Hi. I am having the worst time even being able to look for a job. Due to many things working against me. I am a delivery driver for Pizza Hut and am available ONLY from 6PM-2AM. I am always working six nights a week due to my wife needing Wednesday nights for classes she takes. We have a 2-year-old son that I have to look after while she works 10 hours a day every weekday a hour from where we live. Sometimes she has to get up as early as 3AM for her job but always gets home no later than 5PM. While she works, I look after our son and when she gets home, I go to work. We can't afford day-care and even if we could, we don't trust it.

I am having a very hard time finding work since the only times I'm available is 6PM-2AM. Every job out there wants me for the morning and afternoon shifts. My wife makes $17.25 an hour and it still isn't enough for us to live off of. So unless a job can pay me more than that starting, she can't quit her job in order for me to work during the day.

Since she works for a pharmacy company and worked in their corp. office for over 6 years, they made her sign a waiver that if her spouse works for a competitor, they can fire her. So any other pharmacy or Target or Wal-Mart or Kroger is off-limits. I;d prefer to not only have Wednesday nights off still, but also to have weekends off like her, so we can at least spend some time together.

My Pizza Hut job will not allow me to get promoted or made full-time due to my availability, and the corp. office does not allow ANY drivers a raise ever, because they believe the better driver you are, the better tips you'll get (which is SO NOT TRUE, due to making an average of $13 in tips every 6 hour night). I make minimum wag outside of tips, so it doesn't pay for anything. The only options I see for jobs are other pizza jobs or fast food. Neither FedEx or UPS are ever hiring for my hours, if they are ever hiring within 40 miles of my home.

So, anyone have any ideas for help or advice?

-Ryan

Since your working late hours, why not try bar tending? I did it and averaged $50 in tips alone, i made $10 an hour. Or you could work at McDonalds, i know what your thinking, but they have alot of oppurtunities. Im in Med school and i work nights bar tending. From like 8pm-4am i made like $130 a night and im still getting enough sleep for school. You could even take online courses while your watching your son, get a degree and really do something. Those are some personal tips and advice for you. Good luck!

Umm yeah, I tried that last year. I spent over $250 on classes, only to find out after I became certified that no one wants a bar tender unless he has experience already and he's available ANYTIME. So therefore none of them wanted me whatsoever. I am still in the same situation.

-Ryan

King_Charizard, I love your bar tending suggestion, even if it doesn't fit ryan's situation!

Too bad you guys are married, if you weren't you could get a job in retail or something. I find it kind of odd that your wife is the main support of the household, do you have schooling or any kind of skills? Your best bet is to get a job outside the typical poverty wages....

To be honest I think you should look into child care options. If you can't afford it there is state funded child care assuming you fall under the poverty line. Yout hours of availibility just are not reasonable and no low class employer is going to hire you other than McDonalds and Pizza Hut. If you have no skills you should try to obtain a factory job by registering with JobUSA. If you're looking for an unskilled job outside of factory work asking for weekends off is too much. You gotta do what you gotta do and I don't get weekends off either.

I understand you have issues with your son being in good care but that may be a better option. Its likely he'll benefit from it more if you find a better paying job. Ask around and do research before you put him in day care. Better yet, can your parents or your wife's parents watch him a few hours a day?

What exactly is your living situation? Do you own a house? Your wife makes good wages so I'm not understanding why you guys are struggling? You may need to change your lifestyle to reduce your bills. Eliminating internet, cable, satellite, cigarettes, cellphones etc. as well as grocery budgeting may save you money in more ways than you think. You probably tried this already but have you looked into getting assistance? Having a child is a great way to get free benefits while the rest of us get a giant fist up our asses when we can't afford food!

We live in a $890 a month for rent townhouse, and the only utility included is trash. We pay for electric, phone/internet and water. I spend about $120 on car insurance and renter's insurance for both of us. We'd prefer to not get any help from the government, since they took my wife away from her parents at the age of five and didn't get to be with them again until she was ten. Her dad works days at the corp. office of the company she works for. Her step-mom works nights as a nurse. My dad works a hour away from his work as well, and my two younger brothers live with him still and don't pay much rent. Not to mention my youngest brother and his wife have a child of their own now and live with my father. My mom lives in another state.

As for skills, I am not sure. My jobs in the past were in the following order: pizza cook, fast food cook x 2, delivery driver for the same company my wife works for, courier driver for independent contractor that had a contract with DHL, grocery store cashier, close-out store cashier, delivery driver for more important part of company my wife works for, and now pizza delivery driver. The delivery driver for the more important part of the pharmacy company and the DHL job are two jobs that I have been laid off from and I'm only 26 years old.

The reason why my wife is the main support is because she has been in the same company for years, and has been getting different positions and raises throughout the years, while I have been hoping around jobs due to either being fired, laid off or quitting due to them treating me like utter crap with hardly any pay.

So yeah, I still need help. I looked into warehouse jobs but they still want someone to start around 6-9AM.

-Ryan

Edit: Sorry, for some reason it double posted when I only meant to post once.

Did you try going to a social worker? They might be able to help. And whats this about them giving you bad pay? You can always get a lawyer to help, but... Nevermind. The only jobs I ever had was dogsitting and iternships, mostly getting paid under the table, though, so I dont have much to offer on this topic.
But you could always apply for a culinary job, since I'm sure there must be at least one open by you and you seem to have experience in that career outlook.

I make $12 an hour. I have a brand new car, full coverage insurance, an apartment with DSL, student loans, and a phone bill. I pay for everything myself. I work less than 40 hours a week. My car is 237.94, my student loans are around 220 (interest changes), my apartment is 241 because I have a roommate, DSL 33 a month, phone 38.01, insurance for 100k/300k coverage: 118. That doesn't include food, and I collect nothing from the government, and my savings is growing. I drink with my friends when they want to, and I eat out for my own pleasure.

If your wife makes 17.25, and you make 13 an hour, and you two work "too little" to support yourselves and a small child, you spend too much. Stop partying and buying drugs, stop buying brand name groceries and clothes, drop your phones, drop your internet, and don't eat out. Derp.

If you have the time, the motivation, and the inspiration, you might want to start your own small buisness. Your experence seems to be in both the food and driving sectors, so you could try running one of those food trucks you see all over the place nowadays. But, what do I know, I've never had a job.

That is a possiblity. But starting a business is hard. For instance, I run a "one man band" production company. It is very hard w/o a cash flow, which I do not have. That is the easiest part of it. There is still advertising, marketing, and of course, producing/manufacturing.

I DO NOT MAKE $13 an hour! Who the hell told you that? If I made that much, I'd be REALLY happy! I make $7.25 an hour part time, which is about 26 hours a week average. I make somewhere between $8-$20 in tips a night now. I only get $1.20 for gas money for every delivery, which doesn't make up for how much driving and turning the car on/off and stopping/going that wears the car down.

I don't think many culinary jobs want someone who can only work a certain number of hours. I have tried so many places, and they always say "we want someone who has experience" and/or "you need to be available anytime."

-Ryan

Wow, that sucks. I really think you should look into state funded child care with your wages being the main reason. They could watch junior during the day while you're at work until he starts school.

This is why i love Canada, minimum wage is like 11 dollars and i make a ton in tips from bar tending.

It doesn't matter, because the dollar is taxed significantly less in the US than Canada. You don't make more at $11 an hour plus tips when so much goes back to the government for healthcare and higher education. I'm not saying that's a bad or good, but it doesn't really make a difference when you keep less: your paycheck has more deductions and you spend way more at the pump than we do.