I want to quit my job...

[Ordengate]

If you want laid back, try drafting. AutoCAD is easy as hell to learn, starting pay around $10.00/hr, and only goes up from there depending on what field you get into. Most trade schools also offer drafting, and as a bonus, will hook you up with a vocational job. I just got myself a $3/hr raise two weeks ago. All I do every day is listen to headphones and draw.

[Yabby]

My ability to take shit is about as close to zero as humanly possible. If someone is being a rude asshole / bitch to a waiter/waitress in my vicinity I'll instruct them to shut the fuck up even if it doesn't affect me.

I don't do well working with other people, lol.

When i was one i will admit i would bite my tongue because... well i needed a job. Now a days nothing makes my day more than seeing some ass-hole get bitchy with a waiter/ess/retail person. The 2 years waiting tables, and 4 years in retail come out all at once and it is fun to do. It also has its good points, one of my favorite restaurants i never have to wait anymore because i will go off on anyone being an ass.

[takethistoyourgrave]

Retail is crap. I worked in retail for about 3-4 years before I couldn't take it anymore, and for the most part, I worked with some pretty awesome people. The idiot customers are what did it for me.

I feel pretty lucky because I've never been out of a job (besides certain times during my undergrad when I didn't want/need to work). Was lucky to start working as part-time at my current job ~6 months before graduating, and then moved right into my position once I got my degree. Incredibly fortunate to be here.

[Meresgi]

If you want laid back, try drafting. AutoCAD is easy as hell to learn, starting pay around $10.00/hr, and only goes up from there depending on what field you get into. Most trade schools also offer drafting, and as a bonus, will hook you up with a vocational job. I just got myself a $3/hr raise two weeks ago. All I do every day is listen to headphones and draw.

They still use AutoCAD? I thought Autodesk inventor or w/e the fuck it was called was taking over. AutoCAD was fun as hell though when I took classes in it back in the day, wish I had taken a few more to become really good at it, though I did ace both classes I took, such an easy program to use.

[Ordengate]

They still use AutoCAD? I thought Autodesk inventor or w/e the fuck it was called was taking over. AutoCAD was fun as hell though when I took classes in it back in the day, wish I had taken a few more to become really good at it, though I did ace both classes I took, such an easy program to use.

Obviously it depends on what field you're in / going to be in. Inventor and Solidworks have generally taken over the mechanical drafting field now with AutoCAD used where people haven't gotten smart enough to upgrade. Architectural and Architectural Engineering AutoCAD Architecture and AutoCAD MEP are still leading, with Revit quickly taking over. I give it about 5 years before that happens though, as Revit MEP is a total turd right now.

The beautiful thing about AutoCAD to me though is the ability to completely change how it functions through CUI modifications and LISP/VB programming. There isn't one aspect that hasn't changed from the OOTB version in my office through LISP routines.

[Syntex]

Catia V5 is all the rage in Michigan for the big 3.

[Theraven]

I'm in the same situation as the OP and had all but decided to move back across the country and go back to school, leaving my soul-sucking food service management job behind for the unknown. Some of you don't realize that being thankful for having a job and hating the job you have aren't mutually exclusive. I detest my job, it makes me want to kill myself multiple times a day having to work with idiot/rude customers and lazy employees but there isn't a lot out there right now so I bite my tongue and deal with it. I've been there for 3 years now and I honestly don't know how much I can take, I feel like every day I go in and a little part of my soul is sucked out, it's absolutely miserable. As miserable as I am though, my greatest fear is leaving behind a job that pays the bills (barely) to go back to school and then graduating and having no job offers, essentially quitting my job and putting myself further in debt with nothing to show for it. It's really a dilemma and I'm now re-thinking my plan. I desperately want to get out of this industry (even though I am one of those people with 10 years of management experience in a retail/food service environment) but I just haven't found anything I'm passionate about or really want to study, so I can't make a long term plan. I'm still in that highschool mindset of "I don't know what I want to do but I've got plenty of time in college to figure it out" only it's 10 years later and I still don't know what I want to do. It's very frustrating and I feel like if I don't do something soon I'll end up stuck in this rut forever.

