Administration/Clerical/Data Entry

[Goldentony]

As a 25 year old man, I find myself at a crossroads in my life where the appeal of working in generally unskilled aside from common sense and ability to automatically blank out talk of Ryan Giggs any-bastard administration work is becoming less and less appealing to me after a long string of unsatisfying and temporary brief few periods in this field of work have left me a shell of a man.

At this age I maybe should have come to this kind of conclusion at least 7 years ago and decided to make something of myself by learning a trade, before finding myself in this exact same position a few years after, only with a bunch of qualifications to at least feel somewhat proud of. But here I am in 2012 still applying for basic admin and clerical jobs with no sight of progress or gaining of any kind of desirable skill on the horizon.

SO I WONDER - What is the appeal of administration in 2012 over something like shop work or other traditionally open to all type jobs? Traditionally i'd have put shop work as the hot property of jobs, the kind of work where if you complain about having no job some absolute cunt could lean over to you with their fetid breath filling the room as they spill out the immortal words "THERE IS JOBS IN THE ASDA" directly into your face. But now, if you have the misfortune of being on your knees sucking the hose of employment agencies in 2012, you often see how many people apply for this kind of work. Having worked entirely in employment, pretty much save for three days, you often find yourself having to sift through 250 desperate CV's all wanting the pleasure of filing, small talk and restocking water coolers. Sometimes you'll hear of people progressing, or you'll wonder why SAGE was once such a big experience point but ponder how you haven't noticed it in job descriptions much lately after local colleges started giving away courses on that particular payroll system for absolutely free.

Do you find yourself in the same position as me? I want to hear your experiences of this type of thing. Since leaving school and college my entire work career has been temporary admin position after temp position with no long term goal. Do you, like me, use this kind of non permanent twattery as a way to fund your outside interests and nothing more? Do I and indeed YOU continue like this in the vain hope of finding something permanent we can be shoved into some day to the point where we are leathery, war torn and sunken eyed as we wax lyrical about our trips to the Tesco at the weekend or do we take the risk and do what we always desired, at the risk of the scorn of those slightly more fortunate on BBC forums? I demand to know.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

I heard there's a job going in Denmark.

Just one mind.

[El Unicornio, mang]

I was in the same position when I tried living back in the UK a few years ago, applying for hundreds of basic admin/clerical jobs and getting fuck-all response bar two failed interviews. Ended up moving back to the US where the job market is slightly better, although I was only able to get a data entry job that paid $8 (5 quid) an hour. I work remotely based on how much I do now so it's more like $12 an hour (and I only pay about 5% tax) but it's still a struggle to get by. At the end of the day though, I'm happy not to have to commute, being able to decide my own holidays and hours and work from anywhere with internet, gives me the freedom to do my main interest (making music) so it's pretty much ideal for me, no way I'd give it up to get back on Jobseeker's Allowance. There are more and more remote data entry jobs becoming available so if it's something that appeals to you (tedious, low paying work, but freedom and being able to stay at home) it's worth looking into.

[Utter Shit]

SO I WONDER - What is the appeal of administration in 2012 over something like shop work or other traditionally open to all type jobs?

You can piss around on the internet instead of working if you're in admin.

[Goldentony]

I think the idea of any type of job security appeals to me because as mentioned, pretty much everything i've ever done has been temporary or short term. Low pay and tedium aside, if I found something permanent i'd probably swallow every bit of critiscism I have of this line of work whole and happily spend 9 hours a day 'data cleansing' so I could afford more 'stuff'.

Still, I do often wonder if that's how i'd want to spend my career.

You can piss around on the internet instead of working if you're in admin.

Arguably the finest thing about office work. You're out of luck though if your screen faces people

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

There are more and more remote data entry jobs becoming available so if it's something that appeals to you (tedious, low paying work, but freedom and being able to stay at home) it's worth looking into.

Tedium and low pay aside, I'm always surprised how little work I've managed to find in this area. I always had it in mind as a backup for when things went wrong but they're incredibly rare and ridiculously hard-fought for, in the South Yorkshire area at least.

