I’m going to do my best to give some real advice here. Maybe you’ll take offense or maybe not. The reality is that most people are going to put a value on you for how you value yourself. Academia is overwhelmed with a negative culture of seniority and elitistism. What this results in is a lot of unhappy people that believe working for little to even no pay is a acceptable. They get so caught up in the system thinking that it is normal to have people acting superior to them and putting them down and they even start to idealize one day being the elitist that values their own self worth on how much they can put others down. It messes you up big time.

Next, if you’re desperate for work then you can’t let it show too much or people won’t respect you and the less you’re likely to get a good paying job. There is nothing wrong with being a go getter, but you have to be organized and confident. If you let a person or company influence your ability to make smart and rational decisions just because they have money, it ends up hurting you in the long run.

The world is full of yesmen who just wait for commands. They are dispensable and a dime a dozen. Although it isn’t fair, you also can’t realistically expect that people won’t basically test to see how moldable you are and use that to their advantage. If you bend whenever they ask they’ll make you bend until you break.

Saying all that I can reasonably say the job market isn’t utter garbage for graduates or even non graduates. It is utter garbage for people that have let the world beat them down and that operate in the confounds of others have money and they respect that more than they respect themselves.

Once you build some confidence in a skill and know what you’re good, what you want to do and believe in your own value, what you’re worth and capable of accomplishing then it changes the dynamics. People respect that and you also become a much more valuable asset.

So to summarize, stop playing by the rules that you have set for yourself and others have led you up believe. I know it isn’t always immediately feasible. Sometimes you really can’t survive and need something to at least provide food and shelter, but don’t stop there and don’t be afraid to take some risk. Thst can involve telling people no and explaining why, being authentic even if it makes you vulnerable, and treating a boss or CEO like a peer.

You can be the leader, the consultant who they need more than you need them, adaptable and diverse ready to do hard work but has a strong grasp on managing the entire project or an entire company yourself for that mstter. If you like teaching then demand the let you record the lessons and work with an online program snd platform to earn other income. If they ask that they you sign an employment agreement you don’t feel comfortable with, then don’t. Like I said… The more you don’t immediately agree to things just cause others have money, the more they’ll respect you and the more you’ll end up getting paid.