An internship for Samantha in social innovation and entrepreneurship, wow! Coupled with Latin American studies — Colby College is in Maine, right?
Daniel, with a civil engineering focus, probably hasn’t seen peers or mentors suggest anything other than a job-job; that’s so 20th century.
I always think it’s best to start 50 percent Burger King, to keep in touch with the real world and generate some cash flow, and 50 percent should be trial balloons, locking horns with the near impossibility of doing anything from the ground up, using every bit of social/political skills, every bit of ability to identify needs, take on new skills, etc. At least one should be interning with people doing that. Best would be to live with a few people your own age who are doing that — I’m thinking of a group of guys who did (1) lab research, exotic dancing, grad school; (2) chef; 3) online advertising services; (4) decorating shop windows at $500 a window, while doing political organizing. If not now, young people, then when?
I’d say after four years people should be able to find a place to stay other than the family home. It’s time for to remove the training wheels, balance on your own. If it takes three or four sharing a “pad,” great. The possibilities multiply.

Most students graduate with school loan debt and credit card debt. They now need an automobile to get to their new job, more loan debt. If they want to buy a condo or a house, more loan debt. Why not start a small business when they graduate from high school. If they are successful they will avoid most of this bank debt and they will learn far more from this experience. If they are not successful they will learn far more from the experience of running a business and have a much stronger resume.

A neighbor of mine did just what Paul suggested, ran a successful business (she was Korean, and it was done from New England to South Korea over the net, in the ’90s). She had physical and other issues that meant her college career wasn’t in the usual lock-step, but she pulled it together somehow.
A point about student debt, in regard to “affordable” housing (and likely soon “affordable” health care), these programs are fine for people with “regular” jobs. A student with debt to pay (or expenses in starting a business) will not be looking for “affordable” units with 30% of income being the rent. An older person may be paying the entire remainder of income on health insurance and taxes. A younger person may be paying the entire remainder on student loans and start-up costs. If health care is also subsidized exactly proportional to income, it will be a big problem for young people with loans.
I have tried to make this case to Barney Frank’s House Financial Services Committee, and anywhere, for a decade. There are big advantages to rich builders to put up any economical housing so as to get tax shelters and cheap interest rates, and so the rental housing that has gone up in the last 40 years has been either luxury or “affordable” (not suitable for young graduates, for one). But then, those young people are probably troublemakers, “they” think, so “transients,” not the bringers of new ideas and new businesses.
Students should be agitating for low-cost rental units, and for health insurance that is not subsidized according to their income. Insurance should be equal in cost, so they can pay back their loans as they start to earn more.

I was an 09 graduate and was other planning to go to graduate school a year and a half ago. I wonder if there were more jobs for new graduates if it would have changed my mind at all. I had a friend who graduated from the same school as me with a 4. who couldn’t find a job and another who was not quite as smart but a very hard worker and incredibly passionate about what he does who is making $12 an hour.

Tell the Daniel applying to Northrup Grumman Newport News Shipbuilding. They are always hiring free grads especially engineering. It is also a great fun area, near the ocean. The others should look into this company.

Do you pay your interns any type of compensation?

In Cincinnati Oh, I used to work for an Environmental firm. They are still in business if the prior caller would be interested – at least check into the firm Foppe Technical Group – They hire all sorts of Environmental engineers, Geotechnical Engineers, techs, Drilling etc…
good luck.

I really feel for these 3 individuals (I’ve been in their shoes more times than I can count), but the fact that they’ve only been unemployed for 6 months does not make me hurt for them. I know people who graduated from law school who have been unemployed for much longer. Additionally, my friends cannot get an unpaid internship, let alone a couple of paid internships!

All these graduates, are speaking in a “valley girl” manner. Ending every spoken sentence as if it was a question. Work on changing that, and people might give you a little more credit and respect. Employers are aware of it, and I had to turn off the program, bcause that speaking manner, was driving me up the wall.

this is not a news story…. I graduated in 2000. Worked in a deli for 6 months after college, went to Morocco with the peace corps, worked with a small non-profit DC and finally went to grad school before I could get a job in my field. I don’t know anyone who went straight from undergrad to their dream job

I graduated in the class of ‘09 AND in the class of 2001. I returned to school, graduated in May with a degree in Nursing, and am now thankfully employed as an RN. It was definately the right decision to go back to school for an employable career. BUT now I’m shouldering the debt from 2 degrees 80,000 dollars. I I think that the discussion that needs to be had is about financial aid for students.

what about peace corps or americorps?

Abandon hope ye newly edu’muh’cated!

Tain’t no jobs in the making in this here economy. We’re static now; only changes are to ship more jobs outside our borders.

The recommendation to network is correct. However, like most great ideas, it is not that easy to implement. I suggest that you attend any meeting of any professional group that is realted to your field that you can. I also suggest that you use the online professional networking website LINKEDIN.com. Use that (and use it professionally) …. I’ve actually gotten requests from recruiters from my profile on linkedin.

I’m on the other end of the spectrum … I’m 59 and am currently unemployed. Good luck to your guests. Don’t give up.

If you are not picky with jobs. you will get one.
Try going to Temporary Agencies around Boston or in your City. Front desk receptioniest,data entry, cash posting,cashier or a clerk. Hospitals are the best place to work on this great recession.

Try these temporary careers and you will get a job.

My sons went into the military after high school, not ready to go to college. Now that their first enlistment are soon to be up, where before the recession they planned on leaving the military, they both are planning on reenlisting. Between the weak job market and the much greater GI Bill benefits (and the impact of their friends doing very low paid and unattractive work) the military has become very attractive. Folks with a college degree will almost surely be officers as well. I note this is not a political move as I was anti-war in the 60’s and am anti war now but better to be in the military and working and gaining skills and experience than being on the street without work.

I was in no hurry to jump into a professional job. I waited tables and enjoyed my free time and when a job came around, I took it. The next time I looked for a job, I mapped out places where I wanted to work, dropped off my resume, and was eventually hired for a job that was not even listed yet.

I dont know of anybody who graduates and finds a dream job… and why would you? It used to be most young folks coming out of college would take some time to travel/explore… why are these young folks so eager to punch a clock? Join the Peace Corp. its a big world.

