ImNotMyIllness
Well-known member
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College Grad & Minimum Wage/Low Income?
- Thread starter ImNotMyIllness
- Start date
you know.. I'm 24 and when i graduated from UCSD with a Bachelor of Science in Management Science (Econ with an emphasis in Finance), I really had close to zero prospects. Getting a financial analyst position with no experience was next to impossible. I did some specialized business systems training, learning relational databases and SQL (really not that hard to be honest), and I did some contract work at tech companies for 1 1/2 years before i finally got a full time offer at a medical device company as a business systems analyst.
Thats my story, and my point here is your degree nowadays is not enough because most companies require some sort of specialized knowledge or training for any position. You should try to get an internship somewhere even if it's after college, there is nothing wrong with that. It will pay less but is a great foot in the door to get yourself some valuable experience and references. Apply to public companies via indeed.com, and fix up your resume and even make it ostentatious by lying a bit -- there is nothing wrong with that. All you need is the initial interview call so prepare hard and figure out what it is that you actually want to do. It was tough for me after college so i really know how to help others now IMO. I really cannot believe today that only a few years after college, I'm a success story. All ya gotta do is beat the system..and theres nothing wrong with that when it's a flawed system to begin with! Hope this helps!
Thats my story, and my point here is your degree nowadays is not enough because most companies require some sort of specialized knowledge or training for any position. You should try to get an internship somewhere even if it's after college, there is nothing wrong with that. It will pay less but is a great foot in the door to get yourself some valuable experience and references. Apply to public companies via indeed.com, and fix up your resume and even make it ostentatious by lying a bit -- there is nothing wrong with that. All you need is the initial interview call so prepare hard and figure out what it is that you actually want to do. It was tough for me after college so i really know how to help others now IMO. I really cannot believe today that only a few years after college, I'm a success story. All ya gotta do is beat the system..and theres nothing wrong with that when it's a flawed system to begin with! Hope this helps!
You have to gain experience before you graduate. Lots of employers prefer a person with 1-2 years hands on experience over a person with a degree. Also, obtaining a degree that is more marketable is critical too. You really gotta use your head in college. You have to know what you are going for an what you will be doing after. Expecting a dream job to fall in your lap is what too many graduates think. Many of them have too high standards and won't take a lesser position where they can work their way up. They want to big shot job from the get-go. Many graduates lack life skills which turns out to be really essential.
Ithior
Well-known member
I have a degree in economics but I don't like any of the jobs related to it. So I'm taking online classes to find out what I actually like, though I'm starting to think what I like is helping kids develop properly.
I'm not exactly unemployed since that implies I'm actively searching for a job, which I'm not.
I'm not exactly unemployed since that implies I'm actively searching for a job, which I'm not.
I have a bachelors and a masters in accounting, graduated almost 5 years ago, and I still have no job prospects. I'm currently working a part time minimum wage retail job, and I think I'm barely holding on to that. I had a second job (also low wage), but I lost that a few months ago, I just feel so useless.
LazyHermitCrab
Well-known member
I haven't graduated yet, but should have already. I'm doing an internship, so you could try maybe 1 or 2 of those and/or volunteer. I'm an English major and even though it's not "marketable" as some people say it was the right choice. Currently I work in retail but it's not the end of the world. I think this internship will allow me to apply for other jobs too. It's good you got the degree, don't regret it. Some employers don't even consider someone without the "the piece of paper" lol. It's just we have to continually prove ourselves before a descent job these days. You're not alone!
Opaline
1
I had a supervisor who had a degree in economics and was working for McDonald's because he couldn't find anything.
This seems to occur far too often, I'm afraid. I suspect it's a combination of not knowing how to market oneself, not having an internship or some other still-in-college experience, and - the biggest reason of all - the fact that everyone and their mother has a degree now, which lessens the value of all of them.
This seems to occur far too often, I'm afraid. I suspect it's a combination of not knowing how to market oneself, not having an internship or some other still-in-college experience, and - the biggest reason of all - the fact that everyone and their mother has a degree now, which lessens the value of all of them.