[Killgannon]

I know retail sucks, and I'd only go back on extremely special circumstances (dispensary), but it's a job. My days at my current job (tech support for a pharmaceutical) are numbered. We lost the contract, so as of Nov. 1 I'm unemployed again. Joy. At least I can get unemployment at that time til I find something new. Stick with what you have and hit the market in your free time. Once you find something, gtfo. I hear food service makes a bunch, but its very stressful. I personally, have never done it, but I've had a lot of friends who did.

[Alvein]

I worked retail for almost four years while getting my bachelors, left for Peace Corps for two years, came back this May, and have been applying for other almost all other types of work (no commission-based sales) with little success. I've started applying for retail positions in hopes of getting on for the winter.

I hated working retail, but when you don't have connections in other jobs it's really a challenge. There's also 14% unemployment in the county I live in. So everything is extremely competitive.

I'd rather apply for jobs while I'm already working in hopes that maybe having an employed status will help my chances. I used to think there was shame in working retail, but honestly, I don't there are enough good jobs (non retail, non sales, salary above 30k/yr) to go around right now if you're entry level with a bachelors, so I've been lowering my standards gradually as my search progresses.

[Zoolander]

You have a BA and two years in the peace corps, why the hell wouldnt you use those two to get into a good MA program? Peace corps puts you on the inside track for grad school lol, that is the biggest practical benefit of doing it. Or gtfo of that shitty county and try for an NGO or government job, it almost doesnt even matter what your BA was in. You have options that exceed some piece of shit retail job.

[Sanoske]

Retail isn't such a bad job if you have any patience and/or actually enjoy working with customers. I've worked at Express for going on 3 years now, got promoted to Sales Lead (like 3rd tier manager... SL > Co-Mngr > Store Manager) when I finished up school this past spring. I'm also working at Solstice as a keyholder. I only make $9.50/hr at Solstice but its only 2-3 shifts a week. At Express I'm making $13.25/hr which isn't horrible... that works out to around 28k/year at full time.

I know that co-managers with Express (in my area) make 40k/yr and a competent store manager will make 65k/yr, two positions which are not far out of reach for me. I could easily be a co-manager within a year if positions open up. At 24, I would be more than content with 40k/yr. My friend just left Express to work at Metro Park and he got bumped to 46k/yr as a co-manager.

Work in retail for a while and you will build connections if you are at all good at your job. That opens the way for higher paying jobs and other opportunities if you can stand retail. It's all about finding the right company... smaller companies pay dick, but a high volume store like Express pays pretty well.

(It also helps when you're an Anthropology major and have no use for the degree other than being able to say you have a degree. Going to end up going to grad school for business/marketing or something like that.)

[notorious bum]

If the OP lived in Connecticut, chances are he wouldn't be bitching as hard. Your experiences in retail sounds like a fairytale in comparison down here lol

In contrast, my last interview for a shitty retail job landed me in a group session at the foodcourt with 10 other people competing for a minimum wage, 15-20hr/week position. Sweet.

[Sanoske]

Fair enough. I know the job market here is dream-like compared to most of the country. But you'd be surprised how many people I hear bitching about job hunting though.

On the flip side, most of the associates at Express are getting paid almost minimum wage and working less than 15 hrs a week on average. The only reason I got promoted/more hours was because I busted ass at work, present well, and have a knack(read: patience) for customer service and sales. (Also, having an eye for fashion helps.) I made myself into someone that the management looked to every single time they needed something done.

Also... I've almost quit a dozen times due to low hours post-holiday, bad streaks for the company giving us limited payroll, horrible managers, sick to death of retail, etc. I just managed to stick it out since I didn't want to find another job to work around school, and it happened to get me somewhere ok that looks good on a resume.

[notorious bum]

Props to you for sticking it out then. I'd likely be doing the same thing and be carving my name in the retail counters if I had the chance today. Only reason why I'm not working retail like its my career is due to both my former retail companies folding.

Some people gotta realize just how cushy that job is regardless of who you work with all day. Try explaining how your job sucks to someone stuck doing day labor(when there actually is work available).

