c/dead-end-jobs-club

Just realized that online 'career coach' I paid $200 to was a total scam

He gave me a generic personality test and told me to 'follow my passion' with zero practical steps. I could have bought a decent interview suit with that cash. Has anyone actually found a legit way to get real career advice without getting ripped off?

Went to a job fair in Springfield and saw something that bugged me

They had a whole booth just for 'gig economy' apps, telling people to just drive for a delivery service or do online tasks instead of finding a real job with benefits. It felt like they were pushing a dead end as a real plan. Am I the only one who thinks that's bad advice for someone trying to get unstuck?

PSA: I spent $300 on a 'career coach' who told me my aura was blocking my promotion.

He spent the whole session trying to sell me crystals instead of looking at my resume, so now I'm out that cash and still stuck at the same desk.

My old boss at the print shop in Burlington told me I'd never be more than a 'copier jockey'

He said it right in front of a customer while I was fixing a jam on the big Xerox 700. That was five years ago, and I'm still stuck in a different copy center now, just like he said. Anyone else have a boss who basically wrote your future for you?

My manager said fixing the schedule software would take an afternoon, it's been three days.

The new system crashed and deleted everyone's shifts for the next two weeks. Anyone know a good scheduling app that won't ruin your life?

My boss in Toledo asked me to stay late for the third time this month, but for no extra pay

It happened last Tuesday, right after my shift was supposed to end. He said, 'We just need you to handle these extra forms, it won't take long.' It took two more hours. I'm starting to look at online courses for bookkeeping, just to have a real skill. Has anyone else used a specific site for that kind of training?

I thought the whole 'network for your next job' thing was just talk until a guy I helped fix his car last year called me about an opening at his shop

Rant: The break room microwave used to be a place to actually take a break

When I started at this office in 2018, the break room was a real spot to chat for 10 minutes. Now, after the 'productivity software' rollout last year, everyone just heats their lunch and runs back to their desks to eat while working. The cause is obvious: the new tracking system logs any idle time over 5 minutes. Has anyone else's workplace killed the last bit of actual human downtime like this?

Took the promotion to supervisor at the call center and it was a trap

Everyone said to take the extra $2 an hour and the title, but I saw what it did to my last boss. I picked staying on the phones and keeping my sanity over the 60 hour weeks. Six months later, three of the new supervisors have quit from stress. Has anyone else turned down a 'step up' that was really just a dead end with more headaches?

Spent $75 on a 'motivational' desk toy and it backfired spectacularly

I bought this little metal fidget spinner thing for my cubicle, thinking it would help with the boredom. My manager saw it and decided it meant I had 'extra mental bandwidth'. Now I'm stuck training every new hire on the worst parts of the job, which is just data entry. It's been three weeks of this and I regret that purchase so much. Anyone else have a small buy that accidentally made work worse?

Appreciation post: That $150 online course on drafting concrete bids

Honestly, I was stuck doing the same small driveways and feeling like I'd never land a bigger contract, so I spent the money on a weekend course. Ngl, it taught me how to break down a job for a commercial parking lot, and I just won my first one. Has anyone else had a small investment actually kickstart a way out of a rut?

Just realized the 'side hustle' everyone talks about actually made my main job feel worse

For about a year, I kept hearing that getting a side gig was the way out of my dead end office job. I finally tried it, doing freelance data entry from home for maybe 10 hours a week. It brought in an extra $300 a month, which was nice, but it completely backfired. Instead of feeling like I was moving forward, I just felt more trapped. I was spending my evenings and weekends doing the same boring tasks I hated all day, just for a different boss. It didn't give me energy or new skills, it just ate up my free time and made me resent my main job even more because I was never really off the clock. I quit the side work last month and feel way less burned out, even though I'm still stuck in the same place. Has anyone else found that trying to hustle just made the main problem feel bigger?

Rant: The printer jammed for two hours before the quarterly review

I was supposed to collate 30 reports for the big meeting, but the main office printer just kept eating paper. I spent the whole morning trying to clear the jam, then restart the spooler, then finally had to run to the FedEx on 5th Street. Has anyone else had a simple task blow up their entire morning?

Vent: My boss's ancient spreadsheet system crashed during payroll last Friday.

Took me and the IT guy from corporate 14 hours over the weekend to rebuild it from a paper backup. Anyone else's workplace running on tech that should be in a museum?

Pro tip: I was sitting in my car in the school parking lot after a parent yelled at me over a missing permission slip, and I finally started writing down every single 'task' I do that isn't in my job description.

My boss's printer jammed right before a huge client meeting yesterday

It was 10 minutes before the big pitch, and the fancy office printer just ate the last copy of the presentation. I had to take the whole back panel off with a paperclip I bent straight. Got it out, but the machine started making this awful grinding sound. I just emailed the PDF to the client from my phone while my boss was still yelling at the machine. Has anyone else had to fix a major tech fail with zero time and even less help?

Can we talk about the 15-minute rule for job hunting?

I was stuck at the warehouse for years, thinking I needed hours to look for something better. My friend in Denver said to just do 15 minutes a day, every day, and I finally updated my resume last month. I've already had two interviews, which is more than I got in the whole last year. Has anyone else tried a small, daily habit that actually got them moving?

My spreadsheet just hit 500 'customer is always right' complaints logged

I started it as a joke after a guy yelled at me over a $3 coupon, but now it's a real document. The 500th entry was a lady who demanded a refund because her hot coffee was, and I quote, 'too thermally active'. Anyone else track the weird stuff just to stay sane?

I dropped $300 on a 'career coach' who just gave me a generic resume template

I was feeling stuck at my call center job and saw an ad for a local career coach. I paid for three sessions, about $300 total. All she did was give me a basic resume template I could have found online for free and told me to 'network more'. It felt like a total scam and set me back financially when I was already tight on cash. Has anyone else tried something like this and actually gotten good, specific advice that helped? I'm trying to figure out my next step without wasting more money.

Rant: I finally asked my manager in Phoenix for a raise after 3 years of the same pay.

He offered me a 25 cent hourly increase and a 'new' title that's just my old duties with extra spreadsheets. Anyone else get a 'promotion' that's actually just more work for basically nothing?

I started using a free app called 'Focusmate' to trick myself into doing my boring data entry tasks. It's basically a video call with a stranger where you both work quietly for 50 minutes. My productivity shot up 80% last month.

My boss in Toledo told me my 'quiet work' was making the team think I didn't care

She pulled me aside last month and said my focus on just my own tasks made it seem like I was checked out. I started making a point to ask one person a day about their project, even if it's small. It's weird how much that changed the vibe. Has anyone else had to fix how they come across at a job that already feels pointless?

Showerthought: I watched the same coworker go from hopeful to checked out in about 18 months

He came in wanting to learn everything, but after getting passed over for lead twice, now he just does the bare minimum and leaves. Anyone else seen someone totally burn out from a lack of advancement?

The two day roof patch that turned into a week long nightmare

Got a call for a leak on a flat roof in the old industrial district. Figured it was a simple patch job, maybe four hours tops. Found the leak source quick, but the decking underneath was completely rotted from years of slow water damage. What was supposed to be a half day job turned into a full week of demo, replacing structural supports, and then the actual roofing. Boss wasn't happy about the lost time on other jobs. Anyone else had a 'simple fix' blow up into a huge project that killed your schedule?