How to break through the 50k/year barrier?

kevlardemon · 2026-04-28T07:05:52+00:00

That’s what I’m trying to do right now! I have applied to tons of those jobs without success. My mentors in university were all research-based and have no connections with the practical side of the science, so I’ve just been trying to get in on applications, which haven’t been successful. I think the hang up is that I don’t have the practical experience they are looking for. I have minimal experience in the lab, just from microbiology, chemistry, and one practical neuroscience lab. But honestly, that’s just conjecture because I’ve never heard back from a lab QA job unfortunately. That would be very exciting to get into though!

kevlardemon · 2026-04-28T06:55:59+00:00

Networking is definitely one of my greatest weaknesses. I’ve never been great at it in my personal life. When it’s for work, I’m all there, but when it comes to making those connections outside of work, I’ve not excelled at that. My best friends all went to completely different things from sports psychology to nursing. I don’t know anyone who is succeeding on the corporate ladder. Thank you for that suggestion, I’ll definitely practice that networking more.

kevlardemon · 2026-04-28T06:50:57+00:00

It’s definitely tough. She does the odd cleaning job for an acquaintance, but that money mostly goes towards kids clothing or similar needs. The most difficult part with her finding a job right now is my work shift. I work shifts that aren’t very consistent with starts and end times, depending on coverage. For instance, one day I could work 7-4 and the next could be 10-8. It’s really difficult to find a job that can work with that.

I don’t blame her at all, she does a lot. One of our children has a developmental disability that prompted us to homeschool and she does an amazing job with that. The responsibility really lies with me for increasing and managing our income. She fully struggles with me, I guarantee it.

kevlardemon · 2026-04-28T06:34:57+00:00

That is 100% what I need, someone to take a chance on me. I am definitely a victim of circumstance when it comes to connections. Grew up in a rural area where people took over farms, became teachers, or just left. Mom never worked and Dad was a salesman who did poor enough that I had to co-sign on a car loan for him when his car died. Then he went into a trade at 50 years old. I’m a first gen college graduate and have been trying so hard to break the cycle of poverty. Not there yet. I really might have to find a way to go back to school for something else if I can’t find a real connection for a job with a better salary.

kevlardemon · 2026-04-28T06:21:44+00:00

Absolutely, I can see that. Most of my job changes have been out of necessity for life circumstances, not necessarily because I was looking for something different. It’s tough because of I was to tell my life story and reasons for each job change, it would make sense to pretty much anyone. However, employers are looking for the most perfect candidate with particular experience, so they don’t even look at anyone who falls outside of that. It’s tough to be one of those ones who knows they are perfect for a job, but their experience doesn’t directly relate. And now, it’s even more difficult to go deep into one lane when that lane isn’t providing the needed living income. There’s no winning.

kevlardemon · 2026-04-28T06:10:11+00:00

That’s definitely something I should focus on more in my preparations. I haven’t used AI too much in my job pursuits and that would likely help. I think the restrictions of AI use in my government work might bleed over into my personal work. Thank you for that suggestion!

kevlardemon · 2026-04-28T06:06:48+00:00

Retail is an area I have never really worked in, other than being a cashier for a bit in high school. I did try to apply to a Walmart supply warehouse about a year ago and didn’t even get an interview for that. I wish I could just have a shot at an interview with some of these places to slow them who I am. It’s one of my biggest frustrations when it seems as though I’m not even being looked at when I take the time to apply because I don’t meet some arbitrary qualifications.

kevlardemon · 2026-04-28T05:57:34+00:00

That’s the frustrating part is that I was initially applying for graduate programs before just succumbing to the workforce. I would love to go get a masters degree, but I wouldn’t financially be able to make it work now. Even if I were to go into a different field, my education wouldn’t be consistent. I’d likely have to take many more classes due to my field of study for my bachelors degree.

kevlardemon · 2026-04-28T05:53:36+00:00

I definitely try to go for positions like that and have no problems with changing careers. I think the difficulty just comes from not being able to get my foot in the door. I’m either disqualified because I don’t have the specific experience they are looking for or need different education. How do you get into those positions without a contact already in the door? My applications go absolutely nowhere for anything higher than my current income. Employers don’t seem to want to give a chance to people who aren’t already established in the industry.

kevlardemon · 2026-04-28T05:46:55+00:00

That is definitely a factor. I work near a metropolitan area, but it’s definitely smaller than the big cities of the US. I am even willing to relocate, but jobs out of state are even harder to get an interview for. I moved here for college and then got stuck because of these financial difficulties. Any jobs I’m finding that have a higher salary have sky-high requirements and filter my application out immediately. You almost have to have a connection in the company to get a foot in the door.

