sub-employed

I´m a bit bummed right now. I´m thinking about this whole "getting a job" thing, and I won´t be able to avoid the "full time" part.

I´ve been freelancing this year, and it sucks here in Medellín. Maybe it sucks everywhere, but I have no way to compare. I was employed for a company which would send me tasks every month, they would call me with new projects and ideas and wished to get me more involved. Then, nothing. They dissappeared and I haven´t heard back. Then I started doing work for another company and now I´m waiting and waiting for them to pay. It´s been a couple of months and still no news of when payment will be.

Next year I´ll need to head out on my own once again, with the added burden that I decided to go back to school. I´ll either have to find a full time job that gives me flexibility to study in the morning (unlikely) or have to decide to go full time and stop studying (likelier). Part time jobs here in Medellín, at least for someone with no connections, are not enough to live on, much less pay tuition. Minimum wage here in Medellín is 240 USD , bus fare is .50 USD per bus, tuition at the institute is $100 and insurance is $25. That doesn´t leave much to spend on rent or food, now, does it?

So if the whole reason for coming to Colombia was to be able to live with my parents and save rent... and now that won´t be possible: does it make sense to stay here or should I head back to Costa Rica, where at least there are enough jobs to go around, and I seem to fit better with what they are looking for in employees?

I would like to believe that I could get a job that pays a lot more than minimum wage, but so far I haven´t heard back on any of the resumes I´ve sent out.

For the first time in my life, I feel unwanted and unemployable. I don´t like it one bit.

Skills

I currently live in a country where I feel my abilities are measured by who I know and what I studied. I fail miserably under both standards. I seem to be both overqualified and underqualified for the jobs I apply for, and since I don't know people who know people, I tend to be completely overlooked by HR departments. In short... I still don't have a job.

People here in Colombia love degrees and diplomas. I have one, but it's in Theatre, and after I graduated, I had to actually maintain myself economically, so I spread out. I've taught English, I've done customer service training courses, I've managed a bed and breakfast in Monteverde Costa Rica, I've worked at call centers, I've been a travel agent, I've worked in the web department of a travel agency as a copywriter, I've done outsourced HR work for Nestle USA. Now I'm studying dental tech and working in citizen media outreach.

My diverse and global background seemed to please previous employers to no end. Here in Colombia, it seems to freak them out. I feel torn between the need to get a full time job that pays my bills and my desire to continue studying, volunteering and citizen media work.

I'm still sending out resumes, wish me luck.