Job search resumes

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Ever since the Coronavirus hit New York, I've mostly been in lockdown in my house. But with conditions improving I have finally resumed my search for work.

A few changes occurred during my weeks of isolation. First, I finally became able to write cover letters, not good ones, but I've gotten over the mental wall that had been preventing me from writing cover letters, so it's a good first step in the right direction. Second, I got a part-time job at ShopRite, which so far is my only successful job application, it's a temporary thing until I succeed in my job search. Third, I've changed my conditions of being able to commute and am now willing to relocate almost anywhere for a job, which has opened up a lot of job opportunities for me.

I hope things go well since I am a little depressed at how things have been going so far.

Congratulations on your progress.

What kinds of jobs are you interested in?

Well, I've been applying to research assistant positions in the biology and biochemistry fields with no success so far, just a bunch of letters saying that they've chosen to move forward with other qualified candidates.

The bright side of this being that I actually receive rejection letters now, instead of simply being ignored and sent nothing in reply. Although the constant rejection has been filling me with negative thoughts. Though I think I'll post those thoughts in the Haven instead of here.

I wonder how other people do it, searching for a job for months and years with constant rejection and only able to work jobs that you are overqualified for.

On that note, I've finally started work pushing carts in ShopRite. It's an okay job, physically demanding, but I think my body will adjust. Not exactly the job I had in mind when I pursued a biochemistry degree, but beggars can't be choosers, seeing as virtually every one of my job applications gets rejected.

There are many tutoring jobs in NYC. Some of these are online.

Wasn't able to get to degree level myself for a few reasons, but the qualifications I had didn't really dictate my career path. My career history went in an entirely different direction to the paths my education had taken me into. It actually surprized me!

What were your qualifications?

My qualifications were an ACS accredited biochemistry degree from Texas State University and about 9 months of research experience.

In practical terms, these aren't very strong qualifications. Texas State University is a good University, but it's not exactly University of Texas or Ivy league. My GPA is also mediocre, leaving only my research experience as a rather decent qualification. Considering that there are hundreds of applicants to most jobs I am not surprised I don't often make it to the interview.

Considering the research I've done, job applications are the least likely way to get a job even for Neurotypicals, the best way to get a job is Networking, an extreme weakness of mine as I am reclusive and rather anti-social. I hope to just hang in there and hopefully snag a job somewhere.

Why can’t you be a tutor?

Sorry for taking so long to reply, I've been exhausted by my part-time job.

I don't think I would be a good tutor and I don't like interacting with people. It's not like I can't be a tutor, but more like I'd prefer not to have to be a tutor.

The largest barrier would be effective communication, I process things slowly and I have a hard time hearing people (Not due to any hearing problems, but I seem unable to focus on what people are saying.) Particularly I'd have trouble trying to see the problem from my perspective student's point of view and slow to respond to inquiries.

The next largest barrier would be memory recall, I have trouble remembering things at will, I'm not sure how to describe it, but I tend to need a refresher to remember things correctly (or else I may remember things incorrectly). So if a student asks me a question more often than not I would have to review myself. But this isn't such a big barrier, since by tutoring other students, I would reinforce my own knowledge of the subjects.

The last barrier would be personal preference, I just don't like interacting with people. The drain it has on me is hard to describe. I've been exhausted physically by my part-time job, but the effects are mild, I feel sore for a long time and simply sleep it off. The social environment of college left me mentally exhausted, although not physically exhausted, I still spent an inordinate amount of time trying to de-stress, primarily listening to music for hours and trying to clear my mind. (I only realized that my hobby of listening to music was likely a stress release mechanism as ever since I left college I have not been listening to music regularly as opposed to my near-daily music regimen in college.

So in summary, I am simply reluctant to deal with the stress that interacting with people brings to my psyche. But now that you suggested it, I have put more thought into the idea, it does seem like something that I would be capable of doing maybe once a week for an hour or two. Although I would have to figure out the details of doing such a part-time job.

You could try online tutoring and tutoring a subject that is very easy for you so that your memory doesn't pose a problem. You can also take time to review the course material before taking a tutoring job if you are worried about remembering.
There is more time to think with online tutoring because you have to wait for the students to type their questions and responses.

That is sound advice, I'll take that into consideration. Thank you.

I will write you on email