Help me escape this shitty career and better my life

[Tellenbach]

School is virtually out of the picture for that reason, combined with the fact that degrees are costly and less valuable these days.

There are many online certification programs and associate degrees (e.g. paralegal, medical transcription) that you can do from home. Good luck.

[prplchknz]

what about an online degree i don't mean one of those online only schools (those are scams) but i mean like my school is a brick and mortar school with a good reputation (austin peay) and they offer all classes online as well as in person. and a lot of universities do these days as well.sorry for not better advice.

[Grand Admiral Crunch]

In your situation, I'd be looking for a place to work that had a lot of wealthy men (hospital maybe) and marry one of them. That's just me though.

[Ravenetta]

This is just one specific thing to throw out there...

Would your be interested in being a legal assistant/secretary? There are some 'entry level' positions in the field that pay in the neighborhood of $25K. There would be an initial learning curve, but it might be a pragmatic thing to learn about the law incidentally. I don't know if they require an office related degree, the ones I just looked at didn't seem to though.

This will sound funny I suppose, but you "look" like someone who works in a law office to me. You do have a good professional, attractive look. A job with a receptionist component would see that as a strength and advantage, but I don't know if it would pay enough.

[Edgar]

It's no secret that I dislike my job as a dog groomer. It's been 12 long years and the stress of it never gets easier. It's physically demanding, and I don't think I can tolerate more than a couple more years. Emotionally, I am spent. I just really need to reduce stress in my life, and getting a new job seems the easiest change.

Easy is subjective though. I have no marketable experience simply because of the fact that I have been doing this for so long. I also have no degree. I do have a 4.0, but no one is going to give a fuck if I didn't even graduate. I am in the middle of applying for a new job, one that involves providing support for those living with HIV/AIDS. It is entry level, but given the competitive nature of the market, I really have no "edge" to speak of.

Does anyone have any tips on sculpting an eye-catching cover letter when the applicant lacks direct experience? I read a few articles for pointers, but perhaps someone here is involved in hiring, or perhaps someone has had success in making such a career change.

It's either that, or it's time to sell a kidney

prostitute myself.

.

When it comes to hiring people, employers are paranoid about getting a "cat in the bag", i.e. hiring someone they don't know. They would much rather hire a half qualified, semi retarded applicant who was referred by somebody, because it alleviates their anxiety about dealing with the unknown, and also gives them the ability to blame someone (aside from themselves) if things go awry with the new hire.

TL;DR ask all your employed friends if their place is hiring, and if so, ask them to put in a good word for you.

[Forever_Jung]

When it comes to hiring people, employers are paranoid about getting a "cat in the bag", i.e. hiring someone they don't know. They would much rather hire a half qualified, semi retarded applicant who was referred by somebody, because they it alleviates their anxiety about dealing with the unknown, and also gives them the ability to blame someone (aside from themselves) if things go awry with the new hire.

TL;DR ask all your employed friends if their place is hiring, and if so, ask them to put in a good word for you.

As someone who is now involved with hiring at my work, I would like to second this tip. I was surprised to discover that "the brass" prefers mediocre past employees/friends of current employees, to promising new candidates. I have actually begun fabricating personal knowledge about candidates I liked, just to bolster my case for hiring them.

Also, resumes matter less than you might think (at certain places).

[Grand Admiral Crunch]

I was a little surprised that your salary was that low. I took my dog some place once to get it groomed and they spent an hour on it. They charged $45 for that, and then there's a tip on top of that. So it just seemed like that might be better pay.

Are you getting annual raises? Depending on the company, sometimes you can ask for more money and get it. I've done it before. I know you eventually want a better job, but i don't think it could hurt to tell your current place that you want more money. You were voted best dog groomer in your area. That ought to be worth more than the pay that the average dog groomer gets, I would think.

[Peter Deadpan]

I was a little surprised that your salary was that low. I took my dog some place once to get it groomed and they spent an hour on it. They charged $45 for that, and then there's a tip on top of that. So it just seemed like that might be better pay.

Are you getting annual raises? Depending on the company, sometimes you can ask for more money and get it. I've done it before. I know you eventually want a better job, but i don't think it could hurt to tell your current place that you want more money. You were voted best dog groomer in your area. That ought to be worth more than the pay that the average dog groomer gets, I would think.

Groomers typically make a commission rate of 50-60%, and you'd be surprised how few people tip, or the amount they tip.

I do have the option to work more hours as I hover around 32 hours per week, but physically/mentally, I honestly don't think I could handle it at this point (health issues, etc). However, this is one of the motivators to starting my own salon. I think I'd enjoy having the freedom of being my own boss and grooming only what I want to groom until eventually I don't need to groom at all (if that's even a possibility).

They also undercharge at this location, and I have little control over that. Most small dogs are $40 here. A goldendoodle starts at $75; elsewhere in the country, they'd start at $100.

[Grand Admiral Crunch]

Groomers typically make a commission rate of 50-60%, and you'd be surprised how few people tip, or the amount they tip.

I do have the option to work more hours as I hover around 32 hours per week, but physically/mentally, I honestly don't think I could handle it at this point (health issues, etc). However, this is one of the motivators to starting my own salon. I think I'd enjoy having the freedom of being my own boss and grooming only what I want to groom until eventually I don't need to groom at all (if that's even a possibility).

They also undercharge at this location, and I have little control over that. Most small dogs are $40 here. A goldendoodle starts at $75; elsewhere in the country, they'd start at $100.

Ooooh. I'd just skimmed your posts and misunderstood. I thought you were making less than you are. I guess what you have would be hard to beat. That'd be really cool if you had your own business.

[Tomb1]

i am favorable towards the idea. the experience is already there. stuff like advertising and location would be the issue....I don't know the particular clientele but would assume that low cost, standard-sized ads in color would be effective for a small-sized dog grooming business. 30,000 placemats inside a family-style restaurant would hit the client base daily and only run in the ballpark of 225 every five or six months, as an example. Local papers are usually run by one outfit so it might be a monthly charge for a 12-month period on papers that hit two or three nearby towns (usually front page ads are a separate rate, 200-225 ime)...the deals are pretty reasonable. And if the location is not too far some of the dog-owners now will probably follow....word-of-mouth referrals is the best advertising and costs nothing... infiltrating social networks that directly or indirectly involve rich people with dogs would be effective. I don't even think it would be hard finding an investor if start-up cash was an issue...the knowledge and experience is a big plus for easing typical investor concerns.