After 3 years of sitting in the most absolutely toxic work environment I've finally decided to quit and try something new. I'm not stupid, I knew that being a piercing apprentice wasn't going to pay a lot but fuuuuuuuucccck me.
The official story is that's when I was interviewing for the position I asked what the pay was like. The business owner proceeded to ask me what my current pay was and I told her and she said that I would be getting paid more than that but she refused to specify an amount and advised that the amount would be told in the contract signing if I decided to accept.
I really needed a change so I decided that I would wait and see what happened. (Please be aware I haven't actually quit my job yet). Fast forward to today and the pay at the new place is exactly the same as my current position except I get commission on piercings after I've finished my training and the probation which is 6 months. For the first 6 weeks of my apprenticeship I will only be given a stipend that is 3/4 of my monthly pay.
In the anticipation of knowing that I probably wouldn't be getting paid as much I decided to look into some online jobs. I wanted something that I can do at any time such as freelancing so I decided to try clickwork, toloka and some transcribing sites. Obviously the money that I am getting at these sites is not worth the efforts and I'm thinking that I'm just going to give up on that.
You would ask me why don't I just get a regular part-time job to supplement my apprenticeship. Well, the answer is that I'm not allowed to get a part-time job with the contract unless I have express authority. In addition there is a 3-year non-compete after termination or resignation. I feel like I've made a mistake. I don't understand why I need to have more than one job in order to pay my bills. I don't understand why I have to choose between my mental health and being able to pay my bills.