r/antiwork • u/DumbLuckDaDuck • 1d ago
Job market is officially cooked
Been interviewing at entry-level places over the past few months and yesterday I had an interview for a general labor position stocking product in a warehouse and assisting delivery of products to work sites...16$ an hour...Guy tells me it'll be close to 3 weeks before I hear back cause he's got around 20-30 interviews to go through. Cool I get it. But let me just say to you guys WHAT'S GOING ON? How is anyone surviving right now?
This is just ONE of the dozens of places I've interviewed with over the last few months where they either stated before I asked or when I asked about following up the same exact thing...Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for the job I have now but this shits insane to think that it's really THAT BAD out here.
Moral of the story if you have a job currently, think twice before you do anything you might regret cause this shits bad man just be humble and rough it out for a bit you'll be fine.
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u/vargchan 1d ago
Media doesn't wanna say that we're in a recession because the stock market is still doing relatively okay. Propped up by tech stocks mostly.
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u/Awkward_Can8460 1d ago
The entire stock market is now sitting atop the precarity of the Ai industry.
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u/Hardwired_lavamantis 1d ago
But not for the AI bubble, the market would be overall down, despite the money printers going brrrrrr.
But luckily we have a competent and caring administration, tiny national debt, and very few national disasters in our future when the bubble pops, right? RIGHT??
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u/Awkward_Can8460 16h ago
If it were going down, then it would be severe pressure brought by those who are profiting big-lee currently, and to which this admin would respond.
It's sorta like if the USA stopped all aid to Israel AND didnt sell it anymore weapons either; suddenly Israel would be forced to behave like a friendly neighbor, to be nice, and stop bullying everyone.
Similar dynamic. If we werent pumped in an Ai bubble, then we'd be experiencing more pressure to do something(s) that would - ideally - be useful to everyone.
But this is a bubble, and Israel gets everything it wants, so nobody has to be accountable for their fuckery.
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u/LarryCrabCake 1d ago
Propped up by tech stocks mostly.
5 companies are holding the S&P together right now. If you take them out of the equation, the rest of the actual market is down 5%.
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u/f4stEddie 1d ago
No the fk it’s not. My tech stocks took a massive fkn hit lol
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u/The_Chimeran_Hybrid 1d ago
QQQ dropped 50 dollars today. I said fuck it and finally sold everything today. Made out with 80% profit because I bought in two years ago.
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u/supermark64 4h ago
So hardly any long term profitable shit is happening, and the stocks are held up by market hype for AI products that nobody wants because they have the POTENTIAL to do bigger things in the future? How is this not a Ponzi scheme?
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u/Actual-Sandwich-2287 1d ago
You either struggle to find any type of position or have to make do with a minimum wage retail position that's desperate for workers due to the most awful management you will ever experience. This is essentially heaven for the richest in the country.
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u/Constant_Surprise_10 1d ago
My Son works at a place like that. They monitor their phone use and punish them regularly. Insane.
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u/little_blue_penguiin SocDem 14h ago
I worked at a place like that and they timed me in the restroom. Utter hell.
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u/jcoddinc 1d ago
I'm convinced many companies are staying afloat just by posting a job, collecting resumes and selling the data. Many even make you sign up and create an account just to even be able to apply. They have zero intentions of hiring anyone because the profits aren't being affected, so they just keep the posting and interviews going to make the workforce think they are trying so they themselves won't walk out. They'll do 20 interviews and say nobody wants to work because nobody accepted our offer while it being total dog shit.
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u/DumbLuckDaDuck 1d ago
Some positions I heard used to get grants for actively hiring. I don't remember if that was during the COVID thing or not but I feel like the data thing you mentioned is true along with that.
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u/CausticAvenger 1d ago
God I hate that create an account to apply bullshit. My boyfriend wanted to apply for the local Kroger, but first you gotta create an account, take a lengthy “do you work well with others” test, then fill out all your info even if it’s on your resume. It’s such a waste of time.
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u/copyraven 22h ago
"Do you agree, mostly agree, somewhat disagree, disagree" Dude I'm picking Spaghetti O's off a shelf and bagging them, my opinion is irrelevant.
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u/9thgrave 20h ago
But they really need know if your style of slinging bullshit onto a shelf aligns with their company values and your role as a brand ambassador!
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u/Common-Ad6470 1d ago
….then they’ll post up the exact same job a week later as if 500 people didn’t apply for the first time it was put up.
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u/chubbysumo 1d ago
And then in 3 months when they can find no "qualified" candidate, they will apply for an h1b.
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u/National_Cod9546 22h ago
My boss said she posted requirements. Everyone that made it through the HR filter had all the requirements like knowing SQL. She would pick out like 20, schedule interviews, and almost no one knew any SQL. Everyone is lying on their resumes just to get past the computer filters and at least get a chance at a resume.
