Just finished getting a degree? Too bad, you're screwed!

[wagon]

100k? lol, It cost me around 35k for two degrees, and a few MS certifications.

It depends on where you go, most of the top tier schools cost upward $40k a year in intuition, in addition to living expenses, etc. All the sudden, a 4-year college education is about $150k+

[Cantih]

There was a guy in my last semester's class (he was in his early 60s) who constantly announced that we "college-age students are all lazy" and that since he was able to find jobs after high school, we should be able to with no excuses.

I dunno a bout the Cosmo article (though, I'm not exactly inclined to consider Cosmo valid for ANYTHING), but I did get a similar yarn from a few of my uncles at Thanksgiving.

I had to explain to them that 1960/1970 is NOT the same as 2000. The culture was different, and the value of money & services was different before Nixon and Reagan.

[Saga]

I am a recent-grad, and received my first job offer a month after graduation. I started my serious job search in February. You really need to look outside the box. You have an accounting a degree? One of the Big 4 (or is it Big 3 now?) might not be in the cards. Consider smaller companies in industries people might not look at. A marketing degree? Try to see if local restaurants need some more marketing. Even if this isn't where you want to be, it gets you real world experience you can use to apply for those jobs needing 1-2 years experience.

Additionally, if you didn't do internships during college, you really, really set yourself up for failure. The only reason I got my job (and others I know who graduated) were because we interned in college. Graduating with a degree and no internship experience means absolutely nothing today.

Prior to popular belief, employers are less likely to hire those 25-40 y/o unemployed individuals for entry level positions. My boss passed up people with master's degrees for me. She knew those people would leave the position the second something better came up and that it would be harder dealing with someone who is used to having a higher position.

Forum search for Resume/Interview tips, since a lot of good advice is in threads here. If your resume isn't top notch or sticks out (in a good way), you will get passed up.

Same situation as you. Graduated in May but started looking for a job in late January/early February, hired in May, all settled in to my new place now. Room and board paid for, medical and dental, annual salary, free utilities. Res life is a really nice field to get into, but extremely difficult without any prior res life experience. My other option was...print journalism. And though the starting salary for something like that would be ~$28,000 a year, that's still very livable, even in Boston where I was initially looking to stay.

Big issue with employers right now is they're all hiring for the short term. Tons of places are asking for Master's degrees for a job that plays $35,000 a year. They MAY get some applicants with a Master's, and probably even hire somebody. But once the job market turns around, all those people with shit jobs and Master's degrees are going to go to a company where they're actually needed/challenged/paid well and not used for filing or taking phone calls or some shit.

[Ghost_Wheel22]

Reaganomics and the trickle down effect should be hitting pretty soon.

[kyod]

My other option was...print journalism. And though the starting salary for something like that would be ~$28,000 a year, that's still very livable, even in Boston where I was initially looking to stay.

Slightly off topic, but kind of not: I majored in journalism but am in marketing now. Most broadcast entry-level jobs were part-time, hourly. Really hard to make it work unless you had a wealthy family to pay your rent in the beginning. Additionally, applying out of market is incredibly difficult, since most places desire local knowledge. I'm saving money and applying even today to take a job in broadcast, since that's what I really wanted to do (and did my internships in).

Moral of the story: Take what you can get and keep searching for your best fit.

[Natallon]

Thank God I'm in the Medical field.

this
will be in school for the rest of my life, but in the end it works out

[Kuya]

Prior to popular belief, employers are less likely to hire those 25-40 y/o unemployed individuals for entry level positions. My boss passed up people with master's degrees for me. She knew those people would leave the position the second something better came up and that it would be harder dealing with someone who is used to having a higher position

This is your reason right here. If you're overqualified for a job you're likely to jump ship for a better job once you find it, which incurs costs of rehiring for the company.

[Corrderio]

I also read an article about this in Cosmo magazine yesterday. Very good read; a similar article that basically stated that many of us have too much education and not enough experience for the jobs that we want.

Sadly this is true. Most employers don't care about your degree, what they care about is if you have any experience in the field. Which pisses me off since even dead end jobs require about a year of experience nowdays.

I was thinking of getting a 4 year degree for C++/C# programming as well as some other things. However with how screwed up everything is I don't know anymore what I should do.

[Meresgi]

Big issue with employers right now is they're all hiring for the short term. Tons of places are asking for Master's degrees for a job that plays $35,000 a year.

This annoys the piss outta me when I look in the paper or online for jobs and see entry shit requiring 10yrs experience. An internship at Vivendi down in Albany requires you to have 3 titles published under your belt and 3 yrs experience...to intern. When this shit swings back around..and I hope it does soon, I cant wait. There will be tons of job openings as people just up and leave for better horizons.

Moral of the story: Take what you can get and keep searching for your best fit.

