I browse here pretty often and there's almost always a unanimous (correct but frustrating) response that boils down to “Quit/be ready to quit, look for a new job” like it's an actual and simple solution that we didn't have the wherewithall to come up with ourselves. I totally understand the response and that people don't mean to make it sound simple but my brain instantly summons the IASIP clip of Charlie screaming about loading into a job cannon.
Since last September, I have put in more than 5,000 applications (I stopped counting after the breakdown I had last time I went to tally it up) and I have received exactly 2 offers, one that was withdrawn without any explanation. The other is where I am working now, at a garbage tiny gas station outside of a grocery store. Somehow, it's union but our pay is not even close to enough to live on (~$11/hr) nor do we have any tangible or decent benefits.
You'd think that being a veteran with an extremely wide range of experience on all forms of commo jobs within the military that I'd be a lock for SOMETHING even if it was a shitty IT Helpdesk job. I've kept my A+ cert to date and I'm working on my Net+ and Security+ certs as well, all out of what little pocket I have.
I don't mean to bitch and moan about the community, I'm just at a personal low when it comes to my motivation to keep pushing on and seeing yet another response to someone else suggesting “yep, time to find a new job” just kinda burrowed in my brain right behind my eye and I had to vent a little bit. Thanks for reading, friends.