Hey all,
I am in my late 40's here, and have worked in lots of places, but for fun let me give you a list.
Dunkin Donuts (most positions, parents owned it, started working w2 at 13)
Burger King (Drive thru)
VMS Transcription (Transcribed TV to note keywords, products so the companies could be notified they were being talked about)
Warehouse grunt for Wallyworld (oof, that was terrible, lasted 2 days)
Cold Caller trying to sell “Death and Dismemberment insurance” to American Express cardholders (cringy as it sounds)
Hilton Hotels Reservationist Answering phones, making and cancelling reservations (Super low pay)
Department of Revenue Clerk *state*
Department of Revenue Agent 1 and then 2 (I got this job through a friend and kept getting promoted likely due to my efficiency (I had my own coffee maker and an addiction to dark roast)
Went to night classes and got a CCNA through a state program for free *YAY*
IRS, 8 months of training, which made my eyes bleed and want to die, I quit and focused on certs.
Got a A+, Network+, MCP which landed me a tech job
IT support at a graphics art factory (wedding invitations and holiday cards)
Worked there and got my MCSE, MCIPT, MCSA, finished a degree at a (LOL) online school (a degree is a degree, my dude)
MSP work for a super greedy firm in Boston (Holy hell they were simply evil)
MSP work for a small mom and pop (They were fine, just the lack of planning and preventative maintenance meant you had to constantly respond to emergencies)
State Server admin.
So this whole history is all of my jobs, if you read through this, you can see my jumps came from three places: 1) Dumb luck, meeting the right people (known as networking) 2) Education, both free, and self driven. 3) Working hard. I literally got all of my IT certs by studying in the basement, taking notes, doing practice exams and then taking the test on my own dime.
So, my advice for people coming up? GO FED/STATE!!!! The thing I found out quite by accident is most government entities share a few things.
1) Bad behavior can get them sued, so they actively promote good work life.
2) Since they are not for profit there are niches, and crannies you can get into where the job is far easier than most public sector jobs.
3) You will keep your job usually unless you sexually harass people, or be a racist jerk (those things can get them sued, so they stamp people who do that pretty quickly) The mantra is “I am trying my best, can you give me some advice on how to improve? Thank you!” and boom, you keep your job.
I have finally made it to a job where all of my prior hustle has made this a cake walk, I sometimes have to turn on my brain, but mostly it's “Pre retirement” I have a union now, so if I am treated badly, I contact my rep and have them work on it. The union actively works on higher wages, better conditions and more remote work.
TLDR: After working a wide variety of jobs, I can recommend seeking state/fed jobs, they tend to pay well, have pensions, and a work environment that actively promotes a healthy work/life balance.
In conclusion, I found it about 8 months to get my present job, so it can take a while, go check out your local state opportunities, or fed opportunities. I hope this helps one of you and you get more slack. =)
https://www.mass.gov/find-your-future-commonwealth-job
Just google state job (state) for where you live, see what is out there. I feel this is very overlooked, good luck!