Though I feel for recent grads, there are other populations that are struggling with finding employment.
I am a seasoned web developer (over 10 years experience). I am getting phone interviews, but because of my disability (cp) effects my speech I never get callbacks.

What the class of 09 has to understand that they’re not the only one’s out searching for a job. They’re in competition against people who have been laid off and people who have changed careers. What the need to do is look toward starting their own business – becoming an entrepreneur!

I graduated June of 2008 and am still searching for SOMEthing to do in the field of broadcast communications. I have had amazing internships, graduated from a great school, and want to work; however, it has gotten so frustrating sending out hundreds of resumes… with no response. I have been able to get a job managing a restaurant — which is great — but I want to have a career in something I am passionate about. Should I go to graduate school? Or would it just be a waste of time and money?

Napierville resident These two websites have a large amount of job sources for geophysical & enviormental engineers:
http://www.rigzone.com www. theoildrum.com

Also, check Great lakes Dredge & Dock, Oak Brook

Did you guys read that interesting article in the NY Times about those doe-eyed twins from Ohio who came to New York to live out their dreams only to be struggling, broke, and disillusioned by chronic unemployment or “bartending” to pay the bills.
I think “prepare yourself for the REAL WORLD 101″ should be a requirement in American colleges! People have this sense of entitlement and are told from an early age to “Shoot for the stars”. It is a slap in the face to people who have been pampered their whole lives to have to suddenly work for $9/hr. Many geniuses have bartended before finding a dream career. Grow some humility, people! Time to pay your dues, ‘09 grads!!!

(By the way, I have a master’s degree and have had trouble finding suitable or enriching employment in the teaching field! Every industry is affected by the crisis. Time to think creatively + re-invent yourself.

Here’s my advice from experience. You will not get your dream job right away. Give yourself ten years, and start taking the appropriate steps to get there. Sooner than later, you’ll get what you want. In the meantime, get a job in a related field, volunteer, do a year as an Americorp, meet people, make yourself invaluable and eventually you will have the experience and the connections you need to do what you really want. Good luck!

As a recent (2009) UMass Amherst graduate who is only just starting to job hunt, I have no wisdom on how to land the perfect job. (Listening to NPR while most people are off to work is one of the benefits of unemployment.) But I have two comments on the financial situation of my generation.

One, the assumption of both my university and high school classmates is that most of us will move back home for a year or two, so there is little stigma associated with returning to the nest. Parents and their bank accounts are making all the difference for the Class of 2009. And living at home means time as an adult with my parents; valuable time to get tips on mending my pants, cooking dinner, or how to craft the perfect resume for that job posting that caught my eye.

Second, my generation has not been taught to save. I was lucky- I went to a state school, applied for thousands of dollars in scholarships, and have had a savings account since middle school. I have no loans, plus a few thousand to fall back on. Most of my classmates have less (or nothing) in savings, plus loans to pay back. If the Recession we’re all talking about truly changes our mentality, I hope the next generation will be taught to spend less, save more, and apply for every scholarship under the sun before taking out loans! Graduation might be a little less scary under those circumstances.

I have heard this topic covered on several stations and living in Canada I had to ask many questions about all of these interns working for free. I am sure our unemployment rate would be just as high as the U.S. if we had all new students working for no money. Why would employers pay these students to work, when they will work for no money? If all students stop taking internships, they would have to start hiring new people fast. Is this not the case?

I second the posters who brought up the AmeriCorps and Peace Corps options!

I worked as an AmeriCorps*VISTA with LIFT for a year after graduation and it was a fantastic experience. The salary is minimal, but doable, and you receive fantastic training across a variety of fields. I managed the organization’s entire communications strategy, doing everything from website management to publication design to media relations and a renaming and rebranding initiative. I would have never held such high level responsibility right out of graduation at any other company.

Other AmeriCorps members with LIFT do fundraising and development work, event planning and training, data analysis, office administration and community outreach. Upon completion of their service, our LIFT Site Coordinators/AmeriCorps*National Direct members can manage a budget, manage an office of upwards of 40 volunteers, and have a number of contacts in their communities.

LIFT hired me as a full-time, salaried employee this year. I was able to use my education award to pay off some of my student loans. With the Serve America Act passed, there will be a lot more service opportunities for post-grads. They are a great way to get a steady paycheck and real-world experience while doing service at the same time. Samantha and Laura, your backgrounds would make you excellent candidates for a variety of positions and help you get your foot in the door with a lot of people!

The questions posed by the ‘employer’ from Florida include questions that CAN NOT BE ASKED! You can not ask about children for example! This needs to be noted! Much abuse of applicants is happeneing because of this poor job market!

I cannot believe the advice I am hearing regarding knowing someone in the company and the questions small business owners ask to decide who to hire. We have laws to protect people from these descriminating practices under the EEO Act! Denying someone a job because they have children is ilegal.
Clearly, if we are the “Greatest Nation on Earth”, we should do better.

Laura Cahue
Columbia, SC

Nonprofits, nonprofits, nonprofits
I graduated in 2008 and immediately joined Americorps. While I did so for reasons unrelated to the ecconomic climate, it turned out to be a very good move. While paid a pittance it comes with several important things. 1) job security. – I have a contract which has often been touted in the job culture as an important thing to have. 2) Benefits, it comes with insurance (while not the best), I get an education grant at the end of 1 year of service that can be put toward past loans or, in my case, future grad school bills. Hell, my first term came with housing. Plus, being paid at poverty level comes with food stamps. I was able to save a lot of my money that year. But you can’t bank on that, I do know some individuals that went into debt at the same time. But alot of that is up to personal financial management. 3) Networking – it seems that half the work involved with nonprofits is meeting the right people and making the right connections. These last and they matter, I’m only a month into my second term and I’ve already been offered jobs after this term is up. And finally, as a selling point 4) flexibility – americorps offers a variety of positions for a myriad of job skills. Construction, education, nursing, marketing, etc. no matter your skills I’m confident there is a match organization match with you.
Additionally, I found the same to be generally true of nonprofits (save the education grant and some benefits as housing. I recently moved back to Nashville, my home town, and reconnected with my high school friends and found out that about half of them are either with nonprofits are in the field of education (myself, I straddle the two). While some of my friends are frustrated with this state of affairs I find it incredibly positive. And I think it will be best for out generation and the one to follow.