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u/MidnightHeavy3214 1d ago
Maybe we should all take a note from Luigi
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u/DumbLuckDaDuck 23h ago
Better going out like that then being homeless due to medical debt lol I don't blame him
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u/Wisewordsforlater 1d ago
It's awful. All the enshittification combined. Applying and sending my resume/application mostly into the void and never hearing back. Or the ghosting/left hanging after a couple of interviews.
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u/DumbLuckDaDuck 1d ago
I started calling each one I'd apply too and follow up if they answer. That has gotten me a few extra interviews but no decent offers yet. I'm not asking for much here though and that's what's scary. I still live with family so I can afford to live off 15-16hr jobs, but nobody can afford to live off that in my area and the fact that those are absolutely flooded with applications is what's concerning.
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u/sodallycomics 1d ago
What do you say when calling to follow up? I’ve heard mixed messages about doing this.
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u/National_Cod9546 22h ago
The fact you called at all means a real human submitted it. Where as most of the rest were submitted by AI.
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u/johnb300m 1d ago
I am being blown up by recruiters actually.
But, the are mostly garbage jobs in remote places for 4, 6, 12mo contracts that don’t even come close to my skill set. They usually have low or no benefits.
They could even be fake also. Idk.
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u/godlyhalo 1d ago
I have a particularly niche skillset that is unique to an industry in my area. Recruiters hound me every week or two for positions, I literally am flooded by recruiters, however they are all contract companies. I literally ignore them, even if the pay rate may be similar to what I currently make, working for contract companies isn't worth it for me. The automotive industry is cancer, they will literally keep people as contract employees for years, dangling the real deal in front of them. Yet those very same contract employees often hold critical institutional knowledge that makes their aspect of the business function.
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u/DumbLuckDaDuck 1d ago
Same fuck temp agencies have had nothing but bad experience in the past with them. They're never actually hiring anyone in, you simply work for a few weeks maybe a month or two and then you get let go and there's no guarantee they'll place you somewhere else. Been through many temp agencies in the past so I know that much.
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u/chubbysumo 1d ago
Honestly, temporary employment agencies should be considered a scam. They take a part of your wage, as a fee, and the employer never has to have any benefits or anything other than a single check. The employer gets a larger tax deduction for a temporary employee, and no risk or cost. Temporary employment agencies rarely Place anyone at a job permanently, because they make more money when they don't.
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u/DumbLuckDaDuck 1d ago
No lie, the one I worked for had around 10-12 of us placed on the same assignment at this warehouse for 2 weeks. One day after break they told us we were no longer needed and to contact the temp agency that placed us there for further details. I walked out the door with a line of around a dozen people which was the majority of that warehouse positions staff to begin with...fuck temp agencies and the companies that use them.
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u/zeez1011 1d ago
Yeah they can be hit or miss but every full-time job I've had came from a recruiting agency.
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u/beer_engineer_42 20h ago
As a manufacturing engineer, I got laid off September 4, and started a new job October 5. I even had two offers to choose from.
But yeah, recruiters always want to put me somewhere where I have to move across the country for a three month contract with no guarantee of hiring afterwards. Motherfucker, I have a house and a kid and a wife who makes 2-3x what I do, I'm not fucking moving. Don't ask me if I'm sure when I tell you no thanks. I'm pretty fuckin' sure.
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u/CaydeTheCat 17h ago
It's insane. My career is in high-end IT consulting/contracting. My last gig paid me $85/hr. I've been out of work for months since they shipped my job, and the jobs of everyone on the team that worked for me, to India. Haven't been able to find anything. Only gotten two call back from applications.
Just to bring something in, I took a $17/hr cashier job at Best Buy, and still not sure how I got that.
Just insanity.
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u/imdugud777 1d ago
That's what happens when you let Private Equity run the show.
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u/mr_strawsma 1d ago
I have been unemployed for 18 months. I have a master's degree and years of experience in a couple of fields, and after a thousand applications, I have had two interviews. I'm not sure what to do at this point.
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u/Sad_Emphasis_8086 1d ago
Same. I don't have a degree but I have the experience so idek what to do. I've been applying all year and only had two interviews. One went really well and they didn't even bother with me. They made me drive almost an hour for a second interview too. Sigh.
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u/VeganMinecraft 1d ago
I also have a masters. College is a scam and a lie. My brother told me that colleges used to get you a job after college. Now they take MORE of your money without the promise of a job.
I had maybe 8 interviews for the whole year i was unemployed. Half of them ghosted. I even went to job fair at a hospital. They had 3 positions open and over 300 people showed up.....
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u/Due_Honeydew_2285 1d ago
Correct me if I’m wrong since my degree is much lesser than yours, but doesn’t it seem like there were never meant to be enough jobs for all of us degree holders?
It doesn’t make sense. Even specialized, highly educated people are facing insane amounts of competition.
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u/Global_Ad8018 1d ago
It wasn’t always like this. I have an advanced degree, but even before I went back for it, unless the economy was bad most people with a bachelor’s degree could find relevant work.