[Sony Walkman Prophecies]

Id fucking love to get even a basic job in data entry at the moment. Yet with a 2:1 degree from a red brick uni, a string of Administration NVQs plus references, even this line of work is out of my league it seems. This is almost certainly a current trend - prior to university I could swan into virtually any recruitment agency and find work like this.

El Unicornio - what is the visa situation in terms of working in the US? Im currently totally fucked off with the job situation over here and given that I know the US well, it would be an obvious step to seek work there. Did you have to find an employer to sponsor you before you went over?

[Uncle TechTip]

Have you thought about more qualifications? Why do you not have such things to take you into a career.

[Goldentony]

Have you thought about more qualifications? Why do you not have such things to take you into a career.

Often, but mainly in art, and never in graphic design or anything pertaining to that. I have no idea why why it's taken me this long to get to this point. I'm going to guess that I'm a bad tit, more than anything.

[Sandow]

if I found something permanent i'd probably swallow every bit of critiscism I have of this line of work whole and happily spend 9 hours a day 'data cleansing' so I could afford more 'stuff'.

Do you really mean that though? I guess I've always been fairly fortunate with work, and at the moment I'm doing pretty much exactly what I want to do, though I've done my fair share of menial work in the past. It's a bit of a cliché to say it, but given that we typically spend around a third of our days at work, I've always tried to make sure I'm spending that significant amount of time doing something I enjoy and get some satisfaction out of. It's been a slog getting to this stage, but I think it's really been worth it.

Can you identify a specific line of work that you would enjoy? (does that make me sound like some careers advisor / job centre cunt? Apologies if so.)

EDIT: what I also wanted to say is that you come across on here as a very intelligent and funny human being, and I suspect you are capable of doing all sorts of good things. Have you ever considered writing as a career?

[El Unicornio, mang]

El Unicornio - what is the visa situation in terms of working in the US? Im currently totally fucked off with the job situation over here and given that I know the US well, it would be an obvious step to seek work there. Did you have to find an employer to sponsor you before you went over?

I have my green card through a previous marriage to a US citizen. Otherwise, it's a pretty difficult thing to get from what I gather unless you have the ability to do a job which is in very high demand. I genuinely wanted to be with my ex when I moved there, but if you really want to move there I wouldn't say it's a bad idea to try and meet a prospective partner who lives there via online dating/penpal sites. Obviously it's a process of one year plus because you want to actually like the person and not just be in it for the visa, and you'll need to show evidence of this to immigration folks, but if you really want to move to another country and are looking for a long term relationship as well, I don't see a problem with it. Opens up a whole new job market too, which is useful in these times.

[Hangthebuggers]

Arguably the finest thing about office work. You're out of luck though if your screen faces people

Not quite.

Some clever fucker has developed a piece of software which makes it look like you're using MS word, but in fact you're trolling forums and buying shit on amazon.

http://www.techmalaya.com/2008/06/05/workfriendly-browse-internet-microsoft-word/

[easytarget]

I heard there's a job going in Denmark.

I think you mean Iceland!
(high fives self, moonwalks around the room).

[Small Man Big Horse]

I can't stand admin, I find the days crawl past agonisingly slowly, and the two firms I've tempted for have been the kind where there's no let up, so you keep on inputting endless nonsense for eight hours a day until I felt I was slowly losing my mind. I've been much happier working in shops, and indeed two of the best years of my life were spent running a fish and chip shop (though I was only 19 at the time, and ended up in the position due to a succession of people either dying or getting pregnant). But I'd much rather do something like that than being stuck in an office, though that's just the way my mind works I guess, as after four weeks of admin I found it a horrendous struggle to get out of bed in the morning and ended up being prescribed a whole heap of anti-depressants just to do so.

