I'm 55 with a college degree, working in retail to stay afloat. It's been hard to get past the shame and find purpose.
With decades of experience in the social-work field and a college degree, I didn't expect to be working a part-time retail job in my 50s to get by.
At 55, Tammy Rabideau found herself working a part-time job at a department store. She had a degree and decades of experience in social work, but she found retail to be a more flexible and less stressful job. At first, she felt shame about taking on retail work, but now she is grateful for the job and recognizes the value of helping others.
Tammy was up at 4 a.m. the morning after she applied for a customer-service job, ready to rescind her acceptance. She felt shame about her situation, wondering how it had come to this. She had spent the last six years writing for major publications, but now she was back in a department store doing customer-service work. She initially pretended she was volunteering to get past the shame she felt.
However, she eventually realized that she needed the job and money, and she now enjoys working alongside younger coworkers and helping customers.
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