I just graduated in May with my Master’s degree in Library and Information Science. While it seems like there are a lot of jobs in the field out there, the problem is the required experience necessary for even an entry-level job. Despite the fact that I have part-time and internship experience on my resume, no one is biting. So, no matter how good my interviewing skills may be, what if no one is inviting you for an interview?

In the meantime I am working part-time in a restaurant to make money, but for how long?

One of your callers said that one of his job interview questions concerns whether a job candidate is able to take care of children at home. It is ILLEGAL to ask a candidate about marital or family status or pregnancy, and it’s possible that newly-graduated job seekers are vulnerable to answering such illegal questions in their desperation to get hired.

Why not join the military?

No sympathy for these three and other whiners out there.

Laura
Move in with 3 – 5 roommates in NYC, get a part time job at night/weekend to help pay for rent/food.

Dan
Guess what at $7/hr * 16 hrs (sat and sun 8 hrs each) * 4 weeks = $448/month WHICH IS MORE THAN A PAYMENT ON A CAR!!!!

Samantha
What are you whining about? You got a 0% loan from your parents to pursue your dream job. You are better off than I would say 50 – 70% of Americans out there.
You’re doing what you want/love and don’t have to worry about food/rent.

NO SYMPATHY!!!!

STOP BEING LAZY, get out there and work hard.

Your recent caller from Naples who had hired an office manager spoke of his interviewing questions and urged applicants to prepare for interviews. Many of the question examples he used are unlawful under federal equal employment laws. Things like Do you have children? Who will care for them if they get sick? Not only should employers not ask questions like these, but also applicants should not answer them.

What everyone needs to understand is that this country is definitely in a recession. This is a reality that everyone must face. America is just in a slump mode. It’s going to get bad before it gets worse. Next year will be the class of 2010. What they need to do is take what they can get for now like everyone else and relocate.

I’m a contractor and even in these “tough” times I stay busy. I take jobs that others won’t. But one motto has always stayed with me ……… If it were easy, everyone would do it. Sitting and searching websites is what everyone does. Go knock on doors, be persistent. The only thing they can say is “no”. Don’t take rejection personally. Putting yourself through this tough process will pay dividends in the future because others don’t want to expend the effort because it’s not the easy way. Good luck

Laura –

I understand your frustration. I am an entrepreneur and brand marketer that owns a small luxury brand operating out of Boston. Would you be interested in paid, telecommunting work in marketing/PR? This would also be a great way to expand your network…

I sent an email to Onpoint with our company’s contact info.

Go to Europe! You may never again get the opportunity to travel and/or work in Europe. Take advantage of the downturn to really change the trajectory of your lives.

About interview questions: If an employer has over 100 applicants from craigslist, I don’t think he HAS to ask, do you have children. He can wait till some applicant tells him that.

I am so glad my parents encouraged me to work since I was 14 years old. I volunteered weekends at a local hospital gift shop. That secured my job at a local mall when I was 16. In college I waited tables every weekend and managed a clothing store on week nights. When I graduated in 1991 (in a bad employment market) my parents gave me $500 and said “good luck.” I moved to Boston, worked for $6 an hour and no benefits, shared a two bedroom apartment with 4 women and did everything I could to find a job. When my boys are old enough to work I will insist they do so. Nothing builds character more than work.

I graduated in 2007, and after moving in early ‘08, could not find a job for almost 10 months. So I empathize!

The best advice I got was essentially a MEANS to making all that magical ‘networking’ happen. Get out there and “stir the pot”.

Volunteer. If you can’t find something in your work arena, try local groups that lie along your interests. You will keep yourself from going nuts at home, provide a relief from the endless job search, and most importantly, meet people in a non-pressured setting that can potentially help you.

Take a class. Volunteering for professors or even grad students is easy. Once you’re some sort of student, you’ve essentially bought the connection to the school that gives you priority.

Temp work. It provides income and some skill-building/work experience.

And finally, I second getting “just a job” if you’ve been going at the search for over 6 months and have turned up nothing. It does wonders for your psyche to bring in a paycheck, it really does.

Good luck to you guys & continued luck to everyone still currently employed!

I find many of the attitudes expressed in this show to be alarming, from the blatantly discriminatory practices of the employer calling in, to the idea that finding a job that simply pays the bills is somehow beneath a recent grad. Then there’s internship system that hires people without paying them, or even requires payment to work, and attitudes that tolerate nepotism all around. It seems like we are loosing a consensus on what constitutes fairness in the work world.

I am also a Tufts 2009 graduate, and am still unemployed despite great effort. This program was highly discouraging.

Regarding Peacecorps and Americorps: due to high number of applicants (the large numbers of unemployed trying to find something else to do) it is extremely difficult to get accepted into these programs — they don’t just take anyone, and it is much harder to get into these programs than when our parents were our age.

As a job coach who specializes in helping college graduates identify and land the right job, I can’t stress enough the importance of setting a wide net of job goals and a written, specific job search plan. The plan should list target employers and include specific activities that you can do to approach those employers. You can use Linked In to get contacts at virtually every organization out there. You can also set up google alerts using the company names as keywords to stay up to date on the organization. Finally, keep working it!! It takes time but it CAN be done!

Studies and my personal experience have shown that candidates who know what they want and where faire much better than those who aimlessly post for any job they see.

ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE GOING TO COLLEGE?

DOES UNUSED COLLEGE EDUCATION CONSTITUTE ECONOMIC WASTE THAT IMPOVERISHES OUR SOCIETY?

HOW MANY LIVES HAVE BEEN DESTROYED BY HAVING HUGE AMOUNTS OF STUDENT LOAN DEBT BUT NO JOB OR CAREER TO SHOW FOR IT?

That college graduates cannot find work in their fields and thus have to go so far as to pay money (!!!) for internships in the hopes of maintaining the economic value of their expensive degrees is a huge tragedy that must be affecting millions of Americans. Imagine how you would feel if you had spent years in college and accumulated nearly $100,000 in student loan debt while also being essentially unemployable as a result of having been unable to find work in your field after graduation. Many professionals may be in a worse situation since they are liable to have over $100,000 in loans with few career prospects.

