1 in 2 New College Graduates Are Jobless or Underemployed

1 in 2 New Graduates Are Jobless or Underemployed

About 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor's degree-holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless or underemployed, the highest share in at least 11 years.

It's going to be an interesting election year.

One way or another, eventually, this portion of the electorate will wake up.

But my television keeps telling me the economy is better now?



Tv wouldn't lie to me would it?

Yea, they then reason it's best to go back to college, get more loans, and spend energies getting a masters or doctorate

reply to post by benrl

Originally posted by benrl
But my television keeps telling me the economy is better now?

Tv wouldn't lie to me would it?

It's not just television....even schools are getting in on the act.

NYC prep schools institute dress codes, Facebook guidelines about college acceptance

In an attempt to ease the blow of a student’s first big rejection, New York prep schools are instituting dress codes and Facebook guidelines barring excited seniors from broadcasting their acceptance to top-tier colleges because it would hurt their classmates’ feelings.

At the hyper-competitive Horace Mann School, students are not permitted to wear college apparel, including status Ivy League sweatshirts, on campus until after May 1, when most students have settled on what school they’ll attend.

And at the Packer Collegiate Institute, students are instructed not to update Facebook with university news until after school lets out.

“In recent years, schools have been looking to minimize the disappointment that always exists with college admissions,” said Dean Skarlis, president of the College Advisor of New York.

This country has gone NUTS! :shk:

reply to post by loam


News: It's been like this since I was a Uni Freshman in 2008. Obama or Bush, people just weren't hiring. You have no clue what they expect of us these days. Go to school, spend money on a degree rather than following a passion, get internships, and then go look for a job. None of that's a huge bother to me, but here is the kicker: When it comes to jobs, we are always asked for experience..."Well I interned for so and so and bigsmall inc, and and let's not forget the jimmybobby firm" and then we are hit with "Yes, but we're looking for actual paying work experience, do you have any?"

This continues with every interview: "We're looking for job experience."
Well, now, guess what hurts more than anything. Hearing that from McDonalds, Burgerking, Target, Walmart, and whoever. I feel for my brothers and sisters who have sacrificed tens of thousands for a good life only to be rejected everywhere they go. Companies are full of # these days with the amount of overhead they make, you'd think they'd hire some Americans for something, but it's all about paying 0 benefits along with a $2 and hour wage. They always look overseas before looking here. Money has driven mankind inward, where has the respect gone? Where is the compassion? Where is the desire to see Americans working? Why has profit overtaken the "right" and the "just"? Jesus was right, it's easier for a Camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven.

I really do feel for my brothers and sisters of the learned knowledge. I'm graduating in 2 weeks, but I'm delaying my pitfall for three years, as I'm entering a special hell of my own: T1 Law School.

It's interesting because others are perusing graduate programs these days as well, and as the market fills with these overqualified, eager minds, the market sees less need for so many of them. So, the majority are left: over educated, in debt, and looking for anything to survive on. Don't be surprised if your next waiter has a JD and a MBA, and is in the middle of writing a dissertation for his PHD.

We got the short end of the stick, but we'll have the last laugh, I guarantee it. First world problems? Of course, but problems relative to us none the less. A nation that does not take care of its youth will have hell to pay in the coming years. Looking at you, boomers...looking at you.

EDIT: /rant that fell out of my head all at once.

Originally posted by loam

I wouldn't hire any of these people, except maybe the girl in the front of the line, (for lewd acts purposes only..) Just because your qualified doesnt mean you can walk around with your head up your ass. Character/personality goes alot farther than a degree... And just by looking at these people i can tell i would not want to hire them

That's what happens when you get a B.A. in English or Anthropology. There weren't any jobs in those "liberal arts" fields before students started their programs. There aren't any after. Whose fault is that? Did anybody do any research at all? Now these folks will want us to pay back their student loans. What about the 1 in 2 college graduates who ARE employed? Business, engineering, nursing--fields that have a demand. Of course, you will never see a headline that way because it's not as compelling. But the "glass is half full" is just as valid as the "glass is half empty."

