roles?

http://visualartists.ie/category/jobs-ops/jobvac/

Tipsy McSwagger

Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »

I love Ireland I just hate the moany pricks who have nothing good to say about our great little country.

+1 best place in the world to live, aside from the moaners of course....

seamus

A family friend is a musician. Has been since he was 12. All he wants to do is play music professionally. He's now in his mid-30's.

He is the most dour individual. He actually does teach music. In a public school. But he hates it. Constantly talking about jacking it in, going doing (another) master's or Ph.D. When all he really wants to do is gig.

That's fine. Aspirations are great to have. But when you talk to him, it's all about how the economy is fncked, how nobody can get a job because taxes and big business are screwing people over, and politicians destroying the health service and charging for water are making people's lives miserable.

In reality he's miserable because he has refused to accept his lot in life and work towards making it better and instead allows his happiness to be sacrificed by chasing a dream. He sees his friends all doing well and having decent salaries and feels its unfair. He doesn't see his own actions as being in any way related to his low income. Just society screwing him over.

frozenfrozen

If you add value to a business you get paid. If someone else can add the same value as you for less pay, they'll get the job. Why would someone with no experience after college get a job? Everyone has a degree now, and anyone who doesn't have one probably has years of working experience which is worth more than a degree as long as you can get your foot in the door.

a part from the clickbait title, you can't help but feel a bit bad for OP. It isn't right for so many to be encouraged and walked into it in regards higher level education for art (or indeed anything where a degree is less important than just being good at it), where leaving school to do some hard work is seen less impressive than 4 years of art only to be left unemployable afterwards.

There should be a module on every art course about how to get a job afterwards.
So many go through the 4 years and then panic when they can't just hand in their magic job certificate.
Highly sexist, maybe, but it seems only some guys are doing graphic design nixers their entire way through the 4 years of art, and actually have some job connections by the end of it. The girls not so much. At least I've only ever come across male business cards or emails asking if there was any design work needing doing. My sister did fine art/ print for 4 years and decided she wanted to do art therapy. Never made a business card or blog or etsy / ebay / whatever else kind of shop for selling her art, because she was set on getting her job afterwards.

Now she's not above barwork because that's what she has been doing for the past few years since finishing.
But there are a lot of other people from her year who fell into the same trap.

Even the very talented ones seem to have developed this attitude where they only display and sell their work in galleries, rather than actually working at it every day selling their talent as a business

Nobody works in a creative field without having to have a bit of the gift of the gab and not mind putting themselves out there looking for work constantly.

Someone doing arts then looking for a cushy semi-state job, yeah, that's not going to be your first job straight out of college. How about working a normal job and doing your own art classes at the weekend or looking to volunteer doing art therapy with a local charity. That'll look better than 'got a degree in 2008, did sweet **** all in the mean time' on your CV

maudgonner

OP, if you have a fine arts degree, have you looked into self-employment?

Rather than give out about how nobody will give you a job, why not try to make one for yourself? Of all the sectors, arts & crafts has a huge potential to generate your own income, even if you have to start small-scale and build it up.

I'd echo what others have said - there are jobs out there, maybe not in what you've trained for, maybe not in your home town. Take the first job you can find. If nobody will give you one for lack of experience, then get experience in a voluntary role. Re-adjust your expectations little, and accept that you may have to put in a few years of slog to build up to the job you really want, and you might surprise yourself in what you learn along the way.

beach_walker

Keep your head up OP. I hope something comes along for you.

I know it's easy to fall into anger but all things considered Ireland is one of the best countries in the world and I don't think we should forget that.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

12Phase

Fine arts degrees are very, very specific and you'd find employment challenges all over the world with those qualifications. It's absolutely not something specific to Ireland.

You might need to look at maybe adding management experience (even through retail) and seeing if you can maybe sidle into arts administration type roles. Adding a management or marketing qualification (a short one) might be very helpful too.

There are art based jobs out there but they're few and far between and during economic downturns arts funding always dries up from state and private sources.