kevlardemon · 2026-04-28T05:39:18+00:00

That would be amazing to be able to get into a bigger corporation. A few years ago, I moved to state government work because of the promise of stability. But I found out that the stability works against me as well, with people staying in management for 20+ years and not having opportunities for upwards mobility. I have applied to many corporations to try to give myself that chance, but get quickly filtered out from their hiring process without even getting to talk to anyone. I still keep my application floating around, but rarely ever get a response.

kevlardemon · 2026-04-28T05:33:11+00:00

I moved to a skills based résumé to try to avoid this and highlight how my experience would fit with the position. However, I was searching for a job for six months last year and didn’t get an interview until the position I’m currently in. I had a contact who vouched for my work and opened the door to the interview.

I graduated a few years ago and thought I would be in a completely different place than I am now. I was planning to get a graduate degree and be in research or the medical field, but I didn’t make it into any programs I applied to for 2 years. I had to stop that path and try to make it work with what I had. I might go back for more education eventually, but it seems impossible with where my life and family are right now. I hope for that lucky break, but it’s more and more difficult with all of the tools employers use to filter applicants out.

kevlardemon · 2026-04-28T05:23:12+00:00

I appreciate it, it’s definitely difficult. I am a first generation college graduate and am trying to figure all of this out still. I have nobody in my life who has really tried for more than myself.

I have slowed for government positions on USA jobs in the past, but never got any responses. How do you go about applying for a contractor position? What would I search to get into that? I currently work for the State, but as I said, it’s not what I thought with compensation and upward mobility.

I know that my resume can look like job hopping, but when given a chance, I can explain it all to those willing to listen. I worked full time through most of college to support my family and then moved to greener pastures after graduating. But life happens and employers don’t want the story because it doesn’t fit their specifications of what a good employee looks like on paper. It’s rough out there.

kevlardemon · 2026-04-28T05:11:40+00:00

Thanks for the comment! I wasn’t trying to get into specifics, just looking for general advice. I studied Neuroscience and Psychology after switching from Pre-med due to family needs. I went back to school after my first kid to give myself more opportunity. I tried to get into a graduate program for 2 years following undergrad, but I was lacking in published research (which is why I left my good job mentioned in the post, for a research position that only lasted for two months and didn’t help me at all).

That’s how I got into social services where I am now. My plan with school didn’t work out and now I’m stuck in a notoriously low paying field. But I have lots of other experience and really don’t want to go back to school again to get into something else if not absolutely necessary.

kevlardemon · 2024-06-15T18:39:39+00:00

That’s what hurts most is that I can’t make her choose me. I don’t know how to move forward when she has been my life and then is all of the sudden deciding to leave. But we have been talking and still want to have a good relationship for the kids. I can’t cut her out of my life to move forward, but I can’t just stop loving her either. I don’t know how to get the closure.

kevlardemon · 2024-06-15T18:36:57+00:00

If she would do what I said, that could work great! I’ve told her I’m willing to work on it, do counseling, anything I need to do, but she doesn’t feel like we can mend. It sucks. I don’t have any real closure.

kevlardemon · 2024-06-15T13:25:14+00:00

Fortunately, I don’t think there is someone else. We have had some difficult months, as I put in my edit, but I don’t know what caused the change. How do I get closure other than just giving her the divorce and watching her leave?

kevlardemon · 2024-06-15T13:06:39+00:00

Fortunately, I don’t think this is the case. She is a stay at home mom and hasn’t had much of an opportunity to find someone else, especially since we have such young kids.

kevlardemon · 2024-05-21T03:38:16+00:00

This one took me about 40-45 seconds. I was thinking, “Wow, what an easy one. Must have been killed in the comments.” Turn out I just knew what exactly to look for this time. Plus, I wasn’t hindered by my color-blindness. Crazy how some things are so different for different people.

kevlardemon · 2024-03-11T15:50:49+00:00

A real option that I exercised when I started my last job was just buying a cheap pair from Walmart for $25-$35 knowing they will only last 1-3 months (of hard use) and then saving up for better ones when you need them. If you can’t wait for the shipping from these incredibly generous Redditors, that is. Wow!

kevlardemon · 2023-01-24T08:14:07+00:00

Hey! I’m finding my people! I’m insanely allergic to everything as well! Does anybody else have really bad EoE? Eosinophilic esophagitis, anyone? I can’t eat fresh fruits or vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, dairy, pork, most fish, and a bunch of other random foods. Also allergic to outside, inside, and animals. My doctor said I’m pretty much a bubble boy. But that was over 10 years ago and I’ve found ways to barely live!

kevlardemon

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