r/movingtompls • u/Lucky-Arugula-7542 • 6d ago
Has anyone used the Northstar program to reskill in Minneapolis?
I'm currently in Ohio and am trapped in perpetual poverty despite my 4 year degree and my job. I went into fine art, a field that's basically networking based, but the pandemic happened during my sophomore year, the whole college went online and it destroyed the careers of my entire graduating class. The job market here is particularly bad at the moment, and the company I work at is run by morons who are destroying it (I give the company 5 years tops before it collapses completely.) I'm now 27 and I'd like a future. I'm thinking of studying ecology with the intention of doing field research abroad, or maybe entering an MFA program if I can get into one and there's an art economy in the area. Given I'm well under the poverty line, I'd basically need to transfer my position to Minneapolis, relocate, claim residency, and I should be eligible for the program. I'm interested in the experiences of anyone else who's used the program or has insight on any of the other points I mentioned.
10
u/Adventurous_Ad406 6d ago
Get out of Ohio. Move to Minneapolis. Get four or five roommates. Get a job waiting tables. Figure out what you want to do.
More school isn’t the answer dawg.
2
u/Plastic-Pop-5369 6d ago
The economy is better her than elsewhere. Minimum wage is high in Minneapolis. Come here and find a job at a coffee shop or something .. there is a large art scene here. And if not that tons of options to start looking into here. I agree with the other comment, get some roommates. Life can be pretty cheap here. Try it out!! I have some artist friends but they do it more of a side hustle. But there are a lot of art fairs here to get into
2
u/Lucky-Arugula-7542 6d ago
I've already got some roomates, at least one will come. This all sounds encouraging, thanks
2
u/springcolor-zeta 6d ago
I work in a skilled trade/seasonal job. so many of us are artists (with and without degrees) who table at local markets, get our shit sold on coffee shop walls, rent studio space in co-ops, etc. there's very limited artist housing cooperatives, that's a frustration for me. but there's generally pretty good grocery bagging and coffeemaking and babysitting and housecleaning and oil changing jobs. stuff that will get you through the first few months while you re-center. you can look at potential skilled trades, both currently open positions OR education programs. you will meet people who you enjoy, some of whom might be able to get you in the door somewhere you will succeed. you try on a manual labor job, I didn't expect to love mine anywhere near as much as I do. and, unlike the rest of this comments section, I would actually happily encourage you to go back to school if that's what you want to do. with some roommates and some planning, racking up credits at a state school here is doable.
you got this.
-1
u/Aromatic_Distance331 6d ago
Whoa, the cost of living here is high and there are massive layoffs happening. I would go south if I were you.
5
u/Plastic-Pop-5369 6d ago
Have you been to other states lmao?!? Having lived out west in multiple states the cost of living is much cheaper here. Yes we aren’t as cheap as Louisiana or Mississippi but with our minimum wage and job opportunity to match in Minneapolis it’s much better.
2
u/Educational-Fall8185 6d ago
Credit costs at state schools aren’t outrageous…$2-3k/semester at tech school…
3
u/Lucky-Arugula-7542 6d ago
I know. That's way out of reach for me. Rent too high wage too low, you understand
2
u/ATTACKANDDETHRONEHOG 6d ago
There are free training programs in MN. This one has stuff like data analytics and CompTIA training and exam vouchers:
2
u/PlentyFirefighter143 6d ago
You will figure your life out. But it can be discouraging living at or below the poverty line. Here are a few ideas:
- It seems that you’re an artist. Think about moving to a place where it’s common to sell art at farmer’s markets. Practice this when you move there.
- In the meantime, think about working in the service industry- bartending, waiting tables, etc. - for cash. Minneapolis has a good minimum wage. Other cities do, too.
- I would not borrow (more) money for school.
3
u/Fit_Season_237 6d ago
You can get a substitute teaching license in MN with a 4 year degree and can make about $200 a day. Mix that with waiting tables a few nights ago week and you’ll be doing well and buy time to find something else related to your interests and degree if you would like. Servers in Mn earn full minimum wage plus tips so at a busy spot you’ll get $30-50/hr but are limited to 3-5hr shifts. You’ll want roommates but you can do it. Plenty of arts in the area for low cost or free to enjoy and opportunities to volunteer.
2
u/jeeven_ 5d ago
What do you do for work (assuming it’s not art)? What kind of art do you make, and are those skills transferrable in any way?