I've been extremely lucky and terribly unlucky work wise over the years, and the theatre work I (occasionally and hopefully more permanently soon) now do is pretty interesting, but only to a certain extent - when you've watched the same production over 30 times, it does become fairly painful after a while (especially if the play isn't a great one). So I really hope my last attempt at happiness, doing the stand up thing, works out, even if I am going through a period of being a bit shit right now.

[Sony Walkman Prophecies]

I agree with most of that, data-entry admin really is awful, mind-numbing repetitive work, which is why ive always seen it as little more than a stop-gag between 'real' jobs. The problem now is though, youre fighting against people who would happily do data-entry for the rest of their lives; pitted against these strange characters it's virtually impossible to get a foot in the door ime. The problem also seems to extend to lots of other jobs that were once considered 'casual' labour too - desk security, receptionist, doorman, cleaner; these are all roles than demand properly acredited qualifications now. Once all the factory jobs get exported abroad, I do sometimes wonder what, if anything, people will actually be able to do in terms of unskilled labour.

[El Unicornio, mang]

I can't stand admin, I find the days crawl past agonisingly slowly, and the two firms I've tempted for have been the kind where there's no let up, so you keep on inputting endless nonsense for eight hours a day until I felt I was slowly losing my mind. I've been much happier working in shops, and indeed two of the best years of my life were spent running a fish and chip shop (though I was only 19 at the time, and ended up in the position due to a succession of people either dying or getting pregnant).

I couldn't do a job like that. My tolerance for the general public is very low and I would inevitably end up throwing a pan of boiling chip oil in someone's face after a couple of hours.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

I think you mean Iceland!
(high fives self, moonwalks around the room).

I already ruled that joke out because it was uncool.

[vrailaine]

My parents thought me how to be incredibly resourceful and cheap, this has left me with little interest in pursuing any kind of career, will take something like an unwanted pregnancy to emerge for me to put any serious thought into it.
Any job where I can sit by myself and listen to podcasts sounds fine, wouldn't care if the work hours were that long or whatever. Hopefully moving into IT next year, probably some jobs like that in IT.

A lot of data entry type positions seem to be under threat with these unpaid[nb]well, I think they actually get an extra €40 onto their JSA[/nb] work placement programmes here, I think.

[Desi Dubs Dallas]

 GT.

I'd say do a bit of research and find out what sort of qualifications are relevant and valued by potential employers in your ideal job and get some education, perhaps some sort of evening/home study/open university would be the best course,if your work at mo isn't to demanding.That way you'll still have income through your training.

I'll echo what others have said you come across as intelligent,articulate and quick witted and tbh mid twenties is no age to be feeling over the hill.But get your arse in gear and start plotting your escape,because as my homeboy Appius Claudius said: "Each man is the architect of his own fate."

[easytarget]

I already ruled that joke out because it was uncool.

[can't hear you over the sound of my moonwalking]

[Inaniloquent]

Everyone laughs, but don't rule out call centres. I've worked for two really nice ones (RBS and Barclays are supposed to be shit, Cooperative I think were nice). The job itself was good and there was a lot of progression upwards into more interesting areas - insurance or banking call centre sounds dull, but working on claims cases can be good, fraud departments can be interesting and financial compliance can be as well. Some places offer the required qualifications on the job. I know people in a share-dealing call centre who are eager to progress up to sharedealers, qualifications included. There's more out there than just phone grunt -> team leader, though it won't feel that way at times. I spotted one the other day, 'just a call centre' but it was for the General Medical Council investigating malpractise and fraud and stuff, and the role above the £14k starter-job was a £28k investigator role. Not bad, probably not too dull.

Everyone sneers at call centres, but I pretty much know I'll be doing bum all else for the rest of my career. Aiming for compliance or the sharedealer place myself. Few things more satisfying than having an overpaid financial adviser on the line demanding permission from us (we owned them) to do some illegal as all hell mortgage and getting to sweetly advise them of the penalties for doing so, while they get angry they're being denied fat commissions by a nice lady in a call centre. Best bit of the job.

[WesterlyWinds]

This is why I plan to hide in universities for the rest of my life. No need to get a proper career!