I wish you good luck in your job search. I am a good example of someone who is in a field completely different from her major. I was an double major in French and International Studies (mostly because I was good in languages and wanted to save the world back then). I ended up my senior year thinking gee, French majors aren't in huge demand and the pay for teachers in S.C. is abyssmal. I had excellent grades and had taken the GMAT, so I applied for and got into the International Business Masters program at my school which at the time was #1 in the country(and went on to study another language there: Portuguese). I got an internship with GM in research in Brazil through school, but GM was not a good place for women managers, so I was stuck.

So how did I end up in marketing research? My mother was the secretary in the field sales office for Motorola. She knew the secretary of the corp vp of the same business at Motorola. She sent him my resume along with some garden seeds (he was an avid gardner) and within a month I had an interview and a great paying job (mind you in another state, but hey, I was young and single). This was 13 years ago and I still enjoy what I do.

The moral of this story: it pays to know people who know people (who garden!)

Have you checked with your alumnae group yet? It seems like there must be someone who's a lawyer or married to a lawyer in Greenville. Especially with as many ZTA alums as there are in SC!

ztawinthropgirl:

you might also want to check out if their are any paralegal/law clerk professional associations in your area. They might offer things like student memberships, job postings, course, workshops, etc. They would also be a good source of information for you.

The Greenville ZTA Alumnae group thing is a whole different story and a new thread! :cool: I am going to join the South Carolina Upstate Paralegal Association in June. June is when their next meeting is scheduled. They meet at the Poinsett Club in Greenville, SC so cross your fingers something will turn up with that one. :)

Re: I am so frustrated!
 

I used to work at Target too! I was in school full time and sometimes worked (unwillingly) up to 25 hours a week (in the SuperTarget Deli) I quit because my new manager was an evil man who fights with everyone, even though we were all doing an excellent job and sales were way up and everything! I quit and I just got a new job singing at weddings! I was making on average 200$ every two weeks @ $7.45 and hour and now (when there's work...) I'll make up to $150 per job (after training, and that's only for maybe like 6 months, then my rate will climb!

So A) when's your 3 month or yearly raise?! And B) Ask your ETL or TL (whoever makes the schedule) for more hours in the mean time. Sign up in the office for the extra hours needed sheet. Offer to work the registers after you finish your hours before you go home (a few girls did that...) I don't know why you're making 6.85... I was a freshman in college when I started with NO references and very little job experience and I started at 6.75, after three months I was making 7.00 and it DOES make a small but noticeable difference. After a year I was making 7.45.

Try moving on to a dept. store like Dillard's, Penney's, whatever they have locally for you because they pay like $9.00 and hour, at least down here in FL, so it's an improvement. Don't settle for less that you HAVE to and in the mean time/ in-between time, try to apply the degree that you worked so hard to earn by getting a job that you sought when you earned it! Good luck, if anything...try Florida?

My 3-month review was May 11th. I didn't get a raise but I had an excellent review. They said since I was already started at such a "high" rate of pay for a floor sales associate that I didn't get a pay raise. They said we got a 25 cents raise when we passed our 3-month review. That would have raised my pay to $7.10 per hour. Whenever they offer extra hours, they're hours that I am already there so that won't work.

Once I graduate from the paralegal program, I could easily go to Florida because I have family I could stay with until I got on my feet really well. They're in the Orlando area (Winter Garden to be specific) which is a good job market area from what I have heard.

THAT"S BULLSH!T! (Pardon my French!!!) If they promised you a raise when you took the job you should get a raise REGARDLESS of what rate they hired you at unless they SPECIFICALLY told YOU that you would not get one because you were starting off higher than others normally would! WHICH IS ALSO CRAP unless they are going by different pay rates then stores in other states (or maybe it's your job position [i worked in the deli so maybe rates wouldn't be the same for starters anyhow...])

I started as a FULL TIME COLLEGE FRESHMEN for a little less then what you are making and within three months recieved an evaluation and raise to 7.00! That means if you stay there a year there might be a possibility you won't be making such 'hot' money as they seem to think of it, because everyone who got their raise will get another one while you've only had ONE!