College and Professional degrees are not worth what they used to be worth forty years ago when many people’s perceptions of the value of a college education were formed. Today, just about everyone who has the ability (intellectual and financial) to do so goes to college. The end result is that our society has significantly overproduced people with college educations, resulting in too many qualified people for too few knowledge-based jobs. We have an oversupply of people in just about every field and a great many people are either unemployed or underemployed-involuntarily-out-of-field. We have too many Ph.D. scientists. We have too many computer programmers. We have too many people in IT. We have too many MBAs. We have two or three times as many attorneys as our economy can support and we even have an oversupply of patent lawyers (science or engineering degree + law degree–imagine that). (Many scientists fled the career graveyard of science for law school in the hopes of striking it rich as patent lawyers and now we have an oversupply of them.)

Sadly, many of these graduates will lose the value of their college educations if they cannot find work in their fields shortly after they graduate. Employers in their fields will regard them as complete losers, rendering them unemployable in their fields. In the meantime employers in other fields will also regard them as losers since they perceive that everyone who works in the fields they trained for are financially successful and that they thus must be either incompetent, unmotivated, or simply overqualified. While they may lose the value of their college education, their student loans will continue to haunt and taunt them and their families may regard them as losers. Imagine the huge toll it would take on your self esteem. Sadly, these student loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, leaving many of these people to suffer having to live in a debtors’ prison without walls. The urge to commit suicide must be great.

Our society is suffering from an EDUCATION ARMS RACE where people try to outdo one another, fighting for the smaller number of jobs available (relative to the number of qualified people with degrees) by continuing on to accumulate expensive and time-consuming advanced degrees. Hence, we have too many lawyers, too many MBAs, too many humanities PhD’s, too many Ph.D. scientists, too many people with Masters degrees, etc. The result of this destructive arms race is a gigantic amount of unused education which constitutes economic waste in our society. Sadly, this tremendous squandering of societal wealth has gone completely unnoticed. The problem is that the parties that benefit from people obtaining education (universities, professors, lenders, and even politicians who sell it to the masses as a solution to our economic problems since people gobble it up) do not suffer negative consequences from unused education, so there isn’t much of a feedback loop to encourage them to stop expanding and selling their product. (Universities and colleges are for-profit businesses; a great many stakeholders have an interest in perpetuating the education myth and over-educating society. It may also reduce unemployment some since students aren’t really in the labor pool.)

Consequently, I am in favor of significantly reducing the number of the nation’s colleges and universities, and graduate and professional school program capacities. Where is the economic value in spending tens of thousands of dollars to train people for non-existent job positions and/or to produce a large oversupply of qualified practitioners? How does it benefit our society to create a large class of indebted, often highly educated and intelligent, significantly underemployed (often involuntarily-out-of-field) angry, bitter people?

How did we get into this situation? Why do so many people feel compelled to invest in college when degrees have become devalued?

Basically, our nation’s economy has been failing to provide a first world, solid American middle class standard of living for a great many people for decades. People thus went to college in the hopes of being able to secure solid middle class careers and lifestyles. As formerly middle class manufacturing jobs were sent overseas or were filled by immigrant labor (both legal and illegal), more and more people flooded into the colleges and/or urged their children to go to college.

Today, college-education-requiring knowledge-based jobs are also being sent overseas or filled by foreigners on H-1B and L-1 visas. (“My job was bombed by the H-1B.”) Thus, in addition to the dramatic increase of people who are going to college in the hopes of escaping the rising tide of unemployment, underemployment, job insecurity, and low wages that have affected manufacturing and blue collar jobs, increasing the amount of competition for limited jobs in knowledge-based fields, now knowledge-based jobs, too, are susceptible to an economic force called GLOBAL LABOR ARBITRAGE. b Why hire Americans to work knowledge-based jobs when they can be done for far lower wages in India or in America by foreigners on H-1B and L-1 visas?

Over the past several decades our society, our politicians, our intellectuals, and our media pundits have sold higher education to Americans as a solution to our nation’s economic problems as though it were an opiate of the masses. By selling the American people on higher education, they could avoid having to acknowledge the unpalatable problems caused by global labor arbitrage. This way they don’t need to contradict free market dogma by advocating protectionist restrictions on international trade such as tariffs and a zero dollar trade deficit policy. This way they won’t have to risk being called racists or xenophobes for opposing mass immigration (for economic reasons) and for trying to put an end to illegal immigration and to dramatically decreasing the amounts of legal immigration. By selling the American sheeple on higher education, they can continue to please the wealthy by allowing them to hire foreigners on H-1B and L-1 visas for lower wages than what a marketplace of only Americans would require.

In short, our nation’s problem is not merely that too many people are going to college to train for non-existent job positions, but also that we’ve sent the jobs overseas or filled them with immigrants or foreigners on work visas. The loss of manufacturing jobs to overseas labor drove Americans into the colleges and universities and now knowledge-based jobs too are susceptible to global labor arbitrage.

Today, young people and Americans in general are being inundated with the notion that college education is the solution to our nation’s economic problems. Turn on the radio or TV and listen to economic commentators and politicians or open your newspaper’s op-ed page and you will find pundits pontificating about how our nation needs a more highly skilled workforce (for imaginary and non-existent job positions) and how more and better education is the solution to our nation’s problems. By trying to brainwash Americans into believing that they are simply unskilled and/or inferior, the politicians, the media, the intellectuals, and the wealthy who crave low-paid slave labor can hope that the American people will blame themselves rather than aim their ire at the politicians and the upper classes.

We need to forcefully tell our politicians and intellectuals to abandon political correctness and to acknowledge and to address our nation’s real substantive economic problems. Until we end our nation’s economic merger with the third world, America will continue to transform itself into an overpopulated, impoverished third world country via the economic force of global labor arbitrage.

It’s a shame that Americans aren’t taught to understand all of that in college.

