[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')ASHINGTON (AP) — The college class of 2012 is in for a rude welcome to the world of work.
A weak labor market already has left half of young college graduates either jobless or underemployed in positions that don't fully use their skills and knowledge.

Young adults with bachelor's degrees are increasingly scraping by in lower-wage jobs — waiter or waitress, bartender, retail clerk or receptionist, for example — and that's confounding their hopes a degree would pay off despite higher tuition and mounting student loans.

An analysis of government data conducted for The Associated Press lays bare the highly uneven prospects for holders of bachelor's degrees.

Opportunities for college graduates vary widely.

While there's strong demand in science, education and health fields, arts and humanities flounder. Median wages for those with bachelor's degrees are down from 2000, hit by technological changes that are eliminating midlevel jobs such as bank tellers. Most future job openings are projected to be in lower-skilled positions such as home health aides, who can provide personalized attention as the U.S. population ages.

Taking underemployment into consideration, the job prospects for bachelor's degree holders fell last year to the lowest level in more than a decade.

"I don't even know what I'm looking for," says Michael Bledsoe, who described months of fruitless job searches as he served customers at a Seattle coffeehouse. The 23-year-old graduated in 2010 with a creative writing degree.
http://news.yahoo.com/1-2-graduates-jobless-underemployed-140300522.html

[seenmostofit]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', '
')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')Opportunities for college graduates vary widely.

[b]While there's strong demand in science, education and health fields, arts and humanities flounder.

[AgentR11]

But that bubble created the expectation in people that a BA in NeoMacheavelean Literature would grant them a solid, career path job after college.

The bubble is gone, but its legacy remains everywhere, including in graduate expectations.

Prebubble days, I had to actually convince my parents that a degree in Mathematics wasn't fluff. It didn't say XYZ Engineering, thus they were certain I was doomed to donut shop wages... (Comp Sci at the time was still a newborn babe as a recognized degree name, back in the day that is, uphill in the snow, both ways, carrying a PDP 11's teletype terminal in the pickup truck! Then they gave us VT100's and we were GREATFUL!!)

No, seriously, liberal arts degrees like those are what debutantes are supposed to pursue.

[confusegrass]

Regardless of whatever is suggested to students picking degree programs, half of graduates are jobless, underemployed, or have job(s) outside their field. I'm 22 and jobless right now. I was going to school (in the humanities, fyi), but decided to drop out recently because there was no point. I had increasing debt due to students loans and saw no way of being able to pay it off once graduated. I am simply joyous I got out with only with only $20,000 of debt instead of $40,000. I pity the souls who are in debt of 80 or 100 grand with no prospects of applying their knowledge or building a career in their field. The fact is opportunity in America is dead.

P.S. You cannot declare bankruptsy due to student debt like you can with a home or business lone.

[seenmostofit]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AgentR11', 'B')ut that bubble created the expectation in people that a BA in NeoMacheavelean Literature would grant them a solid, career path job after college.

The bubble is gone, but its legacy remains everywhere, including in graduate expectations.

[SeaGypsy]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', '
')
"I don't even know what I'm looking for," says Michael Bledsoe, who described months of fruitless job searches as he served customers at a Seattle coffeehouse. The 23-year-old graduated in 2010 with a creative writing degree.

[AgentR11]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', '&')quot;I don't even know what I'm looking for," says Michael Bledsoe, who described months of fruitless job searches as he served customers at a Seattle coffeehouse. The 23-year-old graduated in 2010 with a creative writing degree.

[Fishman]

Agent, you are spot on.

[Lore]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AgentR11', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', '&')quot;I don't even know what I'm looking for," says Michael Bledsoe, who described months of fruitless job searches as he served customers at a Seattle coffeehouse. The 23-year-old graduated in 2010 with a creative writing degree.

[oneoblivion]

It always bothers me seeing the "well if they hadn't studied humanities or art they would have a job" argument. It's true to a degree but having an engineering or science degree does not guarantee you will have any better luck finding a decent job.

I graduated Cum Laude with a degree in network security in 2007 and volunteered or did contract work related to my degree throughout college to build resume material. (Mostly writing apps and putting together networks for small businesses that were still using paper for everything). Although rusty now I was fluent in just about every programming language out there right down to x86 assembly (I taught myself C++ when I was 13 years old). I worked my butt off during school applying concepts and running scenarios at home with a 15 system network I put together.

I expected to get a 30k a year entry level network admin job when I graduated. After three years of sending in applications all the way down to Walmart and working odd jobs I gave up and started making custom knives for a living. I sent in nearly 3000 applications in that time period and netted maybe 20 interviews.

A hard science degree gives you better chances but the jobs really aren't there in the numbers needed for most professions. I have a friend with a masters degree in biomedical engineering working as a bartender, a law grad delivering pizzas, etc.

I am just thankful I am able to quickly learn new skills or I would likely be in default on my student loans and homeless by now.

[eXpat]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AgentR11', 'B')ut that bubble created the expectation in people that a BA in NeoMacheavelean Literature would grant them a solid, career path job after college.

The bubble is gone, but its legacy remains everywhere, including in graduate expectations.

[Chief]

No big surprise here. I think it would be a very good idea for any young person pursuing a degree to consider how that degree will aid them in getting a job.

Why would anyone spend 4 years in a university racking up tons of debt (student loan debt in the U.S. is now up to almost $900 billion dollars) without some expectation of a payoff in the form of a good job on the other side? They all seem surprised that their creative basket weaving degrees don't result in an analyst job at Credit Suisse.

They could always spend some time in the military. Lots of good jobs there, good job security, and they will pay off those student loans in many cases. Oh but wait-they'll demand a lot of hard work in return.

Chief

[vision-master]

Who Are You

[AgentR11]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Lore', 'C')reative writing is usually a requisite for a career in copywriting, media and advertising not necessarily how to write a novel and become a commercial book author. You would think jobs would abound in those markets, given our consummer based society, guess not.

[vision-master]

You live in a cube. lsol

[AgentR11]

VM... I swear, if you could add any less to a thoughtful conversation, it'd create a vacuum so powerful that the world would be sucked into it and cease to exist.

[vision-master]

Typical left brain thinking. You fail to understand, why?

[Lore]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AgentR11', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Lore', 'C')reative writing is usually a requisite for a career in copywriting, media and advertising not necessarily how to write a novel and become a commercial book author. You would think jobs would abound in those markets, given our consummer based society, guess not.

[AgentR11]

sigh.
Understand?
Try, don't care. I don't live in a cube; my computers have to live in a cube because they require A/C and power. So when I want to use them, I come into their cube. Otherwise, I like to be outside, I think better outside.

As to left and right, a writer requires both, and very well seasoned ones at that.
Not happening at 23, except maybe for the 0.00001% truly exceptional talent.

If you would like to discuss my failures, that's fine as well, but it won't cause that fresh 23yr old to be worth hiring as an artist.

My biggest deficiencies that would result in failure as a writer are memory and word blocking. Writing is slow, slow enough that I could never sustain the lines of thought required to keep the large blocks cohesive and continuity consistent. The word blocks also interrupt the short period flow of the text, making it hard for me to consistently create text that holds a reader's attention. (can't draw either, very poor fine motor control, but I'm a decent photographer. not a complete substitute, but serviceable.)

[AgentR11]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Lore', 'i')f you have the right background skills.