Further, this is not a new phenomenon. I graduated with a BA in Anthropology in 1971 to the same bleak reality faced by today's graduates. I went back for a Masters Degree in a different field, and still, only 50% of the graduates had found a professional level job in two years: The year was 1974. You can't blame this on the current economy. It's been that way for half a century.

I do blame clueless students (and I was one of them), but I also blame the colleges themselves who keep churning out people in fields that don't have a chance for employment. They keep pushing for enrollees because it keeps them in jobs. They are exploiting students for their own benefit and couldn't give a rat's patotie if their graduates can't find jobs. The online schools are even worse. They'll accept nearly anyone whio can pay.

And third, I blame the easy availability of student loans. The philosophy is great! Let no one be refused a college education because they can't afford it. But the reality is quite different. It has been shown repeatedly that easy money raises tuition. Students don't really care what tuition costs if someone else is paying for it. It's only when the loans come due that the students start whining about paying it back. (And yeah. I paid mine back.)

A good example of this is the G.I. Bill. Today's GI Bill is really fantastic. Full tuition, even at private schools, plus E-5 base pay as a living allowance. That sure beats the $200 a month I got. But historically, every time the GI Bill pay goes up, all those "On-base" remote colleges raise their tuition to match. Another good example of exploitation.

Banks make a fortune off Federal student loans and private. That is all they care about. People blame the students when they should blame the government for guaranteeing the loans. But I guess that is their plan, divide and conquer.

If you know anything at all about the federal student loan program, you will not have been surprised by the scandal of recent months. The only amazing thing is that it has taken so long to arrive. Here's how the program works: Banks and other private companies lend money to students. The federal government pays part or all of the interest—currently 7 percent or 8 percent. The government also guarantees the loans.

www.slate.com...

Ive always been able to find good work, 60k + a year min, even as recently as a few months ago I turned down a job offer that most college grads would die for (I can't work atm)

Anyway the reason I have been able to do that is a willingness to start at the bottom and move up, I spent my first 8 years out of school Resume building, even if I started low I worked up, if I couldn't, I would move on, My resume includes the top companies in my fields.

Experience will most often times trump education, I've been the HR manger for a fortune 100 company and I would often higher a seasoned person with less education than someone with more who would expect a pay bump to do the same job based only on the slip of paper they brought to the interview, BS, MA, etc.

Dont get me wrong, I am sure the economy is bad, but this is a two fold problem, often times the expectations of grads are far to high.

reply to post by loam


well.. not according to the Oregon unemployment website, we 'dipped' about 1000 jobs, (basically an 'increase' in employment) so now congress agrees that since a 1000 jobs is enough, to not give us an extension; my wife and I will be homeless in 2 weeks if something doesn't break for us on the job market.

Flagged & Stared~!

reply to post by loam


It's okay, I'm sure some complete idiot will be along any second to say...

"dirty hippies should get a job!"

Obviously they know what they're talking about.

I can not stand the social stigma associated with certain degree types - I think it's subjective, stereotypical, me vs. you, BS. What if it is as scarily simple as an increasing excess of people that just can't find adequate, financially sustainable, work (with an ever decreasing dollar value), amidst a collapsing US economy? What if it is that and the fact that technology takes more and more jobs away from humans no matter how skilled the humans are? Even degrees focusing on maths and sciences are having trouble because of the sheer amount of compitition coming from masses of underemployed/unemployed people - unless you can afford move out of the country (if you even have that opportunity).

reply to post by loam


Thanks for the catch. I really mean that, even if it ruins my whole Sunday.

I'm only half kidding...well... less than half. I'm busting my hump for an Associates and thinking it'll at least buy me a cup of coffee without the $5 to go with it when I'm done. Err...then, along comes a story to remind me that the level above me...B.A.'s...are flipping burgers and taking the jobs us lowly Associates type people need to pay the bills. Yikes...

