Soooo.... I got fired

I have TWO... count them ONE, TWO freaking degrees and I got fired today from my 'stand by' job that I was doing while looking for a proper job. 

WTH is up with that? 

I don't know, but trust me....you are FAR from alone. Hang in there! Something is bound to fall through.

I hope so :(

I'm so sorry. I know a lot of people who are going through very tough times, or their parents are having trouble getting them through college.

Can I ask what your two degrees are? Just curious! :)

Original Post by muttlover:

I'm so sorry. I know a lot of people who are going through very tough times, or their parents are having trouble getting them through college.

Can I ask what your two degrees are? Just curious! :)

Possibly the 2 most pointless degrees on the face of the earth:

Bachelor of Music with Honours (Voice Performance)

Bachelor of Arts (German)

What reasoning did they give you for firing you?  I mean, whether you have 2 degrees or not - if you're swearing at customers or throwing food at your boss you're more than likely to get fired ;)

Original Post by samantha81:

What reasoning did they give you for firing you?  I mean, whether you have 2 degrees or not - if you're swearing at customers or throwing food at your boss you're more than likely to get fired ;)

HAHAHA I WISH!!!

It had a 4 month probation period and the managers would pass/fail you after each month.  Obviously if you get a fail then you're outta there.  This was my last pass/fail.  Official reason for not passing this month was that I was not meeting targets.  Ummmm.... Hello, I was meeting them all the other months... so no idea really what their reasoning was. I'm just majorly p****d because I felt like I lowered myself to do the job then have to suffer the ignominy of being fired.  

The worst part?  The job was a **** telemarketing job. UH-HUH.  I lowered my standards THAT much.

I am just SO p****d right now.

What kind of job have you been looking for? Music jobs such as teaching are in very low demand because many public schools are cutting their music departments due to budget cuts.

German is a different story. I'm not sure how qualified you have to be, but have you thought of being a German translator? My friend is studying Chinese in school in hopes to become a Chinese translator. They are actually paid pretty well for just listening and translating.

You could also look into German teaching jobs.

I totally understand why you'd be "p****d" right now!  It takes a lot of pride-swallowing to lower yourself to do a job just because you need something to pay the bills with, and it would be even more frustrating not to be given a valid reason for being let go.

Perhaps you should have thrown food at your boss ;)

Original Post by muttlover:

What kind of job have you been looking for? Music jobs such as teaching are in very low demand because many public schools are cutting their music departments due to budget cuts.

German is a different story. I'm not sure how qualified you have to be, but have you thought of being a German translator? My friend is studying Chinese in school in hopes to become a Chinese translator. They are actually paid pretty well for just listening and translating.

You could also look into German teaching jobs.

Well I'd like to find a job to do with music, although not necessarily teaching.  I'm looking for jobs already.  No point wallowing... but I so wanna stuff my face with chocolate right now.  Reaaallly trying hard not to. :(

Original Post by singing_girl:

Original Post by samantha81:

What reasoning did they give you for firing you?  I mean, whether you have 2 degrees or not - if you're swearing at customers or throwing food at your boss you're more than likely to get fired ;)

HAHAHA I WISH!!!

It had a 4 month probation period and the managers would pass/fail you after each month.  Obviously if you get a fail then you're outta there.  This was my last pass/fail.  Official reason for not passing this month was that I was not meeting targets.  Ummmm.... Hello, I was meeting them all the other months... so no idea really what their reasoning was. I'm just majorly p****d because I felt like I lowered myself to do the job then have to suffer the ignominy of being fired.  

The worst part?  The job was a **** telemarketing job. UH-HUH.  I lowered my standards THAT much.

I am just SO p****d right now.

Because if they'd passed you they'd have to hire you and pay you slightly more per hour than if they get a new motivated trainee for 4 months to string along until that last performance review. The telemarketing industry is notorious for the churn rate of their "trainees" because having a staff of mostly trainees on probation is a lot cheaper than having employees.

You have two very unmarketable degrees though. My friend also has a degree in German (and Geography or History... can't remember which). Needless to say, she's not working in either field. 

That sucks since music is one of the hardest degrees.  One of my friends is in it right now and I'm just hoping that all the personal connections he is making will land him something.

Original Post by alibsam:

You have two very unmarketable degrees though. My friend also has a degree in German (and Geography or History... can't remember which). Needless to say, she's not working in either field. 

Yeah wish I'd had someone tell me that about 5 years ago. Sigh.

haha I've got a degree in Psychology. It's equally useless. That's why I'm headed back to grad school in a few months. 

But for quality translating jobs you typically need to know more than just 1 foreign language. I have a friend who speaks Arabic, French, Spanish, English, Korean and Japanese fluently (she's 27 or 28). Now she's at the Uni of Tokyo getting her master's in translating. Perhaps pick up another language then get a translating degree?

They just didnt' want to hire you and pay you more and probably benefits when they can get another temp person.  Highschool german teacher? translator? If you have no strings attached you can to to germany and teach english at there schools - they pay you, find you a place to live and it's fun. My son did it for the jet program - Japanese english teaching - for a year in japan. Good luck with the music thing are you willing to move?  good luck.

Teaching English in Asia is infinitely easier than in Europe. Because of EU visa laws they typically only hire from the UK and Ireland. I've been in Korea for more than 2 years teaching... I tried to go to Europe initially though. I also had teaching experience beforehand. 

Regardless of the types of jobs you're looking for, if you're not willing to move, you're really hurting yourself in the job search.  Engineers have a hard time finding jobs right now - even licensed ones.  Everyone is having a hard time regardless of your background.  With a not-so-marketable degree, you HAVE to be willing to relocate.  The competition for jobs is much fiercer b/c of the number of people looking.

I wish you the best of luck.

Original Post by singing_girl:

Possibly the 2 most pointless degrees on the face of the earth:

Bachelor of Music with Honours (Voice Performance)

Bachelor of Arts (German)

 Psst...you're supposed to go to grad school when you study the humanities, silly.

Original Post by alibsam:

Teaching English in Asia is infinitely easier than in Europe. Because of EU visa laws they typically only hire from the UK and Ireland. I've been in Korea for more than 2 years teaching... I tried to go to Europe initially though. I also had teaching experience beforehand. 

Indeed.  EU laws dictate that employers must favor EU citizens before hiring people from outside the EU.  Until I got married, it was impossible to find a job (because it was impossible to get a work visa). 

Original Post by kbella24:

Original Post by alibsam:

Teaching English in Asia is infinitely easier than in Europe. Because of EU visa laws they typically only hire from the UK and Ireland. I've been in Korea for more than 2 years teaching... I tried to go to Europe initially though. I also had teaching experience beforehand. 

Indeed.  EU laws dictate that employers must favor EU citizens before hiring people from outside the EU.  Until I got married, it was impossible to find a job (because it was impossible to get a work visa). 

 Wow.  Their needs for our green cards and our needs for their work visas must lead to all sorts of warped marriages-for-convenience on both sides of The Pond, then.