Those with associate’s degrees or HS diplomas often had a tougher time landing traditional white-collar jobs, but even that was doable. I worked in corps that hired from all pools, and at some places if you didn’t come in with a degree, they’d place you in an entry level role and pay for you to get one.
These are not normal times, and it’s been a slow downward creep to get to this dumpster fire for more than a decade.
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u/9thgrave 20h ago
I know two people with advanced masters in molecular biology and economics. They’re holding down jobs selling food out of a truck and as a mid-level bean counter in the bullpen at the local credit union respectively.
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u/ephemeriis_ 1d ago
Job market is officially cooked
I work in tech and it's absolutely fucked.
Tons of layoffs everywhere. Tons of people getting replaced by AI and/or contractors.
Every open position is immediately flooded with hundreds of applicants. Most of those applicants are immediately binned by some sort of AI screening tool. Half of those open positions aren't even real. Or, if they are real, they're already earmarked for some internal candidate or something and they aren't really considering any of their applications.
And then you make it through several layers of bullshit to actually talk to somebody about the position... Only to find out as something listed as 100% remote is actually 100% onsite, but they listed it as "remote" to attract more applicants. Or maybe you make it through multiple rounds of interviews and finally get to talk about compensation only to discover that there's no way in hell you could pay your bills with what they're offering.
The entire tech market is absolutely fucked.
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u/Awkward_Can8460 1d ago
You have to interview 20-30 people for one warehouse stocking position?
That is a manager who doesnt have any business being a manager.
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u/brilliant-trash22 1d ago
Probably interviewing that many people to see who they could give the lowest hourly wage
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u/tnolan182 1d ago
Still seems like a waste of time. That wouldnt be a manager I’d want. Spending 20-30 hours interviewing to save 1$ an hour.
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u/nik-nak333 1d ago
Yeah, that's a shitty manager. If you can't narrow it down to a handful of people to interview, you're just wasting a lot of peoples time.
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u/McBeaster 1d ago
Seriously, who even has time for that? Sounds exhausting
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u/24_August_1814 23h ago
A middle manager who knows they aren't busy enough and are desperately trying to justify their own continued employment
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u/Awkward_Can8460 1d ago
Yea, such a waste of time. Such a creation of needless busy-work.
That manager is supposedly looking for the absolute best fit possible for.. a warehouse stocking job?!
That mgr received many applications. Of those, you select 5 candidates and schedule 5 interviews. If you truly think none of those could do the job (for some reason) and be reliable, THEN go find another 5 from the stack.
This is managerial incompetence, and a time-waster. It suggests they might be lacking in other parts of their job, too.
And such a waste of time for 19-29 candidates who wont get compensated for their time of interviewing.
Any candidate who attends an interview has between a 95% - 96.67% chance of NOT getting hired! So it is a waste of time for everyone all around.
That manager sucks.
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u/beer_engineer_42 20h ago
When I was hiring for that kind of position, the interview was basically "can you lift 35 pounds and also pass a drug test? You can? Great! You can start as soon as your drug test clears, come in Monday morning and we'll take care of that."
Like, there's not a fuckin' process. You hire someone, if they can't hack it, they'll quit and you bring in the next guy on the list.
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u/aliensporebomb 21h ago
I just lost my longtime job tuesday. The company that bought the company I worked for is doing a lot of cutting quarterly even if you meet metrics and even if you get great performance reviews. They even cut my boss and the manager above him. They just don't care. They spent billions acquiring us and they also spent another 2 billion on a software product they seem to feel is the answer to all of their problems. I am fortunately because I might be able to retire early, but if I am forced to look for something nobody is going to want to hire a guy my age when I'll just retire in two years. Good luck to all of you out there. It's brutal.
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u/MatrixLLC 18h ago
i wfh, since covid began. if there's a rto there's a high chance i'll retire. i can manage it now, but i want health insurance coverage for as long as possible
i have no reason to think my job is in jeopardy or i'd be told to rto, but just in case i'm mentally ready
and right, at our age, no one will hire us - which means if i want any sort of paycheck i have to go back to doing agency work and i just don't want to do that
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u/512165381 23h ago
In 2005 I would go for a job & there would be 6 serious applicants.
Now there are 200 applications, half them from other countries, many wanting sponsorship, and most completely unqualified.
Its nonsense.
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u/VeganMinecraft 1d ago
I was in your position but for a whole year looking. I took a job $16.50 an hour just last month because my savings was too low to care and I also live with family so it would be the equivalent if i was making $26hr job but paying rent. One job, right as i was accepting the job I have now, paid $26 hr but it was ALL day court transcription work. Nothing else. I didnt want to blow my brains out so I took my current job which has more variety of work. My mom pays my car and health insurance and still i feel like its not enough. I get $900 every two weeks. Im blessed to be able to take this though. AI is taking way too many jobs. It took my last office job. And i pray that I can stay in this job long enough to qualify for unemployment again if I need to have it if this job goes under.