Now, not only do I think you should work for a lawyer (as you wish to do)... I think you NEED one! I'm all like...WTF is up their A$$e$!

It a VERY good job market. The unemployment rate in Florida is lower than the National average and it's the lowest in Orlando.

Haven't read this whole thread, but seeing that you're getting an AA in Paralegal, maybe you should check out National Association of Legal Assistants website. After I got my BA, I spent the next semester taking 18 credits worth of paralegal classes at the local Comm. College. As soon as I completed that, I was eligible to take the CLA exam (Certified Legal Assistany). This is the only national certification exam there is for paralegals. It is not required to have this certification in order to work as a paralegal, but it can help you get a job in the field with little to no experience. Like someone else said, you could get a firm to hire you as an assistant paralegal, or secretary, or clerk even - and then work your way up.

Just saying, I'm not sure how far along you are with paralegal classes, but ask your advisor at the school about the CLA exam, research that website, and you might be able to get away with a semester worth of classes instead of a whole year or two. Good luck!

Be careful about Florida. They pay with sunshine. Although I absolutely LOVE Florida, and wish I could live there, I literally quadrupled my salary when I moved up to the NY area.

Do you think that might have something to do with the different costs of living?

Yeah, your salary might have quadrupled, but the cost of living is thousands of dollars more than here in Louisville (obviously). I wanted to move to NYC but when I found out how much I had to pay a month for an apartment, I couldn't believe it! I pay 500 a month for 1 bedroom here as opposed to 2000 for an ok apaprtment in the upper east side in Manhattan.

Crazy!!!!!

It does. The cost of living in the major Florida cities (Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm, Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville) aren't anywhere near the cost of living in cities in the Northeast such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, etc. Plus, many people who work in Miami or another big Florida city tend to live in the suburbs or the outskirts of the downtown area. Only people with lots of money live in the apartments/condos in the downtown area. If you want affordable housing in the downtown area, you'll be in a not-so-nice part of town so people choose to commute from the suburbs. Salaries aren't as high in Florida because people aren't paying $1000 a month for a one bedroom apartment. You might earn $40,000 in Florida compared to $60,000 in New York but your expenses are much lower so, therefore, it ends up being the same.

Having lived in various parts of Florida and the NY area-- I can tell you.. it depends.

The cost of living is VERY high in places like Miami and Naples... yet salaries (as a whole) are nowhere near what they are in the NY area.

Comparing:

Higher in NY area:
housing
car insurance
taxes

Higher in Florida:
energy costs (heating and AC)
gasoline

Clothes, food, etc. were about the same.
Now... remember, my salary quadrupled when I moved up here.. however, my cost of living didn't. It didn't even double.

So... for me, it seems as if I have "golden handcuffs." I'm stuck in this area until I retire. I certainly prefer Florida and the lifestyle. But, I have to eat! :)

The big reason why Floridians are paid less than people in the Northeast: there's no state income tax in Florida. Nice. You get to take home more of your paycheck rather than have your money go to taxes. Standard of living aside, the state income tax factor is a huge reason why companies don't have to pay employees in Florida as much.
Also, sales tax is much lower in Florida than some of the big cities in other states (Los Angeles, San Diego, NYC). It's 6% in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and West Palm and it's 6.5% in Orlando.

My state is 6% sales tax and between 1.4 and 8 percent income tax (depending on your bracket)

Property tax in my area is very high, though.

Sales tax in NYC is 8.625%.

RE: salaries, it all depends on the field. I would probably start out making more in Florida than I do here in NYC--but there are opportunities here that will allow my salary to increase considerably in the next few years.

But, uh...I'll just blame it on the sunshine.

Are you saying they promised you a raise when they hired you and then didn't give it? That is wrong and very unethical. Honestly, they are relying on you being too much of a Southern lady or too afraid of getting fired to say anything. I would not play into that. Honestly, I would make an appointment with a manager to discuss the situation. Don't fly off the handle but be professional and firm. "We paid you more than we should have to begin with," is NOT an acceptable excuse for not giving you a promised raise. That was their decision, and it shouldn't effect your salary.
Considering the massive sex discrimination class action which is pending against Walmart, which alleges among other things that they paid female "associates" less frequent and smaller raises and salaries, I wouldn't be surprised at all if this is an industry wide problem which occurs at Target as well.

