TLDR nobody wants to pay me what I think I'm worth as a bilingual with a master's, now I feel dumb for following my interests this far and afraid I sound entitled
So I'm an MA graduate who finished in August and am just now getting around to full-time job hunting. I had been putting off looking for a full-time job because I applied to PhD programs and didn't want to have to start something that I'd quit so soon after (also shit going on at home), if I had gotten in. I didn't get in anywhere, though. And I did my master's in a different country, majoring in linguistics, which doesn't strike people as impressive (and makes some incorrectly assume I'm not authorized to work in the US). But I do speak the language there fluently, and that's something I've worked really hard at since undergrad. My main issue now is that it's hard to sell myself for average corporate jobs as just a language guy. I have other skills and experiences, but I'm an easy target for lowballing since I have minimal experience that would make me ideal for some entry level jobs.
Cut to today. A particular tech company known for launching things said they're hiring customer support associates who are bilingual in the language I speak, so I decided to apply and managed to get a first round interview with the talent acquisition person. To be clear, I knew from the job posting that the conditions are shit, but I need practice with interviewing so I'm approaching every one with the attitude that I'll pretend I really want the job, then advocate for myself more when I actually have offers on the table.
The shifts are 12 hours each, alternating 3- and 4-day weeks, with two 15-minute breaks and one 30 minute break per shift. And since I don't have 1 year of “technical support” (I guess 1 year of being a shift manager at a restaurant is not the right kind of “customer service” experience – okay fine), I'd be starting at the $24/hr range. This is an area where the average studio apartment is like $1600/month. I knew the pay already because it was in the posting, but when the recruiter straight up told me all these things I was really taken aback at how the whole premise of this is that the company thinks this is a reasonable offer, and they're expecting people like me to just accept that. Like they're doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to accumulate experience, rather than us doing them the favor by providing the skills they need. Skills that take a lot longer to learn than learning how to use your stupid ERP system or whatever the fuck.
I know that language skills alone are not enough to move the needle for most jobs and they are growing obsolete without further specialization because of AI, but $24/hr is just fucking insulting for the skillset that I've spent 8 years cultivating, with a pretty good academic record to back it up. And yet the market in the US for entry level jobs that say they want bilinguals is almost fixed at that amount.
I'm sure there are folks out there grinding out worse-paying jobs who would tell me I'm fine and shouldn't complain about that pay, and you're right. I also went all-in on a skill that some people are just born into acquiring. I'm just really sad that I'm going through these interviews and I don't see any room to advocate for a better salary for myself.
Edit) I have an idea of what kind of job I'd enjoy (and could feasibly get) and am actively applying, this was just really weighing on me today because I had, perhaps naively, hoped I would be making more to start with my background.