Life after poker - Page 2 - The Lounge Discussion and Review on Literature, Arts, Culture

crashjr · 10-03-2011, 02:24 PM

What the hell do you want with a job?

Why do you want to move back to the USA?

Have you ever held a job before?

What was your exit plan when you left the USA 4 years ago? Is there a reason that you can't put that in play now?

Are you still a winning player?

What is your monthly nut?

Where do you see yourself in 2,5,10 years? What will your nut be then?

What is your timeline for finding a job?

Is there some independent career that appeals to you such as massage therapy, tax preparer, freelance programming or the like?

I'd like to help but you seem to have no direction other than you don't want an entry level service job and you want to be in Texas. Lets refine a few things and maybe we can get somewhere.

Klavs · 10-03-2011, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skater3598

i live in texas and wait tables and delivery pizzas 90% way through a neuroscience degree (useless)

I resent that.

rsxpunk · 10-03-2011, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crashjr

What the hell do you want with a job? starting a family as a poker professional doesn't seem like the best idea for me, I need some security at this point in my life

Why do you want to move back to the USA? getting married, and always new i would come back after a few years.

Have you ever held a job before? worked at several restuarants, construction, retail, editorial assistant for journal

What was your exit plan when you left the USA 4 years ago? Is there a reason that you can't put that in play now?honestly I left america with the line of thought that I didn't want to care about job/career/all this stuff you are supposed to care about when you graduate,

Are you still a winning player? yes

What is your monthly nut? will be pretty low at first as I will stay with family until i find a job, I'm not rich but money isn't a huge issue

Where do you see yourself in 2,5,10 years? What will your nut be then? 2 year plan could be pretty tame, having a steady job and getting my wife acclimated to life in america, putting off kidz. 5 years would like to have a kid or 2, possibly go back to school (interested in psychology, my mom is a counselor and loves it) but this depends greatly on job/finances/everything else. 10 years poker will have been legalized for awhile and I will run hot enough to retire before 40 obv.

What is your timeline for finding a job? getting back home around christmas, would hope to have something steady within 2 months

Is there some independent career that appeals to you such as massage therapy, tax preparer, freelance programming or the like?

I'd like to help but you seem to have no direction other than you don't want an entry level service job and you want to be in Texas. Lets refine a few things and maybe we can get somewhere.

It appears that I have no direction because I really don't. In 2007 I went to the first day of law school and had a panic attack and walked out. I realized that I didn't want this standard cookie cutter life and just needed to travel. Ok so maybe I did this for too long, but I met my fiance around the end of 2009 and although I knew I would marry her someday I'm not sure she knew this yet

Klavs · 10-03-2011, 03:38 PM

A 2 year travelling break from work isn't as bad as what people are making it out. Considering you have experience before that, I don't see why it will turn out to be an issue. You might get asked about it, but you just explain that you decided to take some time to travel.

rsxpunk · 10-03-2011, 03:59 PM

well its 4 years almost exactly

crashjr · 10-03-2011, 04:00 PM

Then it seems to me that just getting back to the states and busting out any old job is the best plan. Reconnect with people, let them know you are interested in finding work. Get a retail holiday job - yeah it is a crappy job but you are looking for networking connections, not just money. Parlay it from there.

Good luck.

Tiltmonkey2 · 10-03-2011, 04:11 PM

The job market is **** right now. This is the worst time to decide hey I want a job. Have a feeling your gonna be grinding again because unless you go back to school and get a specific skill your not going to get a good paying job. Their are hundreds of people applying for every good job right now and most of them have experience. My only advice is to look into IT,and or the medical field, unless you want to be a welder or something like that.

rsxpunk · 10-03-2011, 04:27 PM

well this is depressing

Klavs · 10-03-2011, 04:28 PM

Well there is a reason high paid positions are high paid... and that's experience.

You can't expect to just walk into a high paid job.

crashjr · 10-03-2011, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsxpunk

well this is depressing

What were you expecting?

I think that the days of a good job at a well known company = job security are long over. Maybe you should reevaluate your situation keeping in mind that your skill set, money management ability and marketability are the only financial security you really have.

Fishwhenican · 10-03-2011, 05:28 PM

LOL, This kind of thing always reminds me of the moment in one of the National Lampoon Vacation movies when the reason is given for Cousin Eddie not working for years is "Because he is holding out for a management position".

Seriously though, You have a tough road to go the way you are describing things. The economy is in the crapper right now and there a re a lot of people looking for work and applying for jobs who can actually list job experience over the last few years with something other than "I have been dorking around playing poker and traveling since the idea of a real job sucks". I am not saying this trying to troll you but you are likely going to need to lower your expectations a bit, take what work you can find and work your ass off like the rest of us. It is tough out there.

z28dreams · 10-03-2011, 05:37 PM

OP,

I'd recommend finding a big-name company in an industry you are interested in and taking any entry-level position you can find. Even if the money isn't great at first, you'll possibly have two huge perks: (1) a brand name company on your resume and (2) bigger companies offer tuition reimbursement, so you could consider grad school part time.

Honestly though, for people new to industries, there is no better way to build up your skill set and resume than starting your own little side business. You'll have tons of real world examples even if you only make a few bucks.