Don't know what to do :-(

xxJudexx

Hey guys,

Please excuse the long post!
I have a dilemma and I'd like some impartial advice.

I have been working in a retailish place in London for the past nine months. At times I really enjoy it but at others I despise it - all management treat us like children and considering I have a degree and have a great deal of common sense it is very demeaning to be spoken to like this. I also live in kent which is a 2 hour commute each way. This is incredibly draining and I hate having very little spare time.
Anyway, for the past two-ish months I have been job hunting. I went for an interview yesterday and missed a call form them at the end of he day. I'm pretty sure they will offer me the job.
My problem is that the job is a fairly basic admin job. It was advertised as requiring a graduate and that the pay was competitive.
I went to the interview and it was there they told me the rate of pay is minimum wage, I don't know how that is competitive!!

So I could take this new job which is only a commute of 1 hour each way by car and take home less money but have a little more free time or I can continue where I am and carry on looking for a more ideal job.
I'm worried that if I take this one and realise I don't like it I will have a job of only a few months on my CV which I doubt would look very good to prospective employers.
I'm also a little annoyed that this company asked specifically for graduates and still expect to pay minimum wage, surely I have gone to university and gained valuable skills which should be rewarded accordingly.

Another thing I should mention is that i care for my mum. She requires dialysis almost every day which I take in turns with my sister to do which leaves even less spare time!

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

SLITHER99

Sounds to me like you don't like where you live, you don't like your current job, you're not too pleased with one that's been offered to you (and I can empathize with your reasons) and you are in the classic state of not sure where to go after graduating.

There are plenty roles around demanding graduates but paying pants. But that's not true in every instance. What was your degree in and, more pertinent, what exactly do you want to do for a role?

Sadly, I don't know anyone who works in what they studied in, me included. I studied music wanting to be a studio engineer until the market got to the point where you could kit your own studio out for £400... right at that point, everybody was suddenly studio engineers/producers... not the first clue or real recording skills, but there you go.

My advice? If you've just graduated, I'm guessing you're young (i.e. <26). Hence, I would say to you go move back in with your Mom for a year, job hunt carefully for a professional if junior role, pay your dues, save up and then in a year or more, you'll know where you want to be, if the career you choose is right for you and you'll have some cash behind you to do whatever you need... emigrate, buy a house, raise a barn, whatever!

There! Hope that helps

[Deleted User]

I wouldn't move to a job paying minimum wage unless it was within walking distance of home and the resultant savings in travel expenditure brought it more into line with the job I was leaving. A one hour commute may be 50% less than you are doing now, but it still represents time and money.

I'd stay in your current position and continue looking elsewhere...

szam_

I have to give you credit for commuting 2 hours each way by car.

I can't give direct experience as i finished high school and attempted college a number of times until i realised it wasn't for me. So given i've gotten where i am based on work experience alone, these are just my views.

A degree, in a lot of places, means nothing, the sheer amount of people who can attain a degree these days means it's quite a diluted market. A vast amount of people i know, who just decided to work after High School or College i find on the whole are doing much better than graduates i know. Unless you're going in to teaching or fast-tracking up the ladder, the vast majority of employers just want someone who isn't an idiot and someone who can do the job or have the aptitude to do the job, flexibility in their skills and the right personality to fit in to a team.

I hate to say it, as you have clearly put a lot of effort in to your degree, but unfortunately, you can't go about with the attitude that just because you have a degree, you should have a job that reflects this. There are jobs out there for grads, with grad pay, as rare as they may be, but the competition is high. Most graduates have to start from the bottom these days and work their way up; granted, since you are a student, you could probably work your way up faster than someone like myself who hasn't been taught other skills outside of their specialisation in College and University.

So with that said, i would ask yourself the following questions;

- Is less money an issue?
- Which company has better prospects? Can you move up the ladder in either given some hard work? Once you get noticed, it's much easier to rise.
- Where do you want your career to head? Are the skills more transferable to your chosen career path in the retail job or the office admin job?

Just my opinion, i don't mean to spark a debate about whether University is pointless or not, so please don't take it that way. I did some interviewing with a previous company and this is just the attitude taken by my managers, and the attitude given off by a few interviewers, too.

Coraline

xxJudexx wrote: »

Hey guys,

I went to the interview and it was there they told me the rate of pay is minimum wage, I don't know how that is competitive!!

I used to work in HR at a massive conglomerate...what "competitive salary" REALLY means is "we won't pay you anymore based on what our competitors are paying their employees."

Jobseeeker

you could always wait til you get something more suitable. Admin is usually slightly more than min wage