Can't agree more. I just took some shit CSR job at a graphic arts print place that only pays 8.50/hr + some shit commission. But at least it puts food on my table and pays my rent while I look for something more worthwhile...or just open a methlab like the other 80% of my town has.

[sephir]

100k? lol, It cost me around 35k for two degrees, and a few MS certifications.

I feel bad for you guys and how much tuition may of you have to pay. Even the most expensive degree program at my school (One of the best vet schools in NA) costs $4000 CDN per semester. That will be $32,000 over the 4 years.


A friend of mine got into Princeton and she calculated that by the end of her 4 years she will have accumulated close to half a million in student debt. But then again it is Princeton, she will likely be able to pay that off within 5-6 years of graduating.

[Kuya]

At the end of the day though, even if there are things you can do to increase your prospects for getting hired, the fact that you can put in so much of your time and money and not be rewarded for all that effort is still a load of bullshit.

One might well call someone who only completes a bachelor's or master's and does not get work experience lazy, but think about what you just said. Was 6 to 8 years of constant deadlines, essays, and investigations, lazy? Fuck no, i had to go through countless sleepless nights for this shit, and the fact that that alone isn't enough is a load of fucking bullshit. Peace niggas

[Knightfell]

I'm medical, so it's all good. Always gonna be old people with asses that need wiping.

Same here, san's RN~NP.

Well just an aide for now, but plan to keep moving on up.

[Cantih]

At the end of the day though, even if there are things you can do to increase your prospects for getting hired, the fact that you can put in so much of your time and money and not be rewarded for all that effort is still a load of bullshit.

I look at the problem as
Businesses not hiring/being dicks about hiring = no jobs
Start a business, create jobs, fuck the assholes.

I just have to solve that whole "start a business with no resources" problem.
But once I have that licked!

8B

[Ryany]

The education bubble will eventually burst just like the housing bubble.

[Grey Jorildyn]

This is pretty much exactly why I went back to school for my Master's. At this point, everyone in my area has their Bachelor's Degree, thus having one does not set you apart from everyone else. It's just the usual roundabout job hunt these days and has been forever. Fortunately I don't have any student loans I have to pay off from undergrad anymore, and my Master's will only cost me about 40k.

[Galois]

Something that really increases chances of getting a job is willingness to relocate. If you have the means (single, married but no kids and spouse is flexible) apply in multiple areas. Some places even cover relocation (my current employer did), which is nice.

Also, as someone stated earlier, look in fields other than what you went for school for. I went to school for math and statistics, and only in my current position am I a statistician 100% of the time. My first job was as an editor/writer for textbooks, and the second was working as an engineer/statistician.

[Nirokun!]

I have seen people who switch over to nursing from finance in their 40s because they can't find a job. From all the gore infection/disease stories that I hear from my nursing friends, it isn't for everyone. People in our age group, 18-29, have the worst unemployment rate, in excess of 15% I believe.

I recently got my license and can say that it's hard getting your first job as a nurse if you didnt work somewhere as a nursing assistant where you could transition to a new position in the same facility, or if you didnt take a scholarship/work obligation. Nobody wants to pay 2 people to do one job (which is entirely understandable.)

But yeah, I certainly don't think nursing is for everyone, not at all. There's a lot that just has to be a part of you that you really cant learn in a classroom. And that has nothing to do with having a strong stomach lol (smells are the worst by far--seeing things isnt so bad.)

[Nekio]

People who spend $120k on a BS or BA are lol. I finished undergrad AND medical school for 100k. And I make $50k a year as a god damn resident, aka an intern. (sure, that equals about $8/hr if you do the conversion to hourly wages, but whatevs I'll be six figs in 3 years).

[kuronosan]

$8/hr? You must be figuring that wrong, or figuring that at 80 hours a week.

When I graduate, I start at $25/hr, and I won't even be an MD (that translates to about $50k). That's if I get a civilian job. Working for the government I can earn even more than that. I'll be hired right out of college and able to support myself right off the bat.

I'm not stopping at a Bachelor's though, that's stupid. Some jobs you can do it with (Nursing, for example) but I'd rather get a Master's and have job security while working on my research for a hopeful PhD.

[Holly Short]

People who spend $120k on a BS or BA are lol. I finished undergrad AND medical school for 100k. And I make $50k a year as a god damn resident, aka an intern. (sure, that equals about $8/hr if you do the conversion to hourly wages, but whatevs I'll be six figs in 3 years).

Where did you go to med school? Going back to try finish my bachelor's in 2 years or so.(Done in 2 years i mean, starting again this fall) Not sure if I want to switch to pre-med, but figured med school was more expensive than that.

Edit: Also can anyone speak for Lawyer's in this economy? I am a history major originally, but wasnt in school long so my gen ed will be done soon then I can do core. Original plan was history BA > law school.