50% of new grads are unemployed or underemployed...a sign of the times

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by friendorfoe, Apr 23, 2012.

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  1. friendorfoe

    friendorfoe Active Member

    I've said it many times before and I'll say it again...majors matter more than accreditation, profit status or whether a school is online or not. My favorite bit in the following article is where it encourages students and young professionals to keep going to school to improve their job outlook. I wonder at that advice especially if you have someone with a graduate degree and no or very limited actual real world experience...do you really think it would help them?

    Summary Box: 1 in 2 new graduates are jobless or underemployed as labor market remains weak - The Washington Post
     
  2. BobbyJim

    BobbyJim New Member

    Skills first, more education later is a good route for many folks! :eek:h:
     
  3. NMTTD

    NMTTD Active Member

    But in today's competitive job market, they employers want education. Without it, it can be hard to get the experience. The same employers also want experience, even though its next to impossible to get it without the degree. When employers dont make allowances for the fact that they need to HIRE people so they can GET the experience, it just makes a vicious circle thats hard to get out of.
     
  4. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    Thanks for posting that article. That speaks to me about the thread I started concerning English majors at UCLA. At least they didn't list English in the least likely group, but I think it's close.
     
  5. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    Good point....
     
  6. friendorfoe

    friendorfoe Active Member

    This is true to a point but can be different for each industry. For example, in IT it's more about skills, skills, skills than degrees. In medicine it's all about the licensure. In other industries such as marketing and sales it's about experience (more often than not). I get your point but I'm starting to wonder about the obvious question... "is college really the answer for everyone?" My answer is...it depends on your major and your goals but I think we (Generation X, Y and Next) are starting to figure out that the American Dream and the way to realize it might have worked for our parents generation but doesn't seem to work for ours. Of course an ailing economy ensuring the workplace stays chock full of Baby Boomers doesn't help matters.
     
  7. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    I totally agree with you.

    I seen people spend 7 years to get great university education. I salute them.
    But then when they tr to gain employment its hard when the field if study is not in demand on the job market.

    In contrast I seen and know persons who studied and acquired applied vocational college qualifications. Some have Computer Science and development certificates and vendor certifications.
    They found relatively good jobs in bad economy.

    Also I look at college graduates from non name recognized colleges but with the right
    in demand major. They have higher success rate. its hard even for them but they are getting employment.

    My sons cousins all employed, for example Richard was hired as Business Analyst with his BSBA degree from NA accredited university.
    The Major bank hired him with starting salary of 60K. He is now in final semester for his MBA.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 23, 2012
  8. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

  9. jam937

    jam937 New Member

    1. The degree he choose has few job prospects in a good economy let alone a bad one
    2. He should have switched majors in 2008 or 2009 when he had time. The economy was bad then.
    3. Grad school? LMAO! In what? A MA in Writing? In this economy? LMFAO!
    4. How about a quick second bachelors in something worthwhile? Business? Science?
    5. Parents paid off his students loans. That didn't teach him anything.

    His parents are just as stupid as him for letting this happen and paying his student loan debt. Now he'll just accumulate more debt.
     
  10. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    This is what I'm worried about letting my daughter major in English at UCLA. Don wanna be stuped.
     
  11. TCord1964

    TCord1964 New Member

    This is what happens when a country doesn't produce most of its own goods and moves the bulk of its manufacturing capacity offshore. Even if someone doesn't work in a factory, they may work in a field that benefits from or supports that industry. If the manufacturing base isn't here, neither are the jobs.

    Getting a creative writing degree in an economy like this is, pardon me, stupid. But, now that this graduate has a creative writing degree, what is stopping him from writing? You don't have to get a 9-5 job as a writer to be a writer. Just write. He could be writing his own book, or pitching himself as a writer to magazines, blogs, or web sites as a content creator. He could start his own blog and monetize it (I make a few bucks this way). There is no guarantee of making a living this way, but at least he'd be using his degree.

    Getting a job now is about the same as getting a job during a good economy: you have to have the skills that employers are willing to pay you for. If you can prove you can make money for a business, they will hire you. If you are a recent grad with no practical work experience in your chosen field, you aren't getting hired. That's why students should be doing unpaid internships during their college years, working part-time, or in some cases starting their own businesses.