I graduated just last year but am unemployed and not actively searching for a job at this time. It took me 5-6 years after high school to graduate, due to various reasons. Social anxiety, depression, years of bullying, and meeting all sorts of misfortunes/bad luck/being cursed did me in. I'm not stupid or completely oblivious. I've known for a long time that getting internships/work experience in college is required for getting a good job after graduation, but my mental health was suffering badly for several years and I absolutely hated dealing with people. So I just didn't take advantage of any opportunities that came along, I couldn't care less.
But, now that my dad's having seizures and all, I need to get a job sometime this year. I am learning math in order to make myself more marketable, so I have postponed my job search at least for this month. I'm also volunteering, not sure if this counts as real world experience. But, that pipe dream about living in a forest with a some good friends and being self sufficient - it's still on.
But, now that my dad's having seizures and all, I need to get a job sometime this year. I am learning math in order to make myself more marketable, so I have postponed my job search at least for this month. I'm also volunteering, not sure if this counts as real world experience. But, that pipe dream about living in a forest with a some good friends and being self sufficient - it's still on.
thegunners21
Well-known member
Graduated last year. Working min wage job. I fear that is all I'm destined for.
Odo
Banned
As long as you don't do it for too long, then you should be able to break out of the minimum wage thing eventually. You might have to do a postgrad or something, but it's still doable... you're only doomed if you aren't actively trying to get out of your slump.
But I have also known people who have done literally nothing with their degrees after 20 years of part-time work and living at home.
On the other hand, I think it's a lot harder than it used to be and I'm not sure what the future is going to be like.
But I have also known people who have done literally nothing with their degrees after 20 years of part-time work and living at home.
On the other hand, I think it's a lot harder than it used to be and I'm not sure what the future is going to be like.
I just heard on NPR that most part-time university professors are making less than $20k a year. Considering how much time and effort goes into a teaching job, as well as the amount of education you need to have under your belt before landing that kind of job, I was pretty appalled to hear that. And since it would be "too expensive" to hire them on full time with benefits, this is becoming a really common practice at universities.
Even though it ultimately got me where I am today, I feel as though my college education was a big waste of money. It is highly overrated these days. Though I'm making what I feel is a decent living now, it wasn't classroom learning that got me there, it was getting hand-on experience and learning on the job. And those horrid part-time jobs don't have to be dead-end. I'm a huge advocate of working yourself up from ground level. Go flip burgers at McDonald's, prove yourself to be a reliable employee, and work yourself up to making $40k as a manager. Ain't no shame in that! (that's just a general example, not actual advice to the OP or anyone else directly)
Even though it ultimately got me where I am today, I feel as though my college education was a big waste of money. It is highly overrated these days. Though I'm making what I feel is a decent living now, it wasn't classroom learning that got me there, it was getting hand-on experience and learning on the job. And those horrid part-time jobs don't have to be dead-end. I'm a huge advocate of working yourself up from ground level. Go flip burgers at McDonald's, prove yourself to be a reliable employee, and work yourself up to making $40k as a manager. Ain't no shame in that! (that's just a general example, not actual advice to the OP or anyone else directly)
MollyBeGood
Well-known member
Still_Waters
Banned
I remember watching that college conspiracy video a while back. I am 24 and just graduated with bachelors in psychology and so far no luck. I work at a childrens nursery located in a gym and it sucks that I make about $50 a week (if I'm lucky I get to cover shifts and make a little extra.) Ive applied everywhere and even in retail but its work experience that everyone is after. they dont care about my degree and entering college I wasnt mindful of the fact that I should have focused more on internships, volunteer work and actual job training.
Right now I'm waiting for a phone call to see if I'm hired or not but I have a sinking feeling it won't come. I went on an interview last monday for an entry-level library job at my college. I feel like I'm very qualified. I just finished a library technician certification, an internship at the biggest library in the city, and have great references from library people I've worked with (one of them is a also a teacher at my school)...I'm just extremely nervous because it was a panel interview and I feel like I might've blew it. Gah.
ImNotMyIllness
Well-known member
Good luck-crossing fingers!
LittleGloves
Well-known member
Same here. :sad: I really need a job but I'm so incapable of doing anything and of course my anxiety gets in the way.