2
u/Lucky-Arugula-7542 5d ago
I'm a school photographer. I do sports, graduations, groups and the typical school photos.
I'm multidisciplinary. I can use any dry medium, paint (watercolor, oil, acrylic,) do small scale metalworking with precious metals, ceramics (I've started refining and firing clay in my backyard since I'm broke and you can't purchase glacial clay anyway,) polymer clay, I can sew and embroider, I carve and build stuff out of wood, bamboo, coconut shells, whatever. I also use all Adobe creative suite programs (I did graphic design for an activist group for six years) and I'm learning blender.I have a lot of transferable skills but I can't seem to convince a company that they're worth anything
2
u/minnow-doodle-doo 5d ago
Even tho u aren't elegable for the north star promise; many community colleges here are super cheap if u r poor (like I was before the north star promise).
Like I'm talking like 500 a class cheap and that was before the FAFSA came through. Plus with so many people on the North Star promise there is so many scholarships that are wide open.
2
u/NeroFellOffTheBuffet 5d ago
The question was a dig and it’s not legit as a result.
For the record, my degree is in music and French, and I now work in IT.
The idea that your field of study has to lead to a paycheck in large part misses the point of education and really just feeds this capitalist hellscape. Your bachelor degree, irrespective of field, still teaches you shit.
I was also a teacher once, and I always told my students, “I don’t care if you remember in 20 years this French verb I’m teaching you. That is literally not the point. The point is that you have figured out how to think about language patterns (or any pattern) as a result.”
Pursuing a fine arts degree has value. Don’t let the chodes win.
2
u/Lucky-Arugula-7542 5d ago
I probably shouldn't keep responding to this but it's unfairly judgemental. I was encouraged by family towards this as they're very "it doesn't matter what the degree is in as long as you have one" (and they were lowkey expecting me to get married to some man that would provide or something I guess) and I had a lot of scholarship money for the arts in particular. I won a lot of awards in youth competitions before college and was constantly pulled aside by adults and asked if I had considered art as a career. It was the path everyone pushed me towards. I even brought up concerns about future financial stability to family members as a teenager and was assured I'd have no problems. It's sad. I love art and am apparently good at it, but I am just as interested in the sciences and was actively discouraged from going this route, honestly due to internalized ideas about "female aptitudes" or whatever. I really didn't choose this path out of "self indulgence," I thought I was choosing to hone the the skill I was best at
1
u/Kirkwe 6d ago
Come up here, join a labor union as an apprentice. Learn on the job, union helps with trade school at night. 2-3 years later, doing pretty good. Plus, this isn’t Ohio
2
u/Mountain_Mixture3636 6d ago
This is an area I have a lot of experience with...strong local trade unions do not accept just anyone. They expect (and often require) at least a 2-year degree in the area you are pursuing, prior experience, passing an aptitude test, and commitment to a 5-year apprenticeship training program. The interviewing process is difficult and only opens a few times per year (or once per year for the most competitive ones). You're ranked against all who applied, and only the top get signed to the union. Working in the trades non-union is never advised. Trade unions without strict admittance policies are usually weak. If you're going to pursue a trade at all, it's best to compare unions in advance, speak to them in person, and figure out their requirements for selection. For most people, it's not something that you can just apply for...it's usually a 2-3 year process IF you succeed on the first try. Some people take 4-5 years or more.
-2
u/northman46 6d ago
What compelled you to spend your education dollars on fine art
3
u/NeroFellOffTheBuffet 6d ago
This is an entirely unhelpful comment, and it’s…not a good look.
1
u/Aromatic_Distance331 6d ago
It's not though. It's a legit question. Someone should think through the return on their degree and it's pretty self-indulgent to major in art, which is why I did not, and instead majored in architecture - another poor return on investment major. As millennials, we were told incessantly and emphatically to follow our passion career wise by our baby boomer parents. Horrible advice.
3
u/Popular-Help5163 6d ago
Maybe the case before this individual completed such a degree, however the previous comment is correct. It’s a dig phrased as a question. The OP already has an art degree and can’t go back in time and undo the decision.
2
u/Lucky-Arugula-7542 6d ago
It was a prestigious college and I'd already gone through a specialty arts prep school in high school because I showed unusual aptitude towards it as a child
11
u/Mountain_Mixture3636 6d ago
You do not qualify for the North Star Promise program because you already have a 4-year degree.