<<<Sales tax in NYC is 8.625%.>>>

I don't live in NY. I live and work in the NY area. Sorry for the confusion. :)

I think you should move back to Florida and build my parents house since the contractors being used can't seem to get it done!

Are they have problems getting the contractors to come out to the house? I'd imagine that a lot of contractors in Florida are still busy with making home repairs to the hurricane damaged homes. Just wondering if your parents are running into that problem.

Only if I get a pink hard hat. :) I am mad obssessed with getting one of those.

Yea I have pretty much had it with Target. Here is what I believe is wrong with Target and my whole situation:

(1) they didn't give me the promised pay raise after my review

(2) I am one of two people in the whole entire store who has a degree of any type. I am a part-time sales associate and more educated than all but one of the managers. In turn, I get paid an hourly wage less than the high school graduate managers and work less hours than the managers.

(3) I come in 15 minutes early to get myself together (i.e. put my stuff in my locker and lunch in the refrigerator) so I can go out on the floor when the schedule says I am supposed to come in. I close 98% of the time so not only do I come in early but I usually have to stay at least one hour or more later than my schedule says. Then, when I ask off for say my brother's graduation or a legit doctor's appointment, I get the run around, get put on the schedule so I have to get myself cleared to be off, and still get called to see if I can come in to work. I usually tell them at least 3 weeks in advance I'll need to be off for anything.

(4) I am closing for 98% of the time I am supposed to work. When I do have to open (which is 8 am), I had to close the night before and don't get home until midnight. I then have to turn around and get up at 6:15 am (only a little over 6 hours of sleep) to get ready and to be there on time. I have trouble getting to sleep usually and have to relax before being able to go to sleep. Otherwise, I'll never get to sleep without something like Tylenol PM which recommends 8 hours of sleep when you take it because you'll wake up like you're hung over. So, basically, I hadn't slept the night before and I have a huge headache from not sleeping and very cranky.

(5) I have gained about 10 pounds which I worked my rear off to lose before going to Target. I gained weight due to my lack of sleep and worrying over if I'll be able to pay my bills the next month.

(6) My hair has seemed to be more weak than usual. I normally have VERY healthy hair because I am anal about taking good care of it.

(7) My nerves seem to be on end due to the lack of sleep and worry about money. I can't quit Target or otherwise I won't be able to pay my bills.

Okay now it's time to breathe :p

SEE!!
 

THIS IS REALLLY LONG! SORRY (had to get it off my chest Target SUCKS!)

THOSE ARE SOME OF THE SAME REASONS I QUIT!!!! Not just my evil manager! That's sad because it must be just bad management and store policy enforcement nationwide! When you put in your form for time off that's it. I didn't play with them. I did my part and I'm not coming in period point blank. Also, I often had to close the deli alone on our busiest days like Sundays and Saturdays which involves cooking, dealing with guests meat and cheese orders, sweeping and mopping, sometimes closing bakery because no one was there, helping in the adjoining starbucks, and cleaning HEAVY DUTY equipment like fryers, ovens, meat slicers, dish washers, and not to mention a pile of dishes, while keeping people happy and not even ONE customer ever had mercy on me and ANY time. if I got home late because they had to have their 2 1/2 pounds of $2.99 ham ( I live in the area of the store and my house is worth more than a half a million real easy, and here are all these locals who live in half a million dollar or even MORE homes ordering the cheapest $h!t imaginable, it used to piss everyone off!) and $2.99 cheese right now then they didn't need to feel bad about! (And they always had to have that cheap ham sliced JUST SO!)

