Should I feel ashamed that I have no qualifications and that I'm unemployed?

[MajorFailure]

I feel worthless that I have no job or qualifications, I have none because of severe agoraphobia and I'm now trying to correct this by going back to college 2 days a week to improve my maths and English. I am not a guy who is happy unemployed. Most people my age are either at uni or they have a job, I feel embarrassed about my situation.

I always put myself down because of this, I am just desperate to do well in life! I want to make people proud of me. I am 20 now and although its great to have recovered from agoraphobia, i now have a new phobia... The worry about my future phobia.

When my mum died I still had agoraphobia,but I made her a promise that I will make her proud and because of this promise I feel guilty that I have not fulfilled the promise :/

So yeah I'm 20 unemployed, no Job, no friends, I've recovered from agoraphobia but the damage of agoraphobia has set me back years!

I'm not looking for sympathy, I recognise that there are many people who have had/have harder life's than me. I'm just looking for opinions/advice.

Thanks and I apologise if my grammar/punctuation is incorrect

 

[MikeyC]

The age of twenty is still young, mate. Now that you're free of agoraphobia, the world is your oyster.

You're going back to college, so that's a fantastic start.

There's no rule saying you have to be doing things at a certain time of your life. Everyone is different. You will get there.

 

[awkwardamanda]

That's pretty much how I feel. I have a degree but that's usually not enough to get a job. You need "experience." Good luck getting any experience when you need experience just to get experience.:kickingmyself: The only jobs I feel qualified for are easy jobs that don't require a degree but I'd still be competing against people with experience. Jobs related to my degree usually require qualifications I don't have. If I apply anyway there are likely others who are qualified so it's pointless. I'm totally ashamed of myself. I hate when people ask how my job search is going because I feel pathetic. I don't want to talk about it. My dad is a total ass about it. Everyone else seems to have bad advice for me. People don't have a clue how hard it really is. I hate meeting new people because somebody will inevitably ask me where I work. Dating is out of the question (not that I ever get the opportunity anyway) because I'm 27, unemployed, living with my parents, and overall lost in life.:sad:

 

[MajorFailure]

Amanda! You have a degree! I wish I could have a degree! And to get experience you could volunteer? I'm not sure how it works in Canada?

 

[coyote]

there are always jobs for people who are willing to do them

hitch a ride to your nearest resort area - hotels, restaurants, shops, bars, etc... they all need labor, even if it's only seasonal

every job you take gets you one step further up the ladder

no one starts off with a full resume

 

[awkwardamanda]

Amanda! You have a degree! I wish I could have a degree! And to get experience you could volunteer? I'm not sure how it works in Canada?

Sure, volunteering always looks good on a resume, but that won't necessarily get me the right type of experience for the jobs I want. Not all experience is created equally. I worked in retail for 8 years. That means nothing when a job I want to apply for requires 2 years of relevant experience.

there are always jobs for people who are willing to do them

hitch a ride to your nearest resort area - hotels, restaurants, shops, bars, etc... they all need labor, even if it's only seasonal

every job you take gets you one step further up the ladder

no one starts off with a full resume

Unfortunately, "entry level" jobs these days seem to want a full resume. They call a job "entry level" but then say 1-2 years of experience or 2+ years of experience required. How is that entry level? Jobs that someone right of high school or right out of college/university (with an appropriate degree) could be taught how to do should be considered entry level. But noooo, a data entry clerk needs 2-3 years of experience just to type all day.mg: Employers don't seem to want to train people to do straightforward tasks.

 

[MajorFailure]

It seems so much easier living in the uk! Over here we have all sorts of programmes to get people into employment, but often you need qualifications and I have none... So I will have to sort that out first.

Amanda what job do you want? And what does your degree relate to?