Gala,

I respect your thoughts on what I should be doing in regards to housing; as it were, I have been looking for a share in New York for months…finding a cheap apt in NYC is pretty similar to finding a job (for anyone) in this economy. Also, stating what’s going on in our lives is not whining by any means, it’s a simple statement that we weren’t expecting what is currently happening/ are facing difficulties in our lives currently (our lives being no more or less difficult than any unemployed person). College hardly prepares us for it, and, while I was not expecting to get a dream job or anything approaching it upon graduation, I was not expecting to be competing with older, more skilled professionals on top of my peers.

Frank, I’d like to think that people are going to college for more than just a job. College is about education. Many of the jobs we are training people for today didn’t exist 20 years ago. who knows what the next 20 will bring?? But if our society isn’t educated, we little chance to rise to the challenge

The Peace Corps awaits you to serve 2 years in a high-responsibility job overseas – as it has since the mid-60’s. I entered the Peace Corps upon graduation in 1986, and served as a fish farm extension agent in Sierra Leone, West Africa. I have not had a problem finding a job since. You can’t find in a classroom or buy the experience you get in the Peace Corps learning a new language, self-reliance, and understanding that “living” doesn’t require electricity, running water or the internet.

Susan,

Did you actually read and comprehend my post?

I know that many of the jobs people are training for today didn’t exist twenty years ago. My point is that it doesn’t make economic sense to train more people than are needed to fill these jobs. America has more than enough college-educated, smart, talented people to rise to the challenge of innovation and changing technology.

Please tell me what good it does our society to have too many Ph.D. scientists who won’t be able to find appropriate work in their field? What good does it do our society to have indebted lawyers (or engineers or computer programmers or MBAs, etc.) who will never be able to find work in their field? How are these poor souls–the oversupply–supposed to pay off their student loan debt? We are creating a new class of people in this country–student loan slaves or indentured servants–all of whom pursued higher education with the best of intentions and lofty expectations–expectations about the economic value of a college education that were drilled into them since elementary school.

Education for the purpose of personal enrichment doesn’t justify the huge amounts of debt and opportunity cost that these young people are subjecting themselves to. It is very expensive, both for students and society.

The current crop of graduates suffer from the abuses of graduates from just a few years ago. I have hired recent graduates and found them demanding, lazy, and unrealistic. Their manner of dress and their condescending attitudes ruined it for the current crop of graduates.

Sorry – but that is reality.

Conratulations on your graduation!

As a reward you are given the choice of either a blue vest, a red vest, or a paper hat.

I agree with an earlier post. Go to europe.

I would like to offer some simple advice: Please omit the word “suck.” It’s juvenile and unprofessional…

I notice from Daniel’s resume that he has neither passed the Fundamentals of Engineering exam nor attended graduate school. Passing the FE exam is necessary in order to become a registered Professional Engineer, while a graduate degree is now considered required by many engineering firms. As a working civil engineer, I very strongly recommend he take the FE exam as soon as possible and also consider returning to school. There are many jobs out there in civil engineering, but companies want more than just a BS and an average GPA.

I would caution current college students to think about “What’s next?” early on in their college days. I agree with the earlier posting, we have way too many over-educated, under-employed types running around with pricey degrees that carry no value. How many Latin American Studies, Women’s Studies, American Studies, Indo-European Studies (the list goes on) graduates do we have occupying the living room couch at Mom and Dad’s house? “How is this degree going to land me a job?” is what students should be asking themselves. If you can’t answer that question, re-think what you are doing in college.

TOM,
America needs jobs. The gov’t spending billions of dollars does nothing but prolong recessions. FDR spent billions and it only prolonged the Great Depression with double digit unemployment up until World War II. The private sector creates permanent jobs. That’s exactly why the gov’t needs to take less of the private sector’s money. Instead, Obama and the Democrats want to raise taxes, whether it is to fund the public option or the cap and trade tax. TOM—————WAKE UP!

John,
I have taken and passed the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam. I am certified by the Minnesota Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience & Interior Design as an Engineer In-Training. It would have been extremely unethical for me to have placed the title of EIT after my name in my resume otherwise. I wanted to make sure that was clear.

Others,
I have stopped applying for the “McDonalds-type-jobs” because my efforts have earned me interviews at very respectable engineering firms. I had an interview this past Friday and I have another on Wednesday. Finally, I did not ask to be on this show. I was asked by a former professor to explain my view of the job market for 2009 college graduates, and I accepted gratefully because of the opportunities that it could present me. I apologize for being defensive but I did not appreciate the “whiner” accusation.

For those of you who suggested places to apply, or networking advice, thank you. Idaho DOT will be receiving my resume shortly, as well as the others that I found in this blog. I also plan on attending the next ASCE Section Meeting in Chicago.

In 1960, I was a graduating Chemical Engineering major and jobs were plentiful. JFK was campaigning for the election and some friends of mine and I opted to sign up for volunteer work as Jesuit lay missioners
in the mountains of Jamaica, W.I. We earned $21 per month with room and board. The experience was the greatest thing that happened to all of us. One of my friends, a Francican presently feeds 450 people/day at the St. Francis Center in Philadelphia. Another one is the former General of the Maryknoll Mission order and now in a parish back in Jamaica. Another one died this past year after 37 years in rural Pakistan as a Dominican missionary. Several others spent their adult lives as teachers and health providers in the US.
My point is: All of these friends testify to the fact that given the opportunity, they would relive their lives in no other way than they did.
So, my suggestion to so many unemployed graduates is to consider a similar “calling”.

Don’t forget to vote. The government doesn’t owe you a job. But the government creates employment conditions, via tax credits, and other business incentives, that influence the overall economy. We have the past administrations to thank for the loss of many good paying manufacturing jobs, without any thought about the long term impact on our own people. With the manufacturing jobs gone, a large portion of employed people with good paying jobs are now getting lower wages at retail jobs. This “trickle down” is why the recovery from this current debacle will be so slow – there is a new “set point” for employment/productivity ratio. This is the rip-off that one should be concerned about.

So, sure, the government doesn’t owe you a hand out. But they shouldn’t be handing out big breaks to corporations either. The big breaks should come if they hire more workers here.

