I feel like my parents keep gaslighting me into thinking dead end jobs are a career

needimprovement250

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I've felt this way for the past few months after leaving my most recent job. The first instance of this that I can point to is 2 years ago when I got a job at a grocery store that was a part of a union. My parents were telling me that I can make a career out of working there and that I can stay there for the rest of my life, but then I found out on my own that it really was a dead end job and that you have to be working there for well over a decade to even get promoted to full time hours. I ended up quitting after 10 months and then got a job as a line cook for a company that was involved in more things beyond food service and my parents again said the same thing, that it can be somewhere that I can build a career and work there my whole life. But i again found out that a line cook was a dead end position within that company and that the company didn't even respect their employees who did that job. I quit that job after about 6 1/2 months and my parents then tried to push me into another dead end job at a place where my dad knows one of their employees (my dad knew one of the cooks at the kitchen I worked at, that's how I got that job). I decided to break the cycle and refused to go and interview for that job, so they instead suggested that I go back to school to get a certification, which i decided to do. This certification is gonna be for gardening and agriculture, and they think that I should start my own gardening business and website after completing all of the certification programs in this course. But what do you guys think, is this a dead end too? Should I pursue something else in addition to this and if so, what should I pursue? At 29, I still live at home with them and its really holding me back, so I wanna get my finances in order so I can move out. Part of me almost thinks that this is deliberate because they're afraid to be empty nesters, so they're trying to keep me at home for longer.
 

Dr.Suave

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Get any job that allows you to survive, temporarily. Take one of those six months courses that lets you become a programmer, you will now be able to quit your dead end job and get a much better pay.
 

Billtx49

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There’s good money in the lawn and landscaping business. My son in law got trained, certified, and has a local dealership with a national brand yard maintenance company where he and two employees spray yards, public property, and lots regularly.

He buys whatever he wants, house on two acres, full size camping trailer, Harley, boat, etc.
There is No dead end with self employment if you get motivated …
Opportunities to succeed are everywhere when you decide what you want to do with your life, work for it, don’t make excuses, and your parents won’t have to tell you what to do.
 

kavi

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The idea of a career having any real value especially for men is very outdated. Do what you want that makes you happy.

Theres no such thing as a 'career' it really is just work. In reality the more you invest in a career the fewer your future options and the more you are tied in. Careers limit your freedom not add to it.

Small business and self employment doesnt have the same issues cos no one is gonna ask what you have been doing for the past 15years when you are self employed like they would in a career. In self employment you can do whatever you want.

Work/Business > Careers.

Career is a just a concept created by Capitalist elites to tie men into long term employment and subjucation, with the dream of it paying off but it is all a lie.
 

2Rocky

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Any Job is a dead end job if you don't develop the specialized skills needed to advance. Grocery store? Learn more about Logistics, Marketing and consumer behavior. It's not neccesaritly a college degree , but Professional Development.

In grocery Business... https://www.umassglobal.edu/news-and-events/blog/how-to-improve-grocery-retail-retention

In culinary business...its Culinary training like.... https://www.jobcorps.gov/train/387/hospitality/277/advanced-culinary-arts

In the Trades, it is apprenticeship programs leading to supervisor, foreman and trainer positions... https://explorethetrades.org/what-we-do/

You need to go into positions you are qualified for and find the opportunities to advance. Don't expect it to be handed to you. and don't overlook or disregard the opportunities.

My role with the company I am at has evolved. My salary is 2,5X what it was 20 years ago while the CPI is only.48x what it was when I started. I'm worth net double what I was at the start. And that took 20 years. Truth is if i had changed companies more I'd be more like 3X now, as long as I stayed in my areas of expertise.
 
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corsica

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If you don't mind working in a kitchen, you can join the steward department in a ship. You'll make $6k to $8k per month.

The department has 3 positions:
- Steward Assistant ($6k to $8k before taxes): Cleaning the galley (kitchen), cutting vegetables, fruits, washing dishes (putting in the washer).
- Cook (+$10k/month): Making lunch and dinner.
- Steward (+$12k/month): Making breakfast and ordering inventory.

Go to seafarers.org, find the closest union hall and apply. You'll need to get some documents to work like a Merchant Mariner Credential, Passport, TWIC, physical, etc. They'll tell you what to do.

You can work 4 months and take 4 months vacation. You can work the whole year if you want. You can work 3 months per year if you feel like it. It's not for everybody.
There are more departments (engine and deck) with more upside but requires more training.
 

BackInTheGame78

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Very few people work at one job the rest of their lives anymore. That is thinking from the 50s and 60s.
 

Bible_Belt

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This certification is gonna be for gardening and agriculture, and they think that I should start my own gardening business
I come from a farm family and have been a market gardener for years, and I am skeptical of your plan. There's not much money for the little guy in agriculture. If you don't have a way in, like inheriting land, it is very difficult.
 
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