 

[coyote]

Unfortunately, "entry level" jobs these days seem to want a full resume. They call a job "entry level" but then say 1-2 years of experience or 2+ years of experience required. How is that entry level? Jobs that someone right of high school or right out of college/university (with an appropriate degree) could be taught how to do should be considered entry level. But noooo, a data entry clerk needs 2-3 years of experience just to type all day.mg: Employers don't seem to want to train people to do straightforward tasks.

i manage a store - i hire a new staff every summer - many have never worked retail before - i train them to do everything

most of the businesses around me do the same

it's always a bonus to find someone who has some experience, but i still have to train them to do things the way i want them to do it

what i look for in an employee is enthusiasm, a positive attitude, and the willingness to work - and a nice smile doesn't hurt

 

[awkwardamanda]

It seems so much easier living in the uk! Over here we have all sorts of programmes to get people into employment, but often you need qualifications and I have none... So I will have to sort that out first.

Amanda what job do you want? And what does your degree relate to?

I have a math degree. I would like to eventually become a data analyst, but that's not likely to happen right now. Those jobs usually require an advanced Excel user. I'm trying to learn more but I'm not going to become an expert overnight. Some also require more programming knowledge than I currently have. I'll have to try and learn some more languages in the future. So for now I'm mostly applying for administrative jobs, but most of those still require experience. I'll apply anyway if it says 1-2 years and it looks like something I could learn, but I'm still up against people who have done it before.

i manage a store - i hire a new staff every summer - many have never worked retail before - i train them to do everything

most of the businesses around me do the same

it's always a bonus to find someone who has some experience, but i still have to train them to do things the way i want them to do it

what i look for in an employee is enthusiasm, a positive attitude, and the willingness to work - and a nice smile doesn't hurt

Most people get their first jobs in retail or food service. Those industries are willing to train for most positions. But in office environments, things are different. I understand that certain positions really do require previous experience. What's frustrating though, is that many jobs appear to be trainable based on the ad, but they still say they want experience. It shouldn't be too hard to teach people to do simple administrative and clerical jobs, but employers often don't want to. A lot of new grads have this problem. Experience will always be an asset, whether the ad says so or not, but it shouldn't be a requirement for something they can easily teach. Everyone has to start somewhere. Sometimes I really wonder how anybody ever catches a break.

 

[Kiwong]

No you shouldn't.

 

[Richey]

20? Your fine. Plenty of time. There really is no time limit in this day in age because studying and university acedemia has become so trendy these days. As long as you get some work experience, some full time, part time, casual, whatever. Just try that out first. You'll get into something related to your career studies eventually.

There are alot of variants when it comes to people and jobs/careers. I know some people who were happy to travel in their 20s and they worked odd jobs to save up, and then they'd travel again. So they lived an adventure.

I had a friend, very intelligent and funny, was happy working in a factory and didn't want to be a supervisor, was just happy with a basic role in the company. Of course if you spoke to him you'd provbably think how that is possible.

Then you have very career minded people who start right out of Uni and the ones with real confidence and a bit of ego tend to keep going. But there are many that don't as well.

You also have people who change industries after a few years.

I've seen resumes of really smart people who had worked as cleaners or as traffic controllers for years.

So there just seems to be alot of those unique individual situations going on. I also think that sometimes careers/jobs can simply be opportunities depending where you live. So what services and production goes on around your area, do you have to travel far to get the work you are after. You know, lots of variables exist for people.

 

[dangermouse]

You still young. You have plenty of time

 

[spearhunter]

hey , you are not the only one, welcome to the club

 

[rosewood]

don't kick yourself. you have had to deal with things lots of people have not. you are overcoming and adapting. you are making progress. the advice others have already given here is very good. just keep "swimming".

 

[Steiner]

Feels like i'm reading about myself except I haven't overcome my agoraphobia. I am 20 also.

:ironicsmile:

 

[Modam]

Congratulations on going back to school part time! Baby steps, you'll get there. You're only 20! 20 may not seem young to you but from where I'm standing you have your whole life ahead of you, and a lot can happen in just a few years.

As for advice, TAKE YOUR TIME and explore where your talents are and what you're interested in. I went straight to college and I wish I'd spent more time figuring what I'm best suited for. You may feel like you're behind, but you have your whole life to figure it out, just try to enjoy the ride!