You'd also need to be an active member of every festival, project, theatre group etc etc to ensure you're aware of opportunities.

Other than that maybe do a teaching qualification and become an art teacher or maybe see about setting up some kind of art related business - as stated above a lot of artists are self employed.

There are also potentially contracts and freelance things you can do as an artist.

Knex*

seamus wrote: »

A family friend is a musician. Has been since he was 12. All he wants to do is play music professionally. He's now in his mid-30's.

He is the most dour individual. He actually does teach music. In a public school. But he hates it. Constantly talking about jacking it in, going doing (another) master's or Ph.D. When all he really wants to do is gig.

That's fine. Aspirations are great to have. But when you talk to him, it's all about how the economy is fncked, how nobody can get a job because taxes and big business are screwing people over, and politicians destroying the health service and charging for water are making people's lives miserable.

In reality he's miserable because he has refused to accept his lot in life and work towards making it better and instead allows his happiness to be sacrificed by chasing a dream. He sees his friends all doing well and having decent salaries and feels its unfair. He doesn't see his own actions as being in any way related to his low income. Just society screwing him over.

Uncle of mine is a musician. All he ever wanted to do, but for years he worked away in the Post Office, and other jobs around Dublin city, and would wander out on his lunch break, guitar in hand, and start busking.

He's in his 50s now, but in the last 10 years or so he has been able to do music full time, but not without a great deal of effort, work, and sacrifice. And all off his own back.

The big change according to him, was realising that if he wanted to just play music all the time, he would have to drop some of his ideals and play the gigs he didn't exactly want to, do the tourist pub crawls, give guitar lessons even though he never wanted to be a teacher. He dropped everything else, and just threw himself 100% into it.

He basically works crazy hours, doing all sorts, and while its not what he had in mind in his 20s, he's far happier than he was during the years he spent in the GPO. He earns his living with his guitar in his hand.

While its great in some ways to people stick totally to their ideals and convictions, sometimes you have to wonder if naivety it at play, especially when you're talking about a livelihood.

There's a few musicians I know that are moping around waiting for the perfect scenario to come along, when they need to get out there and graft if they want to earn a living through music. Alternatively, there's an artist I know from college and that's his only job, art. All because he does everything from comics, commissioned drawings, to painting up run down parts of the city, and pushing it all through social media.

For some, the realisation that they have to do the crap they don't want to do now, in order to later on have the privilege to solely do what they want, just hasn't hit them yet. You can't rely on others for these niche careers.

RobertKK

Ireland is one of the best countries in the world to live, if you think Ireland is bad, you would then have to wonder how bad are other countries who rank below us for standards of living.
Ireland is in joint 6th place in the Human development Index which takes into account standards of living.
For 2016, Ireland is listed as number 7 for the best place on the planet to live.

We can all look at the negatives in our lives and expect things to change, but you have to make things change for yourself. If something is not working for oneself, then one can either blame something external and that may be the case in some circumstances, but sometimes the blame is pointed in the wrong direction, it can be hard to look at oneself and say 'maybe the blame lies here and it is I who need to change and make things happen.

the_syco

Talula123 wrote: »

Im almost 30, I have a degree and havnt worked in so long i'm pretty much unemployable due to not being able to get a job, i've done job courses

What's the degree in?

maudgonner

12Phase wrote: »

There are art based jobs out there but they're few and far between and during economic downturns arts funding always dries up from state and private sources.

Absolutely. I have friends who are (what would perceived from the outside) very successful in fields of the arts/media: actors, tv presenters and journalists who would be seen on national TV regularly.

They all have side-jobs to pay the bills. Voiceover work, translation work, teaching part-time classes, you name it. I'm sure they would rather not have to do it, but that's the reality of the situation. There aren't enough full-time jobs that will pay the bills. You have to compromise, be flexible and make money where you can. There are some 'cushy' jobs in arts administration, but they're few and far between, and you certainly won't just walk into one.