I cannot BELIEVE how many people who posted comments seemed to have listened with a NEGATIVE ATTITUDE toward these kids!!!

I did NOT hear ANY tone of “entitlement” from these three young people; yet, they were branded by that designation by one or two callers and many posters! We don’t know the WHOLE story of their situations or job searches. Perhaps they DID apply for the junkiest job-jobs out there, but they were presenting themselves on air thru their STRENGTHS. Perhaps not getting a car has as much to do with the extreme cost of car insurance to a young man, as it has to do with just finding a junky car. Perhaps some one is staying at home because there is an injured or ill family member, and a returned member of the family can help out while they look for work. Also, the sheer AMOUNT of college loans due now per student was hardly ever seen in the past!!!!

BECAUSE of this odd, negative way in which people REFUSE to hear what you’re saying, but hear what they WANT to hear instead, I have a suggestion. Perhaps, every time each one of these young people applies for a job, or speaks to someone thru networking, etc., they should CLEARLY INDICATE: ” I have a two-part job search; one part is for any job that will serve my immediate needs for cash; the other part is for a job within my chosen field.” That way, no one can trash them as acting “entitled” — just a helpful suggestion based on what transpired right in front of us!!!!

You know, especially for kids whose field of study includes technical areas of expertise, THE LONGER they are out of THAT job market, the more they RISK loosing their fluency and knowledge with those technical areas. I went back to school in a health field a few years ago; OUR class was the first class that wasn’t able to walk right into jobs for everyone: medicare regulations had changed, and the jobs had disappeared. HOW LONG could any of us RETAIN the deeply technical information we had spent YEARS learning??? The WISE thing to do at the time was to TRY desperately to find work in that field, and to supplement with a junk job. BUT, that junk job HAS to be junky ENOUGH to allow you to just take off for interviews. AND, as people have been SHOUTING from the rooftops: there isn’t even any hiring within the world of junk jobs!!!!

The people in POWER in the financial world screwed up our economy, then got bailed out by the taxpayers. THEY are the ones who act “entitled”. These young people were nice enough to and brave enough to share their experiences with a gigantic audience! JUST because they did that doesn’t mean we know ANYTHING about their complete experience. It may make YOU feel better to insult other people, but, if I were hiring, I’d hire one of these eager young people (or, an eager older person), rather than someone who attacks others so they can brag about their own hard-scrabble achievements!

If you want to attack, call your U.S. Senators and Representatives and INSIST that adequate regulations (MORE than adequate, actually!) be put in place within the financial system, U.S. and worldwide, to stop the financial shenanigans that have stripped us bare!

“One of your callers said that one of his job interview questions concerns whether a job candidate is able to take care of children at home. It is ILLEGAL to ask a candidate about marital or family status or pregnancy, and it’s possible that newly-graduated job seekers are vulnerable to answering such illegal questions in their desperation to get hired.”

And I’m sure you were quick to tell the teacher when someone was chewing gum in class.

When the Chinese are running this country, and they will be (because they own it), you’ll be hearing this question and a few others you probably won’t like.

Kudos to Dan and Laura for standing up for themselves on this blog! I am amazed at how quickly people judge and shoot from the hip. It is difficult to fully know or be able to judge the circumstances of people we know let alone people we hear from briefly. I did not hear any whining tone. These young people were giving a quick, snapshot of their post-graduation struggle to land a job in their field. Hoisting a mentality on them that they were too lazy or spoiled to work at McJob or were expecting to get a top notch job with really high salaries, etc., would be projecting something on them they didn’t express. It’s as if listeners believed they were hearing from smirky, snarky, slacker-types calling from their languishing reposes on their respective couches. Are we supposed to be impressed with people who can quickly find fault? Is that the new intelligence?

What is wrong with these kids? They take so little, and work so hard, that after you discount the debt load from their college loans, and their travel expenses, they are actually making way less than minimum wage! This is the kind of pragmatic intellectualism that our University System produces? They seem so eager to be worked over. Oh well. If I were them, I’d be protesting in the streets and putting pressure on the government and economy to find a way to produce the kind of jobs, that someone who has payed their dues, and dollars, in college should expect. (Read: 50K+ a year to start, full benefits, and perks) Hey, do whatever you want, but the futile and optimistic tone these kids strike just to be treated like crap would be hilarious if it weren’t so sad. Jeezus Kids, how do you think the Union movement got it’s start? It wasn’t by negotiating, hoping for the best, and groveling to pay someone else, essentially, for the privileged of working. It was done by crackin’ skulls until it brought the establishment to the table out of sheer fear of what might come next. Until you start realizing that it’s hard-ball out there, and start demanding what you want, by force if necessary, you’re going to be living jokes. Stand up you ninny’s! Nobody is going to “help you out” or “do you a favor.” At the end of the day, it’s all warfare, whether it be via a rifle, a fist, or a fountain pen. You’d be amazed how fast good paying jobs would become available if the top CEO’s were fearing for their lives instead of laughing at your precious optimism.

Bottom Line: Marching feet and raging voices gets stuff done. It cuts through the crap, and makes everything crystal clear. You guys are being told to “Eat Cake.” I wouldn’t put up with it if I were you. Don’t bother with the “Globalised World” and scary arsenal at the elites disposal. Numbers trump all of that in the end.

Dan,

Get out of your parents’ basement and join the Navy. I graduated from engineering school during the recession of the early nineties and did five years in the Navy, some of the best years of my life. You’ll actually get paid while gaining invaluable experience. With an engineering degree you could qualify for nuke power, or perhaps the Seabees. If you haven’t heard, the Bees do combat construction, something you might be into having a CE degree.

Doing more is the point twenty-niner. We, as Americans, are continually told to “do more & and hold on.” When does our society get to start living their lives, having families, and building a comfortable retirement and life? It used to be by 25 at the latest you could expect to be on that path, being-there, living your life. Now always “later, delay, do more.” I say NO! I say finishing HS and College, or HS and a term of service in the Military is plenty of preparation. People, demand your lives back and stop jumping through an endless stream of ridiculous hoops! Enough is Enough! Tell them: “I will do these preparations, and then I will live my life as a productive, fruitful, and loyal citizen, but if you keep this shell game up…I’ll kick your A**!” Americans did it to the Brits way back in essence. It’s the American way!

