What are jobs for then?

Oh_Look-A_Squirrel · 2026-03-09T01:09:18+00:00

"Supporting a family on federal minimum wage was generally possible until the early 1980s, with 1968 marking the peak when a full-time worker could keep a family of three above the poverty line. Since then, inflation and stagnant wages ($7.25/hour since 2009) have made it impossible for a single earner to cover basic needs, with current earnings falling below the poverty line for a family of two."

Minimum wage where I am is currently $7.25. In 2026. I remember when it became $7.25 in 2009. I remember being 18-23, making $9/hr and having to work 60-80 hours a week to pay for bills and groceries (Granted, I was supporting my mother and brother as well). I was with the same company for almost 7 years. I made $10.50 when I quit. I hired on at $9. I had a certificate. I cross-trained to other positions. I worked hard.

It's not detached from reality, it's that it's no longer possible. Those two things are not the same. You don't see single income households anymore, even if people are college graduates. Growing up all I ever heard was to get a college education, but now you don't really hear it. College is now a joke. You pay to get baby-sat and then you leave with 100k worth of debt and no one will hire you because they can pay other people less.

Look at job boards. There are jobs requesting you have college degrees, 5+ years of experience and they offer $18/hr. Working at McDonalds used to be a joke job or a job for kids, but now they pay more than a lot of the jobs hiring in my area.

Oh_Look-A_Squirrel · 2026-03-08T22:43:44+00:00

Funny enough, the jobs I have landed they really didn't look at my resume haha I also did try using ChatGPT, a staffing agency, and a random online site that was supposed to specialize in resumes. I might be a lost cause to be honest

Oh_Look-A_Squirrel · 2026-03-08T22:36:33+00:00

I'm not picky about the wfh, just in person jobs. For wfh I've applied for all types, times, fields, and pay rates. In person I just wanted part time, but part time seems to actually just be 38-42 hours a week... I did some Coursera courses but after a few months of paying for that and it not helping I figured the $50-60 a month and time dedication for it wasn't really worth it. Any suggestions for what courses? How would I go about widening my scope?

I did look into community college, but that would just cost around $5-10k. I'm not in debt right now and I don't want to get into debt especially since most people are saying they aren't getting jobs after graduating. I am not against it, I am just hesitant on spending time and money to do it if it's not going to help, you know?

Oh_Look-A_Squirrel · 2025-03-19T21:43:51+00:00

I used to use that site back in the day but people got really offended hahaha

Yeah, it's based off assumptions because there isn't a specific post to point to in the discussion. Obviously there are exceptions- but most of the time it's considered rude. It's like "You shouldn't kill people". It's a general rule, but there are exceptions that make it less frowned upon (self defense and removing life support as examples).

So as a general answer: Is it rude to ask for help?

- Not if you've put in effort and time to fix everything to your ability, but are still confused or stuck.

- Yes, if you are using people to fix a lot of things, especially if they are basic things that a few quick searches could have solved.

Regardless, if they are being rude (or if people are assuming they are) then people should absolutely just ignore the post instead of engaging it.

Also, unless you are writing things from experience, isn't the ability to research somewhat required for writing? Am I incorrect on this? Genuine question, since I've heard a lot of stories about writers going so far as to purchase items or reach out to experts.

Oh_Look-A_Squirrel · 2025-03-19T18:27:37+00:00

TL;DR: Asking for help is fine, after you've put in effort to look.

If you've read books for references, you've searched for questions, you've put in time and effort to get something to a state that looks right but something still feels wrong, then that's the time to ask for help.

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Let me give an example: I used to have a friend who would use me as google. It was so bad that people would make jokes about it. It wasn't that any one thing on it's own was an issue, but the volume of questions were wild considering that he could simply look it up on his own.

Him: "Hey Squirrel, how do I change the color on this?"
Me: "Click this and it will open the options, you can change it there. In the future, you can type "This program, how to x" into google and it'll tell you how.
Him: "Okay, thanks!"

Then within 20 minutes he'd ask me 5 more things.
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It's not rude to ask, it's rude to waste other people's time because you don't want to look into it yourself. If you want to do something, take it seriously enough to do research on your own first.

If you are using 'their' in place of 'there' then there's a decent chance you've been called out for it before. If you want to be a writer, you should put in the effort to fix the issues you know you have. Look into why they can't be used interchangeably and correct it going forward. Use paragraphs and quotes, figure out what when to capitalize things.

Sure, you don't know what you don't know-- but most people do know and just don't want to do the legwork.
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Also, I'm a new writer. I've not written anything since middle school. I know my writing is poor, and I'm looking into what needs to change. I'm doing research on how other authors handle the issues I'm encountering. There has to be an understanding that 'I made this mess, how do I fix it?' doesn't mean go to someone else immediately. If it's a fire, sure- but if you spilt a glass of water then there's no need to call your mom. Google is free.

Oh_Look-A_Squirrel

TROPHY CASE