The Sunday before I quit my job was threatened by an LOD (I was later told he was not allowed to do that at ALL!) because another girl who was supposed to relieve me went home sick and I did NOT want to stay! I was there by myself, and I was in tears and ONLY one guest even asked me why I was bawling! I had to sit down and I was starving and alone and the bakery had NO staff so I was supposed to deal with that too and they were SO concerned that someone would be in the deli... WHO?!?! No one else was there who was trained to do it!!!! I was crying so bad, my friend (who was closing the BUSY Starbucks alone next to our deli) stopped working to console me for a second and the customers started bit*hing and her and telling her they didn't even CARE I was crying they just wanted their coffee. Human beings honestly have stopped caring about each other. They should have just given her one minute to calm me down. If you are a RUDE shopper PLEASE I am begging you to change your ways! We aren't nobodies because we happen to have jobs at Target or Walmart or wherever, we just need the money. We go to church, and have mothers who love us! We're not slaves! (Plus, we'll remember your face and make life VERY difficult for you!!!!)

P.S. when I re-entered the deli, STILL crying. People expected me to take care of their needs and wondered why they had to wait so long for service. I was so glad my last day was that next Saturday, if I had had my senses I would have walked out quit right then and there!

PPS-The contractors aren't busy with the rebuilding, trust me, contractors in Florida are WELL known for being lazy with shabby and painstakingly slow progress, I have yet to hear any contractor be priaised! They ask for some money up front, disappear for a few months, take your complaints, do two days of work and disappear, continuing the process until they lose the job!

They bought in a new development that is going up and a think a lot of the delays have been due to the hurricanes and getting the supplies there. Although they've also said that they they have to build the clubhouse and pools and all that fun stuff before they put up most of the houses. So they're in the group that's being built after that stuff. I think they're delayed about a year now though.

Munchkin, of course you can have a pink hard hat! I wouldn't have it any other way!

I figured that was the problem. I've heard that a lot of people are having trouble getting their homes built since builders are still busy making repairs. I know that some roofers are booked all the way through the end of September! Hopefully another hurricane (or 4) doesn't come through Florida again and set people back even further.

How have the insurance claims been? Have the companies settled with homeowners yet? Or is that process still continuing?

Seriously. That would be bad! Luckily for them, it's not urgent for them to get the house built. They were just hoping to escape another winter!

It's still continuing which is partly why some people have not made repairs to their homes. When I was still in Orlando a few weeks ago, there was a house in my neighborhood that had the roofing wood exposed. There's no way that house could be liveable! My roommate's home had just a tiny bit of wood exposed from where the shingles had been ripped out and we had severe interior water damage. I can only imagine what that other house looks like on the inside. My neighbor had just gotten her roof repaired in March which was 6 months after the final hurricane hit. Allstate kept giving her the runaround. I wrote about some of the problems people were having in a post a few months ago. Insurance companies didn't and still don't want to hand out the money that their customers deserve. I will say that my roommate had nothing but a great experiene with State Farm and I know many others were the same way. They gave their customers money immediately and gave them more than enough to fix all the repairs. Allstate, Nationwide and a few others are still denying claims to many customers (and going to court in some cases).
I just really hope another hurricane doesn't come through and devastate Florida like the 4 last year. It could be really bad....
I think the best thing to come out of this is that people all over Florida know now that a hurricane can hit them and not just South Florida. Dade and Broward County (Miami/Ft.Lauderdale area) have very stringent hurricane codes. All homes must built to withstand 120mph winds and only a certain type of roofing tile is allowed to prevent the winds from ripping them out (which is what happened with my roommate's asphalt tiles thus causing water to seep in from where the nails were ripped out). I have a feeling all of Florida will adopt those codes.

My parents are still waiting for their insurance $$$. They received a letter sometime in the Fall saying their claim needed a closer review (or some crap). Then about two weeks later my mom read in the paper that the company that Allstate contracted with to provide my parents their hurricane coverage had gone bankrupt.

Sometime in November FEMA contacted my parents and let them know they'd be suing on their behalf to help them recover the insurance money that was owed to them.

Oh, and I shouldn't forget to mention FEMA had to intervene in the lawsuit against my parents from the City. When the contractors came out to fix my parents' house, they never returned to haul off the debris (as they were supposed to do), so the City sued my parents for several thousand dollars.

