How to escape low-wage service jobs in your 20s?

• Those of you post-grads figuring it out in your 20s (or 30s) doing odd jobs, waiting tables, jobs not nec. related to your major, where are you now? What advice would you have if you could go back and do it again? When I was 18, I met a bunch of 23 and 24 year old post-grads living together. Some of them weren't working. Others were working part time shifts at coffee shops, restaurants, and bike shops. All of them were still figuring things out and not pursuing what they originally majored in. When I worked at a coffee shop at this age, my coworkers were late 20 somethings who were figuring things out too. They had been there for a while. I wonder what happened to those people. And, I wonder if some of them are still working those part-time shifts, that have maybe turned full time. I'm not saying that working in retail or the food service industry is bad, but it's clear that these people had meant it to be a temporary gig. Now that I'm a 23 year old post-grad, I'm a bit surprised to find myself in the same boat. I majored in architecture, which was hit very hard with the recession, not to mention the flood of architecture grads already looking for work. The pay for entry-level architects is not very high, the hours tend to be very long, and the work is, usually, but not always, pretty mundane as an entry-level with lots of autoCAD, scanning, and Adobe. Anyway, I've decided it's not for me. I've had an inkling of this thought in university, but I excelled as a student and didn't pay it enough thought since school was pretty easy and rewarding for me (scholarships, awards, etc.) But now that I'm faced with reality, none of those things really matter, and more importantly, I know that it's not what I want to do. So now what? Obviously I need to get a job, so while I'm figuring things out, I plan to get a part time retail or food service job. I understand how easy it is to get comfortable in these jobs though, and that's what I'm afraid of. Waitressing will likely pull in more money hourly (+ tips) than an entry-level architecture job, you'll get more person-to-person interaction, you don't stare at a screen all day and you're on your feet which is much healthier than sitting all the time. But there are no health benefits and though it'll be enough to comfortably live day-to-day, it's not an ideal setup for planning long-term. I know the solution would be to keep your eye on the prize, which is figuring out your next career move, but I'm afraid I'll just slide and get stuck into the service industry field. I don't even know what general direction I want to go. Those aforementioned 20-somethings are now in their late 20s or early 30s and I wonder how many of them are still in those types of jobs. And with the economy the way it is, I wouldn't really be surprised if they haven't left. So have you found yourself in this position as a post-grad reconsidering your career options (i.e. not wanting to pursue what you majored in but not sure of what you want)? Are you still in it? Or have you successfully used that time off whilst working part time jobs to find out what you really want? And do you have any advice for someone like me? Or a past you? Thanks!

• Answer:

