Oi! Not trans, but queer, also unemployed for over 2 years now.

I used to be an econometrician, so I can tell you:

You, me?

We're not unemployed.

We are 'Not in the Labor Force'.

... we do not count towards the offical unemployment numbers.

$200k in new student loan debt.

Jesus. I'm looking at getting some additional masters degree in Spain and it's 10-14 months and 1.5-4k Euros.

managers that do the hiing like to play games and gauge response, to see if you play ball with the company, being outside the standard applicant, does have risk.

i also have considering going back as a post-bacc but because my previous degree had some setback academic wise, makes me somewhat inelgible for partial grad school.(for a niche ceritification), unsure if taking postbacc will offsett the setback. also because post-bacc is more expensive than regular undergrad class as well.

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what kind of work are you looking for?

Really depends on the college and the program. During the '08 crash, my wife left her job in insurance sales to pursue a law degree, effectively doubling her salary over three years and getting into a career she actually enjoyed.

I've seen people chase certifications that genuinely transformed their careers. EPIC certification for health care IT is a popular one right now and in high demand. Microsoft Certs have never hurt anyone career wise.

They're difficult to pursue when you're employed because they can be time consuming and mentally exhausting. So a downturn is the perfect opportunity to retrain.

And there's often big hiring waves that follow downturns, as businesses try to catch back up to normal staffing levels. We've been in a historically very low unemployment period precisely because of the sloppy COVID era layoffs revealing how critical skilled staff can be for a company's core functions

That post law school glut ain't getting any better is it

It sounds like all your experience it’s niche. But I’m an outsider.

I used to say health care was solid but there have been layoffs across the country all year. Every time the touch Medicare or Medicaid hospitals will lose income and cost cut. In addition, less insurance means less patients means less income and more layoffs.

You have died of dysentery takes on new meaning.

I wish we could just go back to schools being for people who want to learn about things, and putting employers back in charge of training their work force. Subsidizing a fucking intermediary to provide the basic ticket into the work force...who the fuck came up with that idea?

It's a stop gap, hoping for better times in the future. I did it when I had a physical disability no one could explain, so I couldn't get disability coverage much less any treatment. I ate some loans instead of living on the street or with abusive family. It sucked, but that's the US for you - if you're not making someone money, you're welcome to just go die.

nursing you would still have to burn alot of money, but the demand is there for nursing, if you can tolerate PEOPLE and bodily wastes. you can make bank depending on what you do. if one has a degree, schools will consider it as post-bacc, so the classes are MUCH MORE expensive than if you were taken as a undergrad(they upcharge it for graduates and post baccs). one should not get a 2nd degree, since schools may allow you to do that, they called "academic incest". i had former co-worker in retail, he was already in the tech field, he was delusional into trying to get another degree to do with AI(and getting a ms eventually), i told them you should just find a job in tech(beginning of pandemic)

I actually think we need more people who hate MBAs to go through the degree so we can tell whats bullshit and whats not.

i dont this applies to undergraduates. people with degrees cant find jobs in whatever field, because the job market is so poor, even before covid.

as an undergrad you would be eligible for grants, scholarships,,,etc with no cost to your own, depending if you are going to a state school, community college pipeline. going to a expensive college that isnt paid for in full would be pretty foolish, if your an older than the average college student.

AND by going into more debt. Double patriotic.

In my experience the biggest problem with physical labor is that it's boring. If you're used to finding creative solutions for complex engineering issues for work then you will not enjoy doing the same task 8 hours a day, day after day.