I graduated in May and was fortunate in finding a job that provided me with a significant entry-level pay at a small company outside of Boston. Though I had to relocate, I figured I would pitch into the conversation because I applied via craigslist, as I heard on the program. The application to the company was one of over 40 that I made during the course of the last semester, and if there are other ‘09ers reading this, the bottom line is really not to give up.

[...] I found this picture by following a link from stealthysecret blog directing her readers to an NPR story about the Class of 2009 and jobs (or lack thereof). I just said this a few posts ago, but I just [...]

I know this comment is a bit too late for your three guests, but I found that many college seniors delay their job search until the last minute. A lot of seniors don’t start working on their resume and begin their job search until just before or after they graduate. Seniors need to make a concerted effort and spend some time working on these things several months before they earn their diploma.

I’m a 2009 graduate, and I’ve only found a part-time job in my field. Ok, so at least I have a job. True, but finding a second job is much more difficult that it seems. Finding a random job at Target, Starbucks, etc. etc. isn’t happening. Don’t even accuse me of being lazy, etc. I’ve been on interviews and I still haven’t been hired and I’ve been looking since May. Places don’t want to hire people with Bachelor’s degrees to do work that doesn’t require them. I don’t want to insult anyone by saying that, but that’s the only reason I can fathom. I have skills, personality, dedication, and am responsible. I’ve also worked all the way through college, so I’m no stranger to work. This is so frustrating! I just want an extra job so I can pay my student loans!

Again, if you guys are putting in a few dozen resumes during the last couple of months before graduation, then you are doing your part. The problem is systemic, not with what you are doing. Asking more than that is ridiculous. There is no reason why, in this nation, that after doing you schooling, and pulling at least a “B” average, and shooting out a few dozen resumes shortly before graduation, that you should not be able to find a 50K plus job. Stop doing more. Insist that those who get paid the “Big Bucks” do theirs instead! Stop accepting responsibility for something that you did right, and your government, and major corporations, and banks did wrong. You’re not to blame.

I would like to hear from the caller
to your show who lives in Boston and started her own company.She described herself as an person from England with a green card.

have you all heard of social networking? plug your twitter accounts!!! you keep mentioning your names and that your resumes are on this website… mention websites that show off your stuff. that’s what I’d be doing right now

The employer who mentioned the kinds of interview questions was quite problematic. Most of the questions he asked were illegal. He sounds like a scary person to work for as he is not very skilled (after allegedly taking a course) at interviewing people in a LAWFUL manner.

Jt, I have interviewed and employed hundreds of people. I would say the first rule to yourself should be to put very little weight in what the person who interviews you for the job, has to say about why you were not chosen. One person is hired, and 99 people are given the excuse. maybe there are six types of excuses; like we chose someone with more experience; or like we chose a person who application had been in a year prior to yours; or like your application was good enough to have got to the cut to 20; yours was one of the better ones, but we had so many of them; your test scores were less than the person we chose. try again, there is another position opening next month; the law prevents us from giving that information out to you. All of these are given to about 15 people each, and they may apply a little, but are nothing you should say change how you present yourself…they are not given out in that vein. And bear in mind, that often times,e.g. when you answer an ad in the paper, they may not even have a job opening, but run it to keep the human resource department busy, and fill their commitment to the newspaper. They answer,if you follow up, is giving you a reason why you are not interviewed or failed the interview, is not the REAL reason but a polite lie. Now days with the hard job market, almost all are lies. Make your best effort on the college you graduated with job finding service.

Ok. Seriously. I’m listening to this and I’m shocked. I hear people suggesting “get a car,” “move to Rockford,” and such things. We aren’t getting to the true core of the issue of the current job market. The key thing is is to gain the skills necessary for this situation. It’s a severe recession. So, no matter what, it’s going to be tough to find a job. But what will give people who have just emerged from college an edge? Skills that others don’t have. Let me make some suggestions: an engineering degree, a degree in business, an excellent liberal arts education, and proficiency in a foreign language that is in demand, such as Chinese. A combination of two or more of these would be ideal. That’s what employers, who are now more picky than ever, are looking for.

Thank you Brett (October 19th, 2009 at 5:55 p.m. EDT) for saying what I tried to say just a little earlier (October 19th at 5:12 p.m.), and for saying it more clearly and succinctly!!

My very best wishes to these three intelligent young people!!

Chris

take a job in a a real field doing real productive work. become a carpenter. buy some tools and start working for minimum wage as a helper. work real hard. improve your skills. begin making and selling stuff on your own. after a few years experience you’ll be in busines on your own. initally take jobs at just above cost. build up your client and referral list. soon you will be writing your own ticket. people always need stuff built and repaired, and good carpenters get the jobs. you’ll sleep well at night and people will respect you. not like a lawyer or politician or banker.

no hard work goes unrewarded.

I am astounded by some of these comments. Like the three subjects of the interview, I am a 2009 graduate, and I’m having trouble in the job search. I’m trying my best, but nothing is coming. Interviews and prospects are scarce.

What deeply bothers me is this idea that I and people in my situation are “whiny” or feel a sense of “entitlement.” This skewed point of view is unproductive and ignores much of what fresh graduates brought to college.

We grew up surrounded by a hard work ethic. Parents, teachers, pastors, and the media all tried to teach us messages like “Work hard, and you will live a good life” and “The Lord helps those who helps themselves.” College was a worthy goal, and it meant that we were working hard.

So here we were, helping ourselves, going to college, living up to expectations, and thinking that this would get us a job and benefits. Then we emerge in May, degree in hand, ready to strike out into the world, ready to contribute to society, only to find … nothing.

Nothing. No jobs, no health insurance, no retirement plan, and no way to get out of the crushing debt going to college brought. There’s no “sense of entitlement” in thinking that hard work would get us these things. It’s what we were taught, what we thought as we strove for good grades and volunteer service, things society told us were worthwhile.

So please, stop with this “entitlement” and “whiny” line of thinking. I came to these comments hoping to find encouragement, support, and good wishes, which, in many cases, I have. I thank those of you who provided those. These are tough times for me, an unemployed 2009 grad.

