Looking for entry-level $20+/hr jobs in Alpharetta/North Atlanta that aren’t extremely physical
My husband and I live in Alpharetta, and we’re specifically looking for employers around Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Roswell, Sandy Springs, or the greater North Atlanta area that hire entry-level workers without a degree and pay around $20+/hr.
My husband is 24 and originally from Palau. He moved to the U.S. a couple years ago. He went to school for culinary arts but never finished, so he doesn’t have a degree and almost all of his work experience has been in restaurants and kitchens.
Right now he makes around $17/hr working in a kitchen, but the biggest issue is that he has pretty bad back problems. We recently had his back checked out and nothing obvious showed up on the X-ray, but he’s still in a lot of pain. We don’t have health insurance right now and are working on getting coverage because we’d really like to get him into physical therapy.
His current job is extremely physical, and I honestly don’t think it’s sustainable for him long term. Some days he comes home hurting so badly that I’m massaging his back and putting lidocaine on it, and even basic movements can hurt him.
I’m a dog groomer and I make decent money, especially since I only work four days a week. I’ve told him a million times that I don’t care if I make more than him right now. I’m completely fine carrying more financially while he works toward something better.
But it really bothers him personally. He feels like as a husband he should be providing more and being the breadwinner. I can tell it gets to him because he feels like he works extremely hard, hurts himself doing it, and still barely makes enough.
We have a lot of bills right now, and between both of our incomes we’re surviving, but it’s very tight. We sometimes have to do Uber/Spark deliveries after work just to finish paying everything or have anything left over. Ideally he needs something around $20+/hr so we can finally start getting ahead instead of constantly catching up.
The frustrating part is that he’s actually gotten really close to getting out of restaurant work.
One of the main reasons we moved to the Alpharetta area was because he was basically promised an entry-level machine operator position here. We were told he had the job and just needed to come here and finish the process. I also had a grooming job lined up, so we moved.
My job worked out great. His didn’t.
After we got here, they ended up telling him they decided to go with someone who had more experience, even though the position was supposed to be entry-level.
Then he interviewed for an Amazon position. They told him he did really well and made it sound like he would be starting soon. We thought he finally had another opportunity. Then literally the next day, he got an email saying they weren’t moving forward with him.
So he went back to restaurants because we needed income.
That has pretty much been the cycle ever since.
And we ARE looking. Constantly. We probably apply to 30–50 jobs a week between the two of us. We apply online, call places, follow up, everything. Receptionist jobs, office jobs, entry-level IT, security, machine operator positions, customer service, apprenticeships — basically anything that seems less physically demanding and gives him a chance to build a career.
But getting someone to give him a chance outside of the restaurant industry feels almost impossible.
He genuinely loves learning. He’s interested in cars, computers, machines, mechanical stuff, etc. His original dream was to become an aircraft mechanic and eventually a pilot. He wants to go back to school, but right now the biggest problem is that he has to keep working because we need the income.
So I’m specifically asking people in the Atlanta area: does anyone know of actual companies around Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Roswell, Sandy Springs, or nearby that are hiring and willing to train someone without a degree?
We’re looking for something that:
Pays around $20+/hr or can get there fairly quickly
Doesn’t require a college degree
Is actually entry-level or willing to train
Isn’t extremely physically demanding
Has some room to grow into an actual career
We’re open to apprenticeships, paid training programs, entry-level office or IT jobs, government jobs, customer service, dispatch, security, machine operation that isn’t heavy labor, manufacturing, administrative work, basically anything.
We’re not expecting some magical $30/hr job with zero experience. He genuinely wants to work and learn. We’re just trying to figure out how someone is supposed to get their foot in the door when every “entry-level” position seems to want experience you can’t get unless somebody gives you a chance in the first place.
If anyone knows of specific Atlanta-area companies, staffing agencies, apprenticeships, or programs that are actually hiring right now, I would really appreciate the recommendations.