    My longest stint of unemployment lasted six months, and it sucked. That was in 1991. Although I have changed jobs many times since then, I have remained gainfully employed. Sometimes it meant taking a cut in pay. Sometimes it meant moving to a part of the country I had never been to before. Sometimes it meant working 2 or 3 jobs to put food on the table and keep a roof over my head. Too many graduates these days feel like they are entitled to a job because they have a degree and student loan debt. They aren't. They have to prove their worth in the marketplace, and if they can't do that, they are going to wind up working as a barista with a nice creative writing degree hanging on their bedroom wall at their parent's house.
     
  12. dumpyogre

    dumpyogre New Member

    How's the view up there from your ivory tower?
     
  13. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    You said it! When it comes to my kids, I'll let them wallow for decades in unmanageable debt! That'll teach 'em for sure!
     
  14. NMTTD

    NMTTD Active Member

    Again, you're looking at a double edge sword here. Because the parents are paying the cost for school, they want to have some say in what their kid does. BUT, if they push to hard for the kid to major in what THEY want him to as opposed to what HE wants to then not only is the likelihood higher that the kid wont even use the major, but odds are good they will just go back to school and major in what THEY wanted to in the first place. Only this time, they will use financial aid which will give them the debt the parents were trying to avoid. Also, there's a very fine line between advice and force. Discuss the pros and cons of each major, the job prospects, and the reasons for each major. Get to the heart of why your kid wants a particular major. If they want to do a job that will net them $40k or $50k a year, then that may just be the path they are meant to take. Not everyone will want to be in a $80k+ a year job. The important thing is to make sure they are happy AND have job prospects with their major.
     
  15. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    My friend Boris from Silver spring MD, graduated with Masters degree in Aeronautics from Univ of Maryland.

    Yet he was never employed in this field, his efforts to find a job anywhere in USA failed, He has a good career as Database Administrator.
    We served together in Air Force and I remember when he was a technician at the time, He dreamed to do design and be employed in the field of aeronautics.

    Looks like destiny had something else for him.
     
  16. makana793

    makana793 New Member

    I agree with everyone on this post. This is where majors and concentrations really come into play here. Students need to seriously consider their career choices in life and start laying the ground early in obtaining work experience and contacts in the community. I know I'm bias since I'm a vet but the military is always a good choice as well. ROTC in college, national guard while in school, etc. are all good ways to gain experience while working towards that degree.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 24, 2012
  17. jam937

    jam937 New Member

    When did your friend graduate? Where is he from? The Aerospace industry in the US has been on the decline since the 90's. I think there's going to be a surge in demand soon. Just my opinion.
     
  18. BobbyJim

    BobbyJim New Member

    If a student can’t find an internship (SKILLS) in chosen field, then maybe outlook is not too good. :no:
     
  19. ryoder

    ryoder New Member

    I think school counselors should be more pragmatic. They should stop telling kids to major in something they love and ask them to make choices like an adult. Just because a kid loves history class and had a great teacher one year of high school history doesn't mean he should base his career on history. When I was a kid I was really into Egyptology. Good thing I didn't try and get a degree in that. Imagine how hard it would be for me to compete with Egyptians who study it.
     
  20. friendorfoe

    friendorfoe Active Member

    ^^^^^^This^^^^^^ I couldn't agree more. When I was in high school I played in a rock band. By the time I was a graduate we were fairly successful and it's all I could think of doing for a living. I chased that dream for years without a backup plan and it really put me behind. It was what I loved, it was what I wanted to do and apparantly I was good at it (we were offered a deal with a major label). And of course people before and after me have done it successfully for a living but it just wasn't a pragmatic career option for me. I wish I had someone in my life at the time who was level headed and mature enough to give me more direction early on. Who knew me and my talents and personality well enough to say "have you tried <fill in the profession here>?"

    College does not equal success in life. If you go to college and major in what you love and that major happens to be fine art, you could probably work in that field as a teacher. If you change your mind however and decide you want a business job starting at $60K a year, don't pout and stomp your feet when you don't get hired doing a job that people who majored in business administration get. They chose the harder, more pragmatic path early on. Desperation and frustration are a poor remedy to crappy planning. We need to stop letting kids "figure it out" on their own, start being more realistic and pragmatic with them and stop coddling them until they are 21 years old, in debt and have a poor job outlook. We're not doing anyone any favors when we do this.
     

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