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u/deadboltwolf 1d ago
I've been out of work for months at this point. I cashed out my 401K and the money from that will be running out within the next couple weeks. I have been applying to jobs daily but haven't gotten a single interview. I've also had numerous experiences of applying for a job after seeing an online posting, calling and inquiring after not hearing anything for a week or 2 only to be told that they aren't currently hiring and don't know why a listing would be up.
It's just a weird fuckin time to be living in. I don't know what I'm going to do when money runs out.
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u/Silenceatsunset 1d ago
Job market is absolutely trash right now, you're not wrong. The AI screening is the worst part of it, you got qualified people getting filtered out by a bot before a human ever even looks at their application. And then the pay is a joke compared to what everything costs. $16/hr doesn't cover anything anymore but wages barely move. The whole thing is rigged against regular people just trying to work.
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u/Literally_-_Hitler 21h ago
Got layed off in February after helping to create an AI that replaced our entire department. Best i could get since then is a temp job at Amazon. Its fucking brutal.
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u/Fenweekooo 1d ago
hearing shit like this is the only reason why im still in the military, yay job security i guess...
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u/salsaman87 22h ago
Besides the clown ass in power, good move. I joined in 3/2007 and had zero idea how lucky I was with the market crash pulling up. Ppl talk mad shit sometimes but you’re set.
Pls get all your medical shit on paper btw. I waited 14 years to apply and mannnnn I missed out on so much and struggled for no reason 🤣.
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u/Tikkun_Olam1 21h ago
So your 20 years is almost up?? If so, great job !! Getting out now w/ retirement may be a great deal… BUT be careful what you choose for your next chapter. It’s nasty out there!
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u/salsaman87 13h ago
I got out after my 4, one pump to each “freedom”. Low key glad I did because USMC Garrison life is…yes. It was extremely hard adjusting, long ass story but almost homeless twice/drugs/alcohol the stereotypical vet stuff.
Thank god I said yes to coaching lacrosse, literally saved my life. I coach high school girls and have for 7 years but 10 total, it stresses me tf out but it’s so rewarding.
No joke about getting your ducks in a row it was just all around a shitshow for me. Luckily I’m ok right now, VA % is a godsend.
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u/CausticAvenger 1d ago
I’m not even sure where people are applying for jobs anymore. Feels like you send your resume off into the void and never hear back. Don’t even know if a human received it or if an AI bot threw it in the trash. It’s ridiculous.
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u/chaicoffeecheese 23h ago
I haven't even had a peep back on LinkedIn. Is that... not where people apply now? Maybe I should apply on Indeed today instead.
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u/UncleFuzzySlippers 9h ago
Dont forget to add, some that we never hear back on looks at the application but never responds. Then a week or so later we see the same position posted again. Like are yall hiring or not?
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u/eaglebtc 14h ago
I got laid off through no fault of my own. It was a mass layoff affecting lots of people at $oldJob. This situation sucks so bad.
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u/bbusiello 1d ago
I listen to some finance pods (usually for the guests they have on) and one of the comments pretty much put it succinctly: not a lot of layoffs (despite headline news), but also no one is hiring or replacing people who do leave. So if you're at a job, you might be "mostly" ok because there is still a need for some kind of labor, but that individual is going to be overloaded with work.
It's similar to houses where people are locked in with those sub 3% interest rates. You can hate your house or your neighborhood, but you're not gonna go anywhere because you're in the best possible situation right now. This is the way it is for many people who are actually employed.
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u/ProfessionalNinja967 1d ago
Took my sister a year and a half to land a decent job in her professional field. She kept getting hired & then fired after a couple of months because they decided to hire someone overseas since it's cheaper. The job market is in hell rn
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u/WitchTheory 1d ago
There's a few things happening....
A lot of companies are posting job listings that they don't intend to fill. Some of these positions aren't actually open. Some are but the company is on a hiring freeze.
The job market is shrinking. The economy is contracting, so companies are, too. Fewer jobs available means more people looking for work. I think this is intentional because it makes the job seeker desperate to take whatever they can get and will stay at bad jobs longer because they can't find something else.
Even before our current economic situation, companies were cutting staff anywhere they could to save money. Compound this cost-saving metric with a contracting economy means even fewer jobs. And all that saved money? It goes to c-suite and shareholders.
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u/TxDinoHunter 1d ago
People being bumped by AI are taking the jobs, even entry level, such as servers, warehouse,etc they have been out of work so long they take anything even those with degrees. AI is taking a lot of jobs now and its only going to accelerate. Soon, lyft and Uber and Amazon delivery and ups will use ai and robotics to deliver packages with driverless vehicles and robots. Our government needs to address how its going to affect its citizens. And now. But you are talking about a government that is not even paperless in 2026. People need to bug their reps weekly about this issue. The crisis has started, like, yesterday and suddenly one day, the media will be like, why are do many people out of a job? What happened? We never saw this coming..i guarantee those will be the headlines
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u/cosine83 5h ago
We're heading towards a 2008 job market but worse because of AI fuckery. If the job postings aren't fake and you don't get ghosted, you'll be up against dozens of others for the same position.