I'm awfully glad I'm pursuing my degree program(s) with the intention of working for myself and building something with my own mind and two hands. I'd be in a world of hurt and deep blue depression if my only hope were a job granted by others....There wouldn't seem to be any.

reply to post by benrl


Sometimes its not about absolute expectations, sometimes its about paying off the debt as soon as we can so we can start saving for a retirement and healthcare that we have the COMMON SENSE to know the government isn't going to pay for. I really may sound spiteful, but I wish the US would cut off all medicare and social security benefits. We won't get them, we are forced to pay into it, and we are ignored. Why are we footing everyone else's bills? Banks were allowed to exploit us, Corporations were allowed to rot our minds (a few of us escape with a little thinking), and Universities were allowed to leech us. We are paying back loans as fast as we can and trying to save for a future that guarantees us nothing based in a family structuring that expects the elderly to be fine on their own (It was never like this 100 years ago).

Did it ever occur to anyone that all we wanted was what everyone else had, not even more, just the same. We wanted to work hard, we wanted to be productive members of society, and we wanted to be respected. We took the risk, we jumped off the edge, and there was a Rancor waiting for us at the bottom. Why the hell does everyone get the exploit us? Why does our tax dollars pay for the old boomer leeches? Why do our tax dollars go to bailing out corporations and companies that orchestrated a financial melt down? Why the hell. If anyone is hard working and ready to work, it's this nation's youth.
Most of you older folk on ATS know for a fact we are victims of a horrible conspiracy on many levels. Food, Vaccines, Media, Education, and everything else...we have to deal with it all, and I'm not sure one natural thing has gone through our bodies physically or spiritually, but some of us still come out fighting. Instead of telling us not to be so damned entitled, you should bother looking at our plight. I'm not going to fall by the way side. I have legal precedent to set. I have the future of mankind in my mind through a special reading of a few amendments to the constitution. I have my way to make money and contribute to the whole...but everyone does not. Everyone will not be so fortunate. Many fall into despair after scraping and trying so hard. The market is over saturated with crabs in a barrel. We aren't pulling one another down socially, but with our success. With each new degree, the value of it becomes less. Less, less, less. It's a special hell of our own that we sit in. Something that many will never understand. We were fed a false reality, then those who fed it to us create a new one and tell us "This is better than nothing, take it or leave it."

I'm going to work hard all my life, like I have been since day one. I'm going to succeed, and I'm going to hide tears when I see others who worked hard but slipped because they were unlucky enough to like something that wasn't "profitable" or "practical". I'll shed tears for those who work in jobs that they despise day in and day out. I'll shed a few for the system that didn't change, and then I'll join the masses who are waiting to do something about this. You all think this is proper and right, but it's a disgusting system. It's abrasive to the human spirit, and if you were to take thirty minutes to think about it, you'd agree. It's manipulative and its wrong.

But hey, it's ok, just keep calling us entitled and say that we aren't trying hard enough. Don't be surprised if some vengeful ones who were able to make their way have a long memory, political/economic connections, and the ability to form some sort of Cabal of a real ruling elite (I'm not joking). We'll be sure to have a nice chat with the world one day.

We all know times are tough, particularly for college grads. They have been dubbed the "millenium generation" but some have a very unbalanced view of how the real world works and what it takes to succeed. For example the findings from this article are rather disturbing but hardly a surprise either:

One in three college grads said that access to social media sites like Facebook and the ability to choose their own devices was more important to them than salary when considering a job offer. This according to a study of 2,800 college students and young professionals worldwide conducted by Cisco. More than 40% went so far as to say that they would accept less money for a job that was down with social media at work on a device of their choosing if it also included telework.

The study was intended to determine what the Millennium Generation wants from employers and what they consider to be an equitable work/life balance. Not surprisingly, they overwhelmingly wanted flexible work hours and remote access, with about one-third of college students saying that once they begin working, it will be their right – not a privilege – to be able to work remotely with a flexible schedule.

But the shocker was how strongly these young adults felt about limitations on their social media time.
Over half of college students globally (56%) said that if they were offered a job at a company that banned access to social media, they would either turn it down, or ignore it.

Two-thirds said they will ask about social media usage policies during job interviews.
41% of those in the workforce said their companies convinced them to take the job by offering them flexible device choice and friendly social media policies when recruiting them.

At the same time, almost a third of the employees (31%) said their expertise with social media and devices actually helped land them the job -- employers believing that such know-how would give the company a competitive advantage.

src
No this does not portray all grads but the numbers are nonetheless quite shocking. There seems to