<p>I graduated last August with a Nebulous degree B.S. in psychology minoring in mathematics and philosophy. I moved last October To Los Angeles to pursue screenwriting primarily, but it is imperative that I actually find a decent paying job to supplement my creative endeavors. I've had zero luck so far. I underwent a three month internship for a company performing script coverage, and upon completing the internship, I'm still without a job and my finances continue to dwindle each day. </p>
<p>I really do not know what to do, it's so unbelievably hard out here. I've tried craigslist, monster, linkened, etc. Any ideas? I have a very strong academic record and work ethic, but still have had no luck thus far!</p>
<p>Have you tried looking for a “survival job” outside of the entertainment industry to make ends meet in the short term? Bartending, Waiting Tables, Nannying, Substitute Teaching, Temping, etc… </p>
<p>Many artists do this to pay the bills while still actively pursuing opportunities in their field of interest.</p>
<p>It’s hard because I have very mild aspergers and have trouble with those types of jobs. Babysitting I can do, but it’s incredibly difficult to get that type of job. The food industry is not patient, and I work very slowly, so it’s ill-suited to my personality.</p>
<p>It’s your major and mismatched choice of occupation. I’m going to be blunt: A major in Psych won’t garner a lot of attention in media/film in LA which has the USC School of Film and UCLA Film Studies graduates not to mention all of the LA area schools that have theater and film majors-Chapman, Northridge, Cal State LA, etc. </p>
<p>The cost of living in California is outrageous, let alone living in LA. You may want to try working at an insurance company to make ends meet until you take classes in film studies.</p>
<p>I’m attending the UCLA professional program for screenwriting for this coming school year. Another thing about LA too about the film industry: They don’t give a **** about any degree you have (It’s merit based on current things you’ve worked on and who you know )</p>
<p>we can speculate all day why I don’t have a job, I need to find one really fast. I have like 6000 dollars left with 15000 dollars of student debt. I’ll last until the end of this year and if I don’t have a job by then, I’ll be forced to join the military for survival reasons! I"m in a pickle and I’ve tried Linkened but no luck. There are many internships out here, but none are paid! EXPLOITATION at it’s finest. It seems to me that LA thrives on legal slavery! I shall not be complicit in my own exploitation any longer! I wrote over 200 pages of reviews without a nickel, and to my utter chagrin, still no job! I don’t want to sound entitled, but I browse craigslist all day and nothing! One wonders what the unemployment numbers are in LA. I’m sure it’s well above 20% or even a more staggering number</p>
<p>I think the problem is that you’re in a very competitive industry in a very competitive area. You may not be able to find work in your field right away, which is why (as KatMT suggested) you need to get a job somewhere doing anything that will pay the bills until you can get more work in your field. There are jobs–it’s just a competitive area with highly qualified individuals, and you have to find some sort of job that you can do (Aspergers aside) to pay the bills.</p>
<p>If you can’t do the food industry, could you do something working in a department or grocery store (cashier, stocking shelves, whatever)? How about copy editor, office work, secretary, library, etc? If you’re near a university, you could try to apply for lab manager positions in psych labs or try to get something as a research assistant or lab tech. If you have strong writing skills could you work as a tutor, writer for online magazines or websites, content writer for games, etc? It might not make that much money, but everything you do adds up. There has to be somewhere you can get a job to make ends meet while you’re working your way up in the film industry. Working a couple of jobs may also give you the flexibility to take an unpaid internship, if it will get you to where you want to be.</p>
<p>Frankly, joining the military might be wise. You’re still young. You have a long time to pursue your dream career. The military will pay off loans, give you money for grad school, give you “professional work experience”.</p>
<p>Math tutoring might give you some extra income. If you had high standardized test scores, maybe tutor for SAT/ACT. </p>
<p>My son is making a bundle of money this summer converting people’s old family videos to dvd’s. If you have access to basic equipment, it’s easy money. </p>
<p>What about landscaping or cleaning pools? Won’t jumpstart a film career, but might pay the rent.</p>
<p>As others suggest, you need to get creative. As you’re out and about duirng the day, pay attention for something that looks like it could be an opportunity. [A very simple example is noticing a construction site – are there a lot of parked cars near it? Is there a lot of dust and debris around the site that gets transferred to those parked cars? Is there enough private spcae somewhere so you can organize a hand car wash? This example wouldn’t exactly fit you, I understand, since it would require more than just yourself to get that job done, but hopefully you get my point. . . something that a single person could also do is yard work. Notice a neighborhood that has a fair amount of overgrown lawns? Talk to the residents and see if you can secure enough lawns to rent a mower etc the next day, or borrow one from a friend . . . heck the residents themselves might even have the equiptment, but just don’t have the time!]</p>
<p>Also, don’t overlook a temp agency. Yes, they will take a small portion of your hourly rate, but often they can be effective in finding all kinds of random jobs. My BIL got 2 jobs through a temp agency in CA within 30 days of being released from prison after a 3 year stay. You might be meat packing during the night shift, or watching newspapers get printed at 4am, but $400/wk is better than $0/wk. The best thing with this arrangement is letting them know you are willing to work anywhere in anything and that your main goal is just to get a job, but I’m sure they can take considerations for aspergers.</p>
<p>And make serious connections wherever you go: I be-friended an auto dealer salesman a couple years ago when buying a new car and stayed in touch with him (even if just to say hello) everytime I dropped in the dealership for maintenance. He eventually went to online sales and is now the manager of finance at the same dealership. Do I plan on working for the dealership? No, but if I did, then that’s the type of connection that could get me into something, even if at the ground floor. Heck, he started in the dealership business because his uncle got him a job washing cars there!</p>
<p>You have a minor in mathematics, which would indicate a proficiency with software, and possibly programming. Explore job postings in the quantitative field, including U.S. government jobs.</p>
<p>I still have had no luck thus far! I’ve been unemployed for about a year! I tried a temp agency, but they have yet to correspond back with me! Any other advice?</p>
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