[Archangelgab]

there would be some points to take into consideration, does the OP have kids, is he single, married, country/state he is in, etc..

All of those factor in when you try to make those kinds of decisions.

if he is single and relatively young ( 20 - 30 ), he can totally land another job BUT the best way to look for a job is having a job.

if he is older ( 31- 40 ) then he pertty much needs to suck it up and ride it till he can find another one.

my case for example : 27, married, 1 daughter and finishing payments on car, half-way done on building house from scratch, you fucking hold on to that job with your nails if you have to ( i don't work retail, i'm working at a custom house broker agency and prior worked with my father at a forwarding company and worked from taking calls, driving a forklift, unloading/loading 3 mill dll heavy machinery, doing office work, classifying, taking important clients out to dinner and down to just doing nothing but hanging out at the customs bridge waiting to pay a permit on over-weight machinery and escorting it, but if it was the only option... well step the fuck aside because i will be doing anything and everything to get your job ).

Ever consider goverment jobs ? i am not a u.s citizen but if i was, down here Border Patrol is hiring and friends working there make bank and hours are good enough, sure it is hard work but hell, if given the chance, i'd totally go for border patrol.

another point to take into serious consideration, college finished ? if not, then here's hoping that you actually remember/ were good at studying/ cramming...

i KNOW i tried to do the least in college but i graduated no problem top of my class just by tests alone and working in the meantime in what i LIKE, have always been one of those people who "get stuff" with one or two reads and i am pretty much determined to do anything and everything to provide for my family, fuck everyone else.

My 2 cents anyway

[Cruzizzle]

If you want laid back, try drafting. AutoCAD is easy as hell to learn, starting pay around $10.00/hr, and only goes up from there depending on what field you get into. Most trade schools also offer drafting, and as a bonus, will hook you up with a vocational job. I just got myself a $3/hr raise two weeks ago. All I do every day is listen to headphones and draw.

This is exactly what I do. Pop in the earbuds and draw shit all day, and very rarely ever have to talk to customers, the customer service reps are the go between for me. It's nice. Thread piqued my interest since I've been contemplating quitting to go back to school. I like what I do, but it's not challenging enough for me, my brain just goes autopilot most of the day. But then it's also threads like these that make me second guess myself because I got so incredibly lucky with this job, everyone I work with is great, laid back, decent enough money, great benefits.

We also use AutoCAD primarily for the reasons you brought up. We have all kinds of LISP routines that controller 90% of our drafting that we've been using and modifying for 20+ years. Switching to anything else would be a nightmare. We use Solidworks for 3D stuff for customers, but all our in-house/production prints are centered on our acad programs.

[Omnipotent]

These are such depressing stories. I worked for Friendly's for 3 and a half years, 16 -> 19, best years of my life. Great people, chill environment and I met 5 of my best friends there. I now work for a bio/non bio metric time and attendance company ( which my uncle owns) and best buy while finishing my degree and couldn't be happier. I have high patience, so I just deal with unruly customers, and I never let anything get me down. People need to suck it up, unemployment rate is sky rocketing, be happy with the job you have.

[Fistandantilus]

I really like my Job, but I'd like to call bullshit on all the "be happy you have a job!". Just because you get a paycheck doesn't make you happy, if your job makes you miserable then is it really worth it? A happy life with no money is better than hating your life every day and not enjoying it. I worked at a large retail chain for over two years and hated every second of it. I'd prefer being unemployed than work somewhere that I hate. At least unemployed people can do something each day that makes them happy, and it isn't that hard to find a way to scrounge up a little bit of money. Obviously you can't live all your life with no steady income but at the same time I'd prefer spending another 6 months unemployed trying to find a decent job than having my soul sucked out of me piece by piece each day that I clock in at Walmart or some other massive corporation.

[notorious bum]

I'd prefer spending another 6 months unemployed trying to find a decent job

Who says that 6 months won't turn into 1, 2, 3, maybe 4 years, shit you just never know how bad it could get. This economy is stupid and one could lose their sanity wishing they weren't such a pussy and kept that job and banked instead of "taking control of their life" or some other bs positive thinking they heard on Oprah.