ETA: What's most infuriating about Allstate denying my parents' claim is that where they live, they've never been hit by a hurricane (they've lived in that house since 1966), so they've never had to make a claim. When they finally do, it's denied. :rolleyes:

I had an interview today! It was at the Home Builder's Association of Greenville, SC. The interview was for the Membership Director position. Basically, the position is to maintain the current membership and recruit others. I would have to maintain the membership and recruit by marketing the organization to local builders by setting up workshops to view new products and update builders on legal issues they may not be aware of. Cross your fingers though!

BTW, I have given this much thought and I am going to postpone my legal education. I am going to apply to Middle Tennessee State University and, hopefully, enter their Master of Fine Arts program for Recording Arts and Technologies. Like I said earlier in the thread, I want to open my own recording label and studio so I believe this would be the best for my situation and me. If I ever decide to go to law school I'll keep you informed!

I found out today I didn't get the job because the lack of experience situation. I am never going to get a job so I might as well settle for the sales associate job at Target forever. This means $50,000 went to waste for a useless degree. Yes, I do suffer from a form of depression and right now I am at my lowest point I have ever been at. For those of you who are religious, please keep my job situation and mental health in your prayers. For those of you who aren't religious, please keep me in your thoughts.

I am forever an over-educated part-time Target sales associate without benefits. Peace.

I wouldn't let that discourage you. I'm currently working in membership at a country club, and while I'm not the membership director, I have a WONDERFUL boss who understands that's what I'm working towards, and has pretty much let me dive right in on that position for hands-on experience. I will tell you, it's a bit tricky to get into because for the most part the people who do that have TONS of sales experience, and no experience in that field, or tons of experience in that field, and completely random degrees (hello... music major here). It sucks right now (though getting better) because 9 times out of 10 from what I've heard, people who are hiring are hiring for very very specific experience. Just keep plugging away, and enjoy getting a paycheck from Target for now.

I am sorry things are looking bad right now....I will definitely add you to my prayer list! Don't give up!!! Things have a way of turning around when you least expect them to!

Finding a job isn't easy...especially in this economy. Even people with 10 years experience aren't finding it easy to get a job.
You need to keep looking and try not to give up. During your free time, you need to network and go through the job ads. Follow up with the places you sent your resume to. Also, you may want to work through a temp agency. Many people find full time work through a job that was supposed to be temporary. Try to get in touch with recruiters in your area. They can be lots of help and they know of jobs that aren't posted on the normal job sites (monster, careerbuilder). I used a recruiter to find my current job.
You may want to contact some professors you had in college to see if they have colleagues in the area that may be looking for someone. My first job out of college was through a professor who knew someone in the company I got hired by.
Keep at it! Something will turn up!

Listen, just keep trying.

Ask people for advice and feedback after each interview.

Constantly network.

After some time, you are bound to at least get something.

-Rudey

Thanks Rudey and everyone else for your advice and support! I really appreciate it!

I would like to bump this thread back up.

I know how the original poster feel. I'm majored in psychology and it's frustrating. I'm tried to find jobs in my field, but I had to have experience. I wanted to do research to gain experience, but I didn't meet the required grades. I had a 3.0 at the end of my junior year. I wanted to do research in my last semester, because I wanrted to get the required classes out of the way. But, I had a rough beginning of my senior year this time last year. My great-grandfather died and I was dangerously ill. My grades fell. I didn't make anything below a C, but still.

I've never had a job in my life. So, I'm trying to find a job, period. Today, I posted my resume to a local company that I would love to work there. If all fails, I might put in an application for Starbucks. It's not much, but some money is better than no money.

To ztawinthropgirl, be glad that you have a job. I know it sucks, but having a job is better than unemployment.

As someone who's been on both ends in the past year, I'll tell you that your best bet right now is to get a part-time job that you might not like so much but that will put something on your resume. As an employer, I would find it odd that you've never had a job, yet your GPA was low (no offense... not that 3.0 is bad, but it's not stellar, either). Did you volunteer a lot? Were you very active on campus? In your sorority? Put all of those things down, and that might help. In the meantime, look for any job that you can get, but don't commit to full-time unless you really want to.