What jobs don't require you to deal with people? - Page 2

[Mama Soltera]

Yes, I do have a BA in English. It seems like college degrees are kind of worthless now. :(  I have been sending my resume out. Many places, but I'm hearing nothing back. And everyone told me it was such a great resume.

I'm not skilled enough in another language to do real traslating unfortunately. I just feel so stuck. And it seems like every kind of job (I looked into data entry too -- although I can't stand sitting in front of a computer for too long) requires years of experience. How do you ever break into something new? Especially when you are already so busy and have your kids full-time?

Ellien, I have been hearing that networking is the best way to go in this economy. I don't have very many people to tell though. I'm also not very clear about exactly what job I'd be willing and able to do. What exactly should I say to people? Thank you for your help!

[Mama Soltera]

Are any of the online job search websites really good? I've been looking for a job online for a while now and haven't had any luck.

[Ellie'sMom]

 I hate office politics, too. For me, the best situation has been to work in environments where I was not in the same place too often. I am a nurse practitioner, so for me this meant working for a facility that had several offices. I was part-time and floated between the sites. I got to know all the staff, but was never in one place long enough to get sucked in to the gossip. I actually had 2 positions like this simultaneouslywith 2 different organizations, so my hours were nearly full time. The downside to part-time is no benefits, of course. 

[Mama Soltera]

Thanks for sharing your situation. I like not being in the same place too much also. I would like to work from home. Can anyone tell me more about the requirements and income levels for that online place to work? I'm willing to get internet and pay a little extra every month if it means I'll be happy!

[eclipse]

Originally Posted by Annie Mac 

The most solitary job I ever held was a back room cash job for a big department store. I got to the store at 5 am, and locked myself into the big vault. I opened the safe, counted the money & balanced the tills, then, just before the store opened I replaced all the cash drawers with new floats. I left the store by 9 am. I kind of liked it. I could play whatever music I wanted and, given the absolute 9 am deadline to finish, the pace was fast, which I enjoyed. I have an English degree too. In my experience, English majors often do administrative type jobs. 

The second most solitary job I had was, ironically, working in a large office doing admin work for a bank. I was surrounded by hundreds of people, but there was so much work to get done, everyone was just kind of nose-to-computer all day with very little chance for interaction. 

As far as disliking work drama, I hear you. I personally think the best way to handle it is simply never engage. Be assertive of your own rights when required, but never get involved in bashing someone else, no matter how much they might annoy you and how much the venting might feel great at the time. Save that for your family. Just kidding. Kind of

Hope you find an awesome job!

I had a similar job at a health food store. The first half of the day was just like you described. I did have some employee interaction because I was also the payroll person and store level human resources person (so handling new hire paperwork, sometimes sitting in on terminations when a "witness" was needed, processing applications for benefits, answering benefit questions and handing out contact numbers), and I also did light administrative work (filing, answering emails, occasional word processing, answering the phone, etc). I had very little customer contact (awesome!) and managed to stay out of any drama that happened. I also have a degree in English.

[Galatea]

This is a bad time to go job-hunting.  I'd focus your energy on retraining your reactions to the office crap.  Don't join in, don't criticize, be relentlessly positive and kind.  At worst, you'll feel better and pPeople will likely stop trying to involve you in their crap.  At best, maybe you'll inspire a change the workplace tone yourself!

[Sharlla]

Caregiving, I work alone and only see my coworkers when we are switching shifts

[_betsy_]

I too was an English major, with a communications degree as well. I work for a daily newspaper. I often joke with coworkers that I work nights because I hate regular people. They all laugh... and then say, "Huh. Me too. Never thought about it."

I do page design, so it's a lot of computer work. Not so much inter-personal stuff. But I work nights. And many larger paper chains are consolidating their design staff to cheaper "hubs," which means some time this year I'll be layed off. Which I'm looking forward to, actually, and hope it's sooner rather than later.

But other jobs, like copy editing and reporting, can be day jobs. And while reports do deal with people, it's a lot of phone work these days, and it's small snippets of people's lives, not catty office politics.

Actually, i've never worked at a paper with the problems you've described. Try to ignore it. Rise above it. Put in headphones and don't pay attention to the gossip.

[hildare]

i have an English undergrad degree. 

i also worked in the public school system in an elementary school and it made me hate people too, briefly.

have you thought about graduate school?  i don't know if you're a tech-y kind of person, or if you live near a large university, but you might think about library school and some of the technical librarianship or collection development paths.  i worked as a cataloger in a university library and i practically never interacted with another human being (and could hear only coughs from other cubicals). 

you could possibly even have better luck getting a job as a library tech with just your BA-- skilled staff in the library are respected and sought after.  there are lots of staff who work in cataloging, tech services, acquisitions, etc.  and don't interact with many people/the general public.  librarians and library workers for the most part are an odd bunch, mostly weirdos interested in doing their own thing and not being mean to each other.  but that might depend on where you go, i have met some folks who weren't fun to work with, too. 

most of the jobs i refer to only happen in larger towns with larger university libraries, though.  if you go small town, then the librarians & staff do more general work, have crossover, and interact with the public.

check this about the job prospects http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos316.htm     and http://librarysupportstaff.com/jobdescriptions.html#jobs 

[kittywitty]

What about lab work in sciences? My job as an andrologist/ART was quite lonely. Locked in my little office all of the time with minimal interaction. It's something to look into if you like healthcare/science.

[guppiegirl]

I also have my BA in English. After working in lots of Admin assistant type jobs and being unhappy due to gossip, office politics and drama, I decided to go to grad school for museum studies. It was the best decision ever. I've worked behind the scenes in museums ever since. I have typically worked by myself, cataloging, writing, researching or planning exhibits. I get to use my English degree every day. I normally wear jeans and birkenstocks to work. Museums seem to attract introverted sorts of employees like me. I worked on one project where I spent 2 years in a room cataloging artifacts. I would listen to audiobooks and podcasts while entering information into a database. It was great!

[Mama Soltera]

That would be so wonderful! And, to both of you, I absolutely love science and would really like doing that, but it seems any type of lab or science based job requires that your degree be in the sciences. I really would like to go to grad school. If it didn't matter what people thought, I would find a way to do that. As a single mom though I already got judged so harshly for getting a 4 year degree.

[Super~Single~Mama]

Originally Posted by Mama Soltera 

That would be so wonderful! And, to both of you, I absolutely love science and would really like doing that, but it seems any type of lab or science based job requires that your degree be in the sciences. I really would like to go to grad school. If it didn't matter what people thought, I would find a way to do that. As a single mom though I already got judged so harshly for getting a 4 year degree.

I had a baby while I was in Law School - its not something I would recommend, but I did it, and several of my classmates had children as well.  Having a child, and being a single mom, shouldn't stop you from pursuing grad school.

[imakecutebabies]

I've heard several people say that working as a postal carrier/mail woman is very nice if you like to be alone. I work alone from home as an account manager for my husbands small internet business... but also work out of the home part time bc I would go stir crazy without some interaction... but even the few hours of interpersonal contact is more than enough for me... can't stand the drama... I have other priorities, thanks ;)