So poor and jobs are impossible.

[BellaJessica]

I am increasingly getting down about my life. Today i have finally realised how poor i am. I earn £5000 a year working 14 hours a week in a job that was supposed to increase in hours but 2 years later and 3 new people later they are actually trying to get rid of me instead. I am applying to other jobs and just not hearing back from them at all. I have a degree in the arts and even jobs i would be great at wont accept me due to no experience or less than 2 years experience in that field. I think this is just a rant really. I have no savings and a big loan (£1,000). I can pay the loan off in time but its depressing isnt it? I live with my dm now and she works short hours so we get by but neither of us have savings or free money to do much. Just need to spend hours job searching again until someone accepts me.

Rocinante1 thanks for clarifying. Standard grades and Highers - those were the days! I did maths up until 5th year as it was compulsory and I believe it still should be. Maths shows problem solving and a good level of competency.

I wasn't meaning you could earn money writing novels, I was using my experience to illustrate that, if you HAVE to, it doesn't matter if you're naturally a creative person, sometimes you have to stand behind a till eight hours a day to pay the bills. Might be not your chosen job, (it's not mine!), but bills need to be paid!

how long have you been in this current job?

How about getting some work experience in the areas you’d like to work? There are plenty of agencies around the NW who do comms, PR etc and use copywriters, or there are still lots of local papers and magazines.
If you’re currently working 14 hours a week you could offer a day a week to do that, to boost your CV and make useful contacts in the industry.
No-one really wants to work for free but at this stage in your career I think we all have. It’s how you get your foot in the door.

Op, what course did you do without a GCSE in maths?

Everyone who is advising OP to become a copy-editor/proofreader - why do you think someone could just walk into a job like this? They are professional roles requiring training and an excellent knowledge of spelling and grammar.

You also need to be able to run your own business, market yourself, find clients... hundreds of people join SfEP each year hoping to make a living editing/proofreading, and many of them give up.

You wouldn’t advise people to become a doctor and go on Fiverr, so why advise someone to become an editor? Ffs.

Op, decide what you want to do. Focus. Look for council-run job fairs, ask a literate friend to proofread your cv, get a book out of the library on applying for jobs.

How about applying for this? www.brookstreet.co.uk/job/hpjp00080478-uk-ito-service/warrington/271623928.html No experience required.

And yes, tailor your CV and cover letter for every single application. May as well wipe your backside with it if you don’t. Some great advice online on how to write a great CV and cover letter.

Tbh with care work experience I don't understand how you can't get a care job in Liverpool, which is easily commutable distance from Warrington? I live in Liverpool and there are constantly tons of care vacancies here that don't require any experience whatsoever as they're so desperate for staff. Liverpool, and I guess Manchester too, are both easily within commutable distance for you in Warrington and there are lots of minimum wage-paying, entry-level jobs in both cities that with your experience in retail and care should definitely enable you to find a job. I know you don't want to work in care but short term surely beggars can't be choosers and all that? You need the money and to fill your time, once you have a full-time job it's much easier to move to another full-time job, whereas at the moment prospective employers will be a bit about you only working such limited hours.

Oh i know that hence why im looking at jobs outside the creative sector. I have been on my current job nearly 3 years. For the first 2 years was great i was gaining more days working loads. Then the falling out with horrible coworker happened and someone was hired to "help out" and somehow the help who is useless which sounds nasty as she is nice but she has no initiative and has to be told everything. She will stand at a till looking at customers and not serving them until someone tells him to serve. He is now on 4 days a week and mine are cut to 2. I asked my boss why this happened and he told me thats just the way it is.

OP, I don't know if there's anything like this in your local area, but this is a brilliant scheme near me: nmsteachingmuseum.wordpress.com/ I went to the open day and was so, so close to applying... but I'm not well enough yet. £16k a year, a fantastic opportunity to train, and they were so positive about encouraging people who had next to no experience or qualifications to apply.It might not be exactly what you want, but it gets you into the right sphere.

And I'm going to repeat myself again - BLOG. And VOLUNTEER. Because you just don't know who you'll meet as a result and how important they can become to your life.

Fine art. Right. Why did you want to do that? What job did you think you’d get afterwards? Do you still want to do that? Then focus! Contact art galleries, museums in your area.

What class is your degree and what uni is it from?

I’m sure you realise that creative sector jobs are extremely competitive and often rely on unpaid/lowly paid internships and mainly on London to get a foot in the door.

I think you may want to focus on other industries or professions that you could build a career in for your area. Perhaps think about areas that are less popular/sexy. Sounds at the moment you’re being very haphazard.