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u/aware-reply33 1d ago
It's weird out there for sure. I'm getting a few interviews here and there thing is they're all just going very poorly and not on my end. Most of the time the people I'm interviewing with don't have important details like schedule or give some purposely vague answer. The red flags, toxic atmosphere and warning signs have become a lot more obvious and It's harder to push forward with something that feels corporate and untrustworthy.
Had a manager tell me almost bragging they hadn't even looked at my resume after a lengthy email back and forth to set up a phone screen. Then just called an hour late and were rude about some of my prior experience when asked to hastily list it off like I was some 16yo wasting their time. 10+ years experience seem to mean nothing. That all sends a clear signal to the applicant.
Another place asked for pay expectations towards the end of the call and I gave the hourly rate listed on the job posting as a range. The director reacted in surprise and said that was way more then they were hoping. Like what? It's what you have on the companies own website and it's basically the floor of a livable wage around 25 an hour.
Was fired last month at a union shop over scheduling bate and switch nonsense getting into it with a middle manager to cover overnights. Company will list all day shifts on the job posting and then switch everything after hire. If you don't just do it you get terminated for probation and "not being dedicated". Just lost patience with places that can't be honest and effectively manage without slighting workers and there is this expectation that staff that's barely pulling a decent wage over 20 an hour to pick up all the slack.
The place I was fired from recently put up postings for HR director and manager. Usually a sign of major internal disarray so it's good riddance but I still need to find something else and pay rent. It's legit just getting harder to just find a tolerable place to work.
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u/DumbLuckDaDuck 17h ago
I went to this interview the other day and the pay was 17hr. Guy offering me the position said "at least you'll be making 16hr now instead of 15hr. I had to bring up how the job listing said it was 17hr. Not to mention they wanted me to train on a different shift for a month and work with hazardous chemicals which absolutely wasn't listed in the job description otherwise I wouldn't have even applied.
I'm glad you've shared this cause it confirms exactly what I've suspected as far as even the HR people being incompetent or even sleezy as far as hiding major details about the job itself and having a false description all together.
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u/Masterpiecepeepee 18h ago
I can't look at $16 with a straight face. Is the starting rate $16 and then I get $26 after a month?
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u/DumbLuckDaDuck 17h ago
I mean it's doable when you still live with your parents. I only gotta pay for my car insurance, phone bill and food plus 200 a month rent. I've managed to buy a car out right for 9k and save 10k in 2 years off 15hr. You gotta really budget but it's doable if you don't have any addiction issues including weed/alcohol etc.
Now if I lived on my own I'd be homeless with that wage. You can't even qualify for any apartments off 16hr by yourself with the usual 2.5 to 3x monthly income requirements most places have and rent where I'm at is anywhere from 700-1k a month for a 1 bedroom studio.
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u/HausWife88 1d ago
The job i currently have, which i have been working for about a year and a half, had 400 applicants. I feel utterly blessed to have landed this job. Before that, i had been actively applying to jobs for easily 4 months. I had two interviews, which turned into job offers and I accepted one.
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u/SiofraRiver 22h ago
general labor position stocking product in a warehouse and assisting delivery of products to work sites...
Dude, you can interview like 20 people a day for grunt work positions, what is taking Guy three weeks?
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u/g_ppetto 1d ago
America got what they voted for...
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u/Evil_Mini_Cake 1d ago
It’s not just America. Canada is just as bad.
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u/g_ppetto 1d ago
It may be true that Canada has issues too, but I think the current leadership is turning things around with the investments they have made in their country and its' infrastructure. Finding customers other than USA is going to help immensely. I support their efforts.
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u/CG_Ops 1d ago
I'm fortunate to have landed a job immediately after getting laid off last fall. I had to switch fields (from Ops/Sales Analyst to FP&A) but it has been an amazing opportunity for me.
I'm now hiring for a Jr Financial Analyst, reporting directly to me at a salary range of 80-95k. Put up a listing on Indeed and had 150 applications in 3 days.
- 70+ had 10+ years experience.
- 5 had direcor/C-suite experience
- 50+ had a Masters or higher.
- 20 had PhDs
- 95 were out of state
- 10 were out of the country
Shit's pretty bad out there
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u/United_Bus3467 1d ago
20 - 30? is he building a team out or what?
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u/DumbLuckDaDuck 1d ago
Just one guy he said. That's 20-30 people competing for one position.
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u/The_Chimeran_Hybrid 1d ago
The place I work at now had 50 applicants apply for one position. Manager spent a few days interviewing all of them.
The position I got had 30 people apply. My brother can’t find a job and he’s fresh out of high school. All the typical high school jobs aren’t even getting back to him with any response, not even a rejection email.
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u/DumbLuckDaDuck 17h ago
That's because all of the 25-35 year olds are working high school jobs just to have some type of income. What an ass backwards world we live in.