  You're going to get a lot of advice on this one. Much of what I say may be repeated, but it's definitely an important question for you to be considering, and I think you're going about it in the right manner. First of all, you're going to have to pay your dues at some point. Maybe more than once. If you don't know what I mean when I say "Don't Eat The Marshmallow", go Google it. What is very important to consider is not only the actual task involved in the job, but the general skills that occur around work. The reason college degrees are so prized is two-fold. The first is that you learn how to think and produce results. The second is perhaps more important. You show that you can set a goal that is four years away, and work incrementally to achieve it. This is very important. Lots of people I started with did not make it through college. They opted out for a variety of reasons. They did not complete the journey, thus no degree. So when you look at your college degree, not only did you get a degree in architecture, you have a degree in finishing what you started. It's not an easy road for most of us, to be sure, but you did it. That is paying your dues. So you've paid the first part of them. Now for the second part. Even if all you do in an office is entry-level AutoCAD, you are still in an office. You learn how to show up on time (believe me, this is not as easy as it sounds), deliver results, work with a team, respect authority, network, work the power structure (read: gossip), and a whole host of other things are are about the office environment. Are those things important? I believe they are. I have often worked with creative professionals in corporate roles. They often have a very rough road in because they are not used to the functioning of the work. They are very good at the task itself, but it's all of the contextual things. I'll give you another example. A good friend years ago was a waiter. He was used to being paid out nightly (tips) and weekly (salary). When he graduated grad school, he went to an office job where he was paid monthly. You have no idea how long it took him to adapt to that change. He often had to borrow money to buy new clothes, as he was doing very well but wasn't used to budgeting for things like ties, shoeshines, taxis, etc. There's a whole world of nuances in the context of one's work. McKinsey was famous at my business school for a marathon of 35 interviews with one candidate. They often came with a day or two of notice. And traveling to those interviews was about £40 each, and took two hours each way. Why so many? We came to believe that they are looking for people who are very stable. That each time he met with them, he was clean-shaven, suit pressed, attentive, etc. Regardless of what was going on in his life. This guy was going to be thrust into serious situations at a moment's notice with a lot of money and time on the line. Lots of people could do the task – M&A Valuation – but they were looking for fit. Fit is what you get by paying your dues. Secondly, there is a bad assumption amongst people when it comes to things like jobs. If I tell you the unemployment rate in the US is 10%, you may be horrified. But that also means 90% of people have jobs. If I tell you that it's 2% for masters-degreed professionals, that means 98 out of 100 people have jobs. There is the often the assumption that we will each fall into the worst-case scenario. Perhaps that's a basic human behavioural protection. Who knows? The reality is that whilst you see a bunch of crap entry level architecture jobs and a lot of unemployed architecture practitioners, the reality is that is not the story. In my view, your generation has a very bad bent toward entitlement. You want to run fast and things to happen immediately. You're used to content on demand and a world that is exceptionally malleable. Yet the rest of the world continues operating by the old rules. Apprenticeship has been around forever for a very good reason. You need to learn how to conduct yourself and deliver to specification. In most jobs, there are infinite nuances that can cause problems, and you need to learn which to avoid, and which are acceptable. I see lots of unemployed people who don't want to take entry level work because it's boring and it sucks. Yes, it is boring and it does suck. And it does that for a reason. Because you need to learn. Think of entry-level jobs as the next iteration of your education, only now you are being paid to learn. If you do take an entry-level job in architecture – any entry level job in architecture – you will be massively ahead of all of your cohort who believe they're too good for that. THOSE are the people that will not go very far in life, for they are simply not willing to do the work. Thirdly, you're orientation toward waitressing and Money Now is a slippery slope. So you start waitressing and make a bit more money than you would otherwise. You get better at it and make a bit more. The entry-level job requirement is never going to go away. What will happen is that the gap between your current pay and that pay will grow, making it increasingly difficult to make that step. Right now, you have a choice of two paths. In a few years, it will be a step down. Whilst the people who took the entry-level path are ascending. You'll want to go on trips. To buy things. To live better. And that all takes money, and it will consume your earnings. You may get to the point where you don't see how you could earn that entry level salary again. And then there you are, a professional service person. And there's nothing wrong with that. Lots of people go that route and live great lives. The ones that are happy made the choice to go that way because it's what they wanted to do. I know lots of happy bartenders and career waitresses. They have good lives. Often, they love people. They LOVE people. They just love the whole scene of it. Or maybe they have a dream of their own bar or restaurant. Or they're using the cash to fund an education, or a record label. The ones that seem unhappy are those who fell into it and couldn't get out for the reason previously mentioned. They didn't make the choice, they avoided making another choice. They wanted a bit more money now, and now they are stuck. They are usually massively overqualified, but over time, they give up on their dreams. All because they didn't want to go pay their dues. They didn't like the idea of being an office monkey. The salary. Sitting inside all day. They thought about all the reasons that they didn't want to the job, rather than focusing on the big picture and what they did want. Lastly, there is the consideration of what you want to do. Do you want to be an architect? If you do, then Go Do It. I love the startup stages of businesses and focus my work around that. The fields have been diverse – from television, to brand strategy, to sustainability, to management consulting, to property. For me, the attraction is the phase of the business, and creating employment and initial cash returns. I love the challenge and the blank page. But that's me. Someone once said that if you have a story inside of you screaming out, you have to share it. That is where great writers and filmmakers come from. Great being people who are satisfied with their own work, as opposed to finding commercial success. My own journey has always been informed by that little niggling idea that will not go away. I was fascinated by market research as a use of psychology, so I went and did it. I became fascinated by environmentally-focused business strategies, so I went and did that. All along the way, I listened to that passion and that voice. Often paying my dues. What is your story that needs to be told? You have to figure THAT out first. If it's architecture, it doesn't matter what you have to do to go get it. There was a study of successful people and unsuccessful people. One of the big mental differences that they found was that unsuccessful people looked at how much more they had to do to achieve a goal. Successful people celebrated what they had done that day. Unsuccessful sales people saw 2 closes out of 10 to mean 8 that aren't done yet. Successful sales people saw 2 closes out of 10 as 2 more than they had yesterday. So consider the career of an architect. What is the ultimate goal (obviously to build a building in Manhattan Ted Mosby)? Consider the entry-level job as the starting point. Does anyone want to go sit in the airport? No. But you want to go see the ashrams of India, so you have to sit in the terminal. If you do a service job because it will pay you more than a desk job, you will get better at serving people and not better at working at an architectural practice. If that is what you want to get good at, then go do it. But don't do it for the money, because Your Grand Life Ambition is not worth the difference of a few dollars an hour. As you go, you will see that the absolute most important thing you have is your time. Use it wisely.