I guess I have mostly seen people go from admin to at best PMs, or research/data collecting to PM, but not much more. My designer friends have even more trouble because for every CD position there are bunches of really talented design and concept (and sometimes UX and IA) people for it, and that's if your company doesn't decide to hire a flashier name from outside the co.

FWIW, Daisy, I remember seeing data that very few management-level jobs are filled by people who "worked their way up." I think I saw the study in the NYT but can't find it. It may happen, but expecting it to happen -- particularly if you're paying off, say, grad school -- is crazy.

I guess I have mostly seen people go from admin to at best PMs, or research/data collecting to PM, but not much more.

I have never seen an admin move from admin to elsewhere. Sometimes contract workers get FTE jobs, but that's about the extent.

Of course, I am also not sure how people navigate upwards in a job, but that may be an introvert curse thing.

Yeah, that NYT guy turned down a job that's $11,000 a year more than I make, and I'm 37 and have two Master's degrees. (I mean, if making money was my heart's desire, I could have chosen a different profession, but seriously, let me wipe away my tears with my PLASTIC HAND).

Yeah, I was like "Seriously dude? You know that even if that isn't your dream job, it's often easier to get a job once you HAVE one...so get this one, prove you can do it, and then people will hire you! And you'll have INCOME...more than a lot of people in the US!"

That said, I'm not the best at moving upward or anything. But still.

On the unemployment thing--I've been on it a couple times, and it's based off what you made before--a percent of that, up to a cap, varying by the state you work in. So you DON"T make more on unemployment than you did at your previous job. You MIGHT make more on unemployment than you would at a job you are offered, if you were doing well before and the job you're offered is like, part time, or minimum wage.

Considering Obama and Rahm Emanuel are BFFs, (Which may frighten your co-worker and others for a whole host of, um, other reasons, not least my internal debate about adding another F,) Sophia, I think Israel-supportage is nsm an issue. I could be wrong.(I'm a fan...where else do I seem demure...think about it!) But he is not a Muslim. Kat, I learned a lot from the AP courses(government,iirc) wherein my test scores were none-too-fab...testing out was good though. Erin, yikes...mom-ma to you. was that it? I feel that this meara was sloppy in some way

My first job after my BA was as a receptionist, I then became an admin asst, then a department asst, and up from there. I think it depends on the field. And I switched places a lot, which helped me move from low-level department staff to department head. (Now I'm more mid-level again, but in a much bigger place, so the money is the same.)

I've seen several people in my department come in as the admin and get promoted up - me, two of our sales team, and our research manager all started out in the same admin position and got promoted out of it.

I freely admit that the industry I work in tends to like "new blood" and flash names (for the industry), so people get stuck at the bottom/middle a lot.

I think everyone's individual experience colors the way they view other people's choices. I'm just saying I can see some circumstances that may have led to the kid turning down the job.

There's also an opportunity cost to taking something that is a poor fit. There was a job that was only nominally close to my area, not great pay, but not really worth it to basically work in what amounts, in my line, to an assembly line. I agonized over not taking it, because it was getting dire for us, and then shortly after I interviewed and got this job, and I am so happy here that I'm actually sad some days when it's the weekend or holiday, and I'm off.

I turned down the first job that was offered to me out of college, actually -- it was a highly-paid (relatively speaking) admin job, and I could tell that the other admins there were miserable but felt trapped because of the money. And I knew I didn't want to be an admin for my career.

When I graduated from college within two months my parents were pushing me to get a job, any job. I was living at home and not paying rent, but I was also pretty much running the house (laundry, cleaning, dishes, etc.). And, at the time, almost any job for a woman would involve typing. I didn't do well in NYC, so I moved to DC and grabbed the first job I was offered. I soon came to hate it, was miserable - was fired - but moved on to better and better ones over the years.