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u/9thgrave 20h ago
I placed over 120 applications before I got my current job. I didn’t even want it, either, I just applied on a fucking lark because I was desperate. I’m glad I have at least something bringing in money but it’s nowhere near what I need to survive comfortably.
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u/satanikimplegarida 13h ago
rough it out for a bit you'll be fine
Press 'x' to doubt.
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u/DumbLuckDaDuck 8h ago
As long as you keep trying eventually some type of offer will come your way. It's not gonna happen after a few interviews though anymore. Expect a few months but if you're consistent and call back etc you will get some type of offer.
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u/zoeykailyn 1d ago edited 1d ago
bro it's peak season at ups. you don't even interview for a job that's union, full benefits, and $20-22/hr at hiring.
I make $25.50 after two years worth of raises. Medical fully covered no copay. And 5k of dental covered per year. If you can handle wharehouse work you can handle a box line.
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u/chubbysumo 1d ago
I mean yeah props to you, but you also get worked hard. I work for the usps, not everybody can make it.
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u/duncan-the-wonderdog 1d ago
Probably not the job for someone with chronic pain or who would need to take regular breaks?
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u/zoeykailyn 1d ago
you basically work your ass off for 4-8hrs a day so not really. But if you can push through the Teamsters have your back.
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u/duncan-the-wonderdog 1d ago
Probably not the most suitable job for me, with the box lifiting. I could pack boxes for that amount of time, but I'd need someone else to do the lifting if speed is required.
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u/DumbLuckDaDuck 17h ago
You've failed to mention that all UPS warehouse positions start off as seasonal and you're not guaranteed a permanent role after 2/3 months of "peak season". Or the part time 20hr work week for 22hr which is basically the same pay I make at 40hr work week for 15hr...
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u/scottnebula 1d ago
Why would you do 30 interviews for that job? Holy shit what a waste of time. Pick 5 max and bust out the process in one afternoon. Some HR folks make extra work for themselves to look busy but I would hate the total waste of multiple days (weeks?!?!?!)
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u/Small_Tiger_1539 1d ago
This time of year there's always Fed Ex. It's a suck ass job but starting pay is usually around 17 and hour with various shifts so u can either still interview elsewhere or get a side hustle ( instacart, Uber etc). They usually hire anyone who applies
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u/DumbLuckDaDuck 17h ago
Fuck FedEx. They advertise "full time" as 30 hours a week. You're lucky to get 20 after peak. I've worked there so I know the deal. It would be worth it if they guaranteed you 40 hours a week but I'm not doing that type of labor for a 20-30 hour week check.
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u/Shadow_Relics 1d ago
There is a massive manpower issue across the entire country for trades work. Electricians especially. My union hall in the Hudson valley NY has been at 90% plus employment for the past four years now. Just this summer we had over 120% employment, taking travelers and we had over 100 open calls at one point. There’s more massive projects starting over the winter and into 2027 that are 1-7 year long projects and we don’t know how we’re going to man them.
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u/TinyEmergencyCake 1d ago
cause he's got around 20-30 interviews to go through
Does he not understand he can stop interviewing when he reaches a viable candidate? It sounds like you aren't the one.
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u/DumbLuckDaDuck 1d ago
Oh well, I'm thankful for my current job at least as I've stated. It's just frustrating cause it seems like everyone is having this issue right now and I feel bad for the ones that don't have a job at all.
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u/Forward-Amount-9961 1d ago
Since you are fine with an entry level position, may I recommend looking at the websites for any of your local hospitals or schools? Those places almost always have plenty of entry level openings doing various things that involve supporting people.
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u/Malicious_blu3 8h ago
I’m lucky to have scored a full-time contract that is actually paying slightly more than my last job. Like, $2000 more, the smallest bump I’ve gotten when going to work for a new company. But in this market where I’ve seen salaries for my industry drop 50k, I’ll take it.
My entire team was laid off nearly a year ago and a couple of my colleagues are still looking. I had anticipated long-term unemployment but kept a steady part-time job and never experienced an actual gap in employment. I am so fortunate. I try to pay it forward as much as possible, helping them where I can, but it’s bleak.
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u/GableCat 8h ago
20-30 interviews what an inefficient process they must have - ridiculous waste of everyone’s time. These companies need to reassess all this time waste… geez unbelievable
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u/DocBarkevious 1d ago
Now more than ever is time to learn a trade, get a degree (You dont always need one but it helps), and yes, even if your job sucks...hold onto it, the days of "Well fuck this I'll go get another job" are gone. If you can do this and survive for 3-6months, by all means...
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u/DumbLuckDaDuck 1d ago
That's the plan I've just gotta figure out what I wanna do first. I'm not very book smart at all so it'll be hard for me to get a degree, trades is about the only chance I've got.
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u/DocBarkevious 1d ago
Trades are the best bet. Plumbing, electrical, welding, something like that maybe? A friend of mine from HS went that route and he was a solid D student who is now his own boss. He's smart, just not typical school smart...which isnt always everything.