I wouldn’t suggest more studying or debt unless you can see a clear career path at the end of it.

Sadeyedlady hope your better soon thank you i will read that link. And thank you the poster who posted brookstreet theres loads on there!

Warrington? Then you have a ton of options
Go and talk to the people a www.culturewarrington.org/volunteering/ and get some experience in a relevant team - they have an education programme.Or go and talk to the people who run the Old Courts in Wigan. Liverpool and Manchester easily accessible and between them there is no end of part-time/sessional cultural work at entry level. if that is what you want

I totally understand you feeling a bit low, I would be too. Getting a focus is key. Do that alongside some admin temping or bar work for cash flow. Or do a TA course if you think that might be your thing now.

This is the course I did. You can do an 18 week fast track. It’s demanding but worth it.

www.liv-coll.ac.uk/NCTJ-Diploma-in-Journalism-c96.html

If you got a place, your travelling background might mean you are eligible for financial support from:
www.journalismdiversityfund.com/can-i-apply/

Look on the website of your local university. There are often a lot of admin jobs advertised. Have you thought about doing an MA in information management/librarianship? Jobs come up at university libraries fairly regularly. A university is often a good employer.

Hello OP. Have you searched on artsjobs? Loads of things in the NW.

I think you may be selling yourself short here; literally, in your applications. I never realised until I checked out somebody else's application letter just how detailed and self-promoting and sucking up you need to be. Really go for those things.

Even if it's a super ordinary job, you have to make it sound like it is the opportunity you've waited for all your life.

Could you write a blog? You could review art shows and curate your own stuff online. Or post your writing; but make it possible for people to find you, build a reputation.

I sympathize; I had a tough time getting work in the NW - moved in with rellies down South in the end and have been employed ever since...

OP are you experiencing discrimination due to your travelling background? I think there must be reasons for this lack of work and the situation in your current job. I stand by my advice on your cv and a covering letter but I suspect there's something else at play here.

Righto OP, you need a job, any job, that currently pays you more than you're earning.

Once you have spent some time in stable employment you can reassess what's best for you.

Unfortunately (and this is no dig), too many young people go to university now and there are too few true graduate positions, so you may be in a situation where you feel your degree should allow you a certain level of employment, which is clearly not the case.

Don't even think about a post-grad until you have found an area in which it will benefit you.

I do wish you luck, hone your skills and cast your net, and push yourself forwards.

(And do scrub up the grammar, phone or not, presentation is all).

It's not a good idea to train as a librarian now, though. There are fewer of them than ever before.

Morrison’s have factories all over the NW and are always hiring on full time perm contracts.

To be honest I’d knock the aiming for creative jobs thing on the head for now.

Personally I’d be looking at a job with a strong structure in regards to advancement, somewhere with a well regarded training programme and no I’m not joking when I say McDonald’s. If you’re a good FT worker, you can rise to store manager and beyond to HQ making good money. You can also use the experience to move into other retail HQs.

Working your way up in well known companies is a good way to eventually make good money if you don’t have the right qualifications or didn’t pursue further education.

Right, I just looked at the train service between Warrington and Manchester. Average of 26 minutes and around 72 trains a day. There are a gazillion jobs in and around Manchester. Get applying.

If you like creative writing, could you self publish an amazon book through CreateSpace or similar? Do it in between job searching. A friend of ours did a couple, I think she did a creative degree so is good at writing. She's done quite well out of it financially from what I here.

I was in your position a few years ago as I didn't really know what I wanted from life and I spent a fair amount of time drifting between jobs. You'll get there in the end!

I heard a fantastic quote once that has always stuck with me:

if you find a job you love, you will never have to work another day in your life

So, make a list of 5 things that you're really passionate about.
Don't think too far into the future. Apparently, the average person has 2-3 different "careers" in their life.

If you're not 100% what you want to do, do not waste time doing courses to inspire yourself. Don't financially invest until you are definitely sure with what you want to do.

Volunteer, get a feel for different things you can be spending your time doing. Spend a morning volunteering if you're going to be spending the afternoon working, that way future employers won't just see you as a "part-time" type employee and will see that you are doing something constructive with your spare time.

Think about things that currently make you happy. Do you enjoy shopping at Lush? hand in a (tailored) CV, telling them about why you would be great to work there (for example, it doesn't have to be Lush, it doesn't even have to be in retail, but think about places that you would like to spend time and apply for jobs/drop in CVs for them to keep on record etc).

Good luck, don't get too down about it