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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle

I’m trapped in the warehouse – is there a way out?

Books on the warehouse shelves
Looking for the exit ... Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian

After taking a media degree at university I joined an employment agency and by pot luck got a temp job in a warehouse. Now, five years down the line, I’m a full-time shift manager and despite the job paying well, I feel trapped, dissatisfied and miserable. I’ve tried applying for other things – even just office jobs to try and get a foot in somewhere else –but there is this unobtainable “experience” we all need in order to get a job, but no clue on how to actually gain that experience. I have a mortgage and bills to pay, so I can’t afford to drop back to entry level and learn something new. I lack the time and motivation to go to a night school and learn a new skill. I don’t really know what it is I want to do, but feel like I will be trapped in a career of boxes, tape, pallets, strapping, forklifts, racking, hi-vis jackets and lorries for the rest of my life. I would like to think there is something better out there for me – something Î could at least enjoy. Is there a way out?

• When leaving a message on this page, please be sensitive to the fact that you are responding to a real person in the grip of a real-life dilemma, who wrote to Working It Out asking for help, and may well view your comments here.

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• Submissions are subject to our terms and conditions: see http://gu.com/letters-terms

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