I worked part-time for a company in the Boston area doing entry-level HR work. I cannot begin to tell those people who are calling the recent grads “whiners” how many thousands of resumes I entered into this company’s database for jobs ranging from clerical to highly specialized, requiring from high school to a PhD. It doesn’t matter how qualified or dedicated a new grad may be. There is simply no way of being noticed among the other thousands of unemployed people. Young people right out of college are not whining, they are simply stating facts. There are no jobs out there. The few openings are given to friends of friends, or relatives of someone who already works in those companies. What if you don’t have those contacts?

I am also a 2009 graduate, and I have started looking for jobs for a year before my graduation. I was unable to find anything in my field, but I got a full-time job doing something else. I was lucky (plus I graduated with a 4.0 GPA, speak 2 languages, and have internship experiences), but I know most people out there will not be so fortunate.

As for unpaid internships, my own experience with them was awful and bordering on illegal. My advice is, don’t take any unpaid work unless you’re actually learning something very valuable and that entry will make your resume THAT much more appealing.

I agree with Tatiana, there are no jobs out there.

Unfortunately, the Class of 2009 is experiencing so many forces working against them to acquiring that first job.

Anecdotely, I am hearing from friends and acquaintances who are jobless, that they can’t even get hat “survival job” to help pay the bills.

I hope anyone and everyone who is looking for that first job, or trying desperately to get reemployed, good luck and that your search wil be brief.

I have a few comments based on what I heard of the show last night.

First, one caller called in and talked about getting a job to pay the bills while waiting for the “dream job”. I would like to say that I finished college in Dec. 2007 and started looking for a job. It took me 6 months to find one, and in the meantime, I was waiting tables to pay my bills. This was before the economy crashed, and everyone thought the job market was OK… especially in the tech industry. Even then, the only job that was interested in calling me back was one where I knew a few of the employees from college. To everyone who is looking for a job: NETWORK. I can not stress this enough. Go to job fairs. Look into temp jobs if you have to. All it takes is getting to know someone within the company that you want to work for that will pass your resume to the HR department, and you have a much greater chance of getting your resume looked at.

Second, even PhD candidates are having a hard time finding jobs. My OH is working in a post-doc program right now where they were looking to hire an additional post-doc employee. The people who applied to the job had years and years of experience in the field, but because of the down economy, they were no longer able to get jobs that were appropriate for their experience. Instead, they were reverting to post-doc programs (and post-doc pay!) just to be able to find something. My OH (a recent post-doc graduate) has someone working under his supervision that is almost twice his age with 25 years of experience to his 1 year. How are college graduates supposed to compete in this type of market?

Thirdly, unpaid internships are too often a scam, but it is a good way to get your foot in a door… even if you get your foot in the door of a client’s business. But make sure the amount of work that the internship is requiring is appropriate for an entry level position. In college, I was looking for an internship in the tech industry, and the only internship that came through my college’s program for MIS majors was an unpaid position that would better fit a CIS major that had graduated and would be paid $60K plus with full benefits. Internships should not be unpaid servitude if they require the same experience and knowledge as a legitimate paid position.

[...] is this good news? If you’re one of the millions of my unemployed college classmates, this shortage means that you can hold off on suing your alma-mater and get a job in the [...]

If college career development offices are not successfully placing graduates, they should re-evaluate the preparation that the college is providing. Educators need to teach to the need. If in truth it seems now that we don’t actually need the class of ‘09, I’d say we surely need them overseas, if not with USAID or something faith-based or other not-for-profit — that is needed so badly. We need to be something other than a military presence globally. I hope people with very deep pockets are making opportunities easily available.
I’d never say anyone college-graduate age is lazy (wait till you get to 60 to understand). I’d say they’d likely get depressed, though, without getting traction of some sort pretty quick. Depressed looks lazy. Whiny is what frustration looks like. Whine with style, you.
Jared, I think, who found he was turned down on the grounds he was overqualified, that resonates. Ouch.

It would be wonderful if recent graduates didn’t have to jump through hoops to gain the required experience for a foot-in-the-door job but with such high figures of unemployment and a competitive market where you can actually pay between $5,000- $9,000 for an internship opportunity we need to find ways of standing out.

I called into the show yesterday with my way of doing just that. I graduated in July and have since been volunteering and taking internships but I have also set up a company called TEN Consultancy which aims to bring together brilliant young graduates in a consulting capacity. The initiative provides networking opportunities, a commonality of purpose (i.e. experience and, ultimately, a job offer) and engaging work- vital components for intelligent, young job-seekers. We need to take the initiative, just as Laura, Dan and Samantha did by going on the show- anything we can to differentiate ourselves from the other candidates who may indeed have more experience.

TEN is based in Boston and we are still hiring so get in touch at hr@tenconsultancy.com if you too have the credentials, creativity and the drive to stand out.

No big deal…they got through college so they can find work. I’m tired of the idea that life is easy..it’s not.

Samantha,

ONEin3 Boston is a City of Boston initiative to connect the 1/3 of Boston that is aged 20-34 with resources related to entrepreneurship, housing, civic engagement, social and cultural life, and jobs and careers.

I’m looking for an intern!

You can learn more about us at http://www.onein3boston.org, http://www.onein3boston.wordpress.com, http://www.onein3money.org and http://www.bostonyoungentrepreneurs.com. I know…we have a lot of websites!

Devin
devin.cole.bra[at]cityofboston[dot]gov

[...] [...]

[...] is this good news? If you’re one of the millions of my unemployed college classmates, this shortage means that you can hold off on suing your alma-mater and get a job in the [...]

There was a caller that chastised Samantha for not being practical. I think she actually is practical, but she needs to learn a new way to express herself. She still speaks very much in the mode of the college essay: “making an impact”, “expression”, “achieving my potential”. But that part of her life is done. She needs to start using the language of employers, which means using words that focus less on self and more on results and the company. “saving money”, “doing things efficiently”, “solving problems, “reaching customers”. Not just buzzwords, but focusing on what she can do for them. The sad reality is that 99/100 employers don’t really care about you – they care about making their numbers or solving problems. Use that to your advantage.