How to talk to family about job search with lower pay and being overqualified for entry level roles?
I recently got told that my contract as a RA will be ending soon after less than a year of industry experience. I currently make $23/hr with a MS degree (thesis research not professional program) and have almost 2 years of industry experience as I did a gap year between my BS and MS degrees in QC.
How do you tell family that the field is in bad shape as they are complaining about me apply to very few jobs and those jobs pay less than I currently make? I am based out of the Midwest and I was paid $24/hr doing QC work with a BS degree and no industry experience less than 3 years ago and I can’t find a single entry level or above entry level (RA, associate scientist, scientist 1, etc) in the current area I live in. As soon as my contract is over, I can apply to 5 jobs in 6 different regions as I have friends willing to sublease an apartment or house to me so I can find jobs I’m qualified for in SF, NC, Texas, Seattle, and Boston. I am currently living with family as $23/hr isn’t enough for me to live on in the Midwest so everything for my future apartment is in storage and it would just take me hours to relocate for a new job as everything is packed and housing wouldn’t be a problem.
I’m trapped applying to jobs right now in the Midwest and all I see are lab technician roles (HS/AS degree) or senior scientist roles with no jobs in between those roles. My family wants me to stay within a 6 hour drive from them yet there are no jobs for me and I’m very flexible with relocating for work. Today, my parents said that I need to find a stable and good career yet this was the career they wanted me to pursue 10 years ago. I have told them multiple times over the years that science jobs are on the coasts and industry isn’t stable anymore (they point out people they know, specifically in BD told that have been at the local big pharma companies for decades and gaslight me all the time). In addition to changing their opinion, they have became very anti-medicine (GLP-1, vaccines, etc) over the past couple of years and I even heard my mom listen to an anti-pasteurization video last night even though I have worked with bacteria for almost a decade.
Today, I reached out to my staffing agency about a R&D role as it’s also contract and it would give me more time to get in financial shape/keep my current health insurance for a few more months while looking for a better job, but it’s $20 per hour which was my starting salary when I first started out in biotech and my parents threw a fit about it. I haven’t seen a single QC role be posted even though I’m in a manufacturing hub and just need a couple more years of QC experience to get out of QC and that would be a downgrade from my R&D experience. My family has constantly adjusted their standards for my career and have even told me to pursue a different industry or field like teaching (I have no interest whatsoever after teaching undergrads during grad school). How have you handled the job search and having to take lower quality/pay jobs to make ends meet discussion with your family?