We are programmed to receive...

Easier to get a job if you have a job. Probably should use the earnings to see a therapist to deal with the job application anxiety.

I find this meme very classist.

We are all just prisoners here

I knew a woman who took a job in a porn shop while she worked on her book (a children’s book), and depression set in when she realized she hadn’t touched her manuscript in 2 years and her career was being a porn clerk.

She ended up becoming the manager of three stores.

Edit: This was back in the ‘90s, when people bought porn in stores.

I graduated in 2011 shortly after the shit hit the fan in '08. I remember moving back home and trying to get my shit together. My mom starts hounding me about needing to go back to work (I had worked as a cashier at a grocery store seasonally while getting my degree) I told her I wasn't going back to that job n wanted to get a career job. After a month of not getting said career job in the worst economy since the depression she threatened to kick me out if I wasn't working in the next 2 weeks. So I went back to that shit ass retail job... For 4 fucking years.

I worked at the grocery store, got a promotion and still made next to nothing wage wise. After a couple of years it was a real hindrance in interviews. I would get questions like "you graduated 2 years ago, why are you still working at a grocery store? Eventually a friend got a job working in an office at a limo company. I was able to piggy back off him to get a job there. It was shady, and I had no healthcare, or benefits compared to my previous employer, but it was a desk job. I was only at the limo company a little more than a year before I managed to get a career job elsewhere and work my way up. I sincerely think that having that crappy retail job on my resume was holding me back.

It pisses me off that I wasted 4 years on a retail job when I absolutely could have/ would have/ should have been in a better job. I have told new grads multiple times not to fall into this trap. Don't get a bridge job if you can avoid it. It's going to suck up all your time, and having the work experience isn't going to help your career. You're better off just quitting and pursuing your career in any way you can. Unless you absolutely cannot make rent and will be homeless, fucking don't do it. Also, now with driving Uber / door dash as an option, I'd recommend it before doing retail. You can actually network driving Uber and talking to folks.

The last panel caught me by surprise and got a good laugh.

When I was working my way out of retail jobs I took a job at a callcenter making a pittance. It beat retail and came with actual responsibilities and expectations which I liked. A few months in some management type shared a random feelgood blogpost by someone who stated they've been working in a callcenter for 6 years. I remember commenting at the time "yikes why would you keep working in a callcenter for that long?" (I think at the time I hadn't even been an adult for 6 years)

3.5 years later I put in my notice from that job and started rocketing my career upward. I spent my last year working part time while I worked on an IT degree, and had become very relied upon at the callcenter. My old boss from there actually keeps asking me to let her get me a job on their IT team, but I know that I can get better pay and benefits elsewhere. But most importantly, I kept my initial horror at the idea of working in a callcenter for 6 years in the back of my mind and made sure to get out long before reaching that point myself.

In my current job I encounter people in similar positions. They're underqualified and living in small towns with limited employment options so they put up with pretty nasty working conditions in (for example) meat packing plants in order to take home the best pay and benefits they can. I heard one of the field employees I support mention that they haven't been home for over 6 months, and they said this to me whilst I was sitting in my cushy office job working from my own home while my toddler slept in the next room not 8 feet away.

Taking initiatives ... It's hard for most of people.