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u/Tall-Control8992 1d ago
Not hating on trades, what do people think will happen to the wages when those fields have five or ten qualified candidates for every opening? The bottom will fall out of most trades outside ones with hard licensing requirements e.g. law or healthcare
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u/TheMov3r 1d ago
You must not live somewhere rural. I would be utterly shocked to see the bottom fall out on pretty much any trade out here. Come to southern Vermont if you are highly skilled in any trade and you will be fully booked and paid well
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u/Vegetable-Bear-162 23h ago
not a thing outside of the cities, we are starving for ANYONE who can read write with some semblance of sobriety in northeast ohio its a money waterfall with literally zero competition out here in the flyover states.... Reminds me of the boom time in the Bakken back in the day... and kind of incredible for the rust belt.
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u/DocBarkevious 1d ago
Never seen that happen. Even here in Arizona every handy man or skilled tradesman makes like $160-300 a day for their work. That's just the ones I know.
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u/Reverend_Bull 21h ago
Which of the trades do us so-disabled-we-can-only-do-office-work but not-disabled-enough-to-collect-SSI go into?
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u/needmorenaps22 20h ago
I do admin work for three small trade companies. They work for themselves and have one or two employees and they are awful at the business end of things. I balance their books, organize, square away all their licensing and insurance stuff. I make $500 a week cash that way. $100 for two guys for a few hours of a work and $200 from another place for another few hundred. It’s not the most money but I also have a regular job. I’m trying to get enough clients to go”legit” and market myself for tradespeople who are craftsman and great at what they do but hate office stuff.
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u/XcFTW 1d ago
Bro I’ve had interviews with 2 companies and it’s like 4 fucking interviews each.
I guess I get it for an external manager position but man. HR/DM/DM/HR&MD
HR/DM/DM/DM
Like wtf lol
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u/DumbLuckDaDuck 1d ago
That's a whole different thing and I can only imagine how bad it is for legit careers as far as the job market goes lol
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u/Mustbhacks 1d ago
think twice before you do anything you might regret cause this shits bad man just be humble and rough it out for a bit you'll be fine.
2 years into "roughing it out", don't recommend it.
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u/MatchAnxious8910 21h ago
I ask the same thing. When i visit places such as NJ and parts of Pennsylvania, i often ask my self how does anyone survive in major cities without being millionaires. The average person cant afford 3k in rent let alone 2 or 1k. I often wonder how people younger than 35 live in these places especially with high cost of living.
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u/Shroomtune 1d ago
WTF interviews 20 people for a $16/hr job? That doesn’t add up.
My guess is there is something else going on.
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u/Kontrolgaming 23h ago
its just called being picky, they want the fastest best worker who will work their ass off for that shitty pay. kind thinking the job market is this thinking right now.
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u/Zingshidu 19h ago
This is pretty much it, I hire for low pay positions. Anyone can do the job but you gotta find someone with the right personality to put up with it long term.
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u/DumbLuckDaDuck 17h ago
Nope. I had an interview just like that for another similar position and they said they were only looking to hire on 1 or 2 people to add to the team. I've started asking sometimes when they ask if you have any questions for me at the end of the interview and it usually throws them off guard and they say that.
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u/bxdtxste 1d ago
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u/Jaeger__85 9h ago
Who can afford to pay the green professions if the ones in red are without a job?
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u/WigglyWeasle 1h ago
Art as less venerable. Really? Given most people who create art are hugely threatened by AI image gen, I call absolute BS on that chart.
99% of artists are people who aren't someone selling million dollar works, they're doing commission work, illustration, etc
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u/Demonweed 1d ago
After being flooded by a breach in a major water line, a local chain music store is reopening soon. Just out of curiosity, I sniffed around their job postings. They pay music teachers $16/hour to start -- music teachers! Yet it got worse as I continuing poking around. If you stick with it and work your way up to supervising other teachers, you might earn as much as $23/hour. Then again, between old folks looking for ways to pass the time and young people desperate for any opportunity, I bet they still fill all those slots.
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u/False_Contribution12 13h ago
Yep, that and with the new medicaid work requirements in January, I imagine its total hell to find a new job in todays market, everyones scrambling for something, anything, benefits or no. We're screwed.
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u/ThrivingInthewoods 1d ago
The trades are always the place to be, it does take 4 years of training which you don’t need a pay a cent. I’m making $8-12k a month take home depending on how much I want to work. With full medical, dental, pension plans & separate 401k.
People look down on us plumbers, hvac, electrical but they don’t realize how much we make. We can buy houses, vehicles, take vacations. Starting pay is around $25 an hour, every 6 months you get an automatic raise.
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u/Um_uh_well 23h ago
I've never known anyone to look down on tradework. I wish I could do it but I already have a bad back and arthritis.
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u/NegaScraps 21h ago
Agreed. So manytradesmen have a chip on their shoulders. Nobody is looking down on you. I've known tradesmen who feel this way, and then turn around and say they do "real work" looking down on people who do office work. It's all ridiculous.
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u/TheIrishMan1211 18h ago
Just commenting to let you know that I have never looked down on anyone in the trades. You folks are the ones who really make this developed and civilized world run. Without you it would be a complete disaster. I’m not handy AT ALL and I am so thankful any time I have to get a tradesmen or handy-man out to my house to do any work.
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u/WartimeHotTot 16h ago
No one is looking down on you. I think y’all make this myth about yourselves.
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u/chaicoffeecheese 23h ago
I'd love to go into a trade, but physically, I couldn't manage it. It sucks because it does seem like a good job security option since my office job experience is... worthless, apparently.
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u/MatrixLLC 18h ago
i don't look down on anyone who works in a trade
but i'm hoping physically when you get into your 50s that your health is holding up - for a lot of tradies, it's the beginning of a bad decline
i have a condo and i've never needed an electrician nor a handyman, but over the years i've had a plumber in 3 or 4x
i wouldn't know how to do the work and these guys did a great job every time
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u/brighterside0 22h ago
I don't look down on trade roles - I envy and respect folks on this path - especially nice humble people in these trades.
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u/FlobiusHole 13h ago
Nobody truly looks down on people in the trades. I don’t know where this is coming from.
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u/one_step_beyond2121 15h ago
You are correct, and in some fields the demand is pretty high right now. Im in the plastic industry and there is high demand for Process Techs, Supervisors and Maintenance. The starting pay for those positions in less populated areas is better right now.
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u/NotFallacyBuffet 23h ago
We can't find competent electricians to run jobs. Or just competent journeymen/women. And the ones we do have are leaving en masse to datacenters.
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u/MaxRichter_Enjoyer 1d ago
In all my years of looking for jobs ('95 - '22), this is the worst I've ever seen. A fucking apocolypse, honestly. Back in the late '90s to mid '00s, it was common for people to graduate with 2-3 job offers and we would just joke about who got a 'great' job (e.g., the FMP program at GE, or IB at GS, etc.).
Now? Jesus christ, it's awful. AI is great, don't get me wrong, love it, use it all day every day, but it's going to destroy so many jobs.
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u/banan3rz 1d ago
Then AI isn't great. It is destroying the planet and killing the job market.
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u/Mindless-Scientist82 1d ago
See what we need to do is instead of tracking EBIT for growth, we should be looking at labor funds. If your labor fund for your business isn't growing, your business isn't growing. Would completely change how we value conpanies
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u/BakedBrie1993 1d ago
Did you ask what it would take to get him to offer you the job and save himself the trouble?
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u/killakio 1d ago
I've been unemployed for over 3 years. I have over 5 years in sales, manufacturing and a few years working remote and QA.... I've had 3 interviews and a job for a month before I was laid off again. I hate it here.
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u/worthwaitingfor24 1d ago
My husband quit his job in January 2024, and still hasn’t found another one. Thankfully, we’ve always been good with money, so we’re fine, but it is tough out there.
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u/Due-Lengthiness-5890 5h ago
I'm not surviving. I have no savings left. Debt is growing exponentially, and I feel like I'm just digging a deeper hole than the one I spent the last few years getting out of.
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u/ZealousidealPie2459 5h ago
I got a job at Starbucks in 2023. I’m still here 🫠 just a new location.
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u/mushroomfairygarden 2h ago
Nobody is actually reading this post?
“Hold onto your shitty job at any cost!” On this subreddit?
I get everyone is jumping into their own experiences but I would like to challenge this narrative that it is best to rough it out and (eugh) suggest one be grateful for their shitty job.
Yeah the job market sucks. But don’t stop applying for and striving for better things. Don’t accept bad conditions or get a chronic illness because of posts like this stoking a deep held anxiety about job markets.
I think there’s the personal experience of work, and the institutions of Work if you know what I mean? The personal is inherently political. And I wish the conversation could move towards holding accountable the institutions that treat us like this.
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u/WigglyWeasle 1h ago
I'm a store manager of a retail business, it's an independently owned business. The owner is cutting total hours I'm allowed to roster on, slowly over time. He's cut 20% of total hours this past 18 months & it's been a constant argument between us as we are just too threadbare to get anything but unpacking deliveries, ordering, and the most essential work done. Anyone calling out sick, I'm just having work left unfinished as I refuse to try and push the staff, it's BS.
So when we recently had someone leave, nobody was hired as staff currently working here, were able to finally get some more hours as we've got many part timers on just 10-15 hours a week.
I'm in Australia, but I hear similar things about other stores, and warehouses facing similar problems.
The constant drive to extract as much work as possible from as few people as possible, is creating a total reduction in total hours in a job market.
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u/RoyalCamera12 1h ago
Are you college educated? It not, why didn't you go to college and work for a better degree?
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u/foehammer23 1d ago
More people are losing jobs, application tracking systems are flooded (and deeply flawed), fake job postings mean that basically the only way to get interviews is to cut in line somehow
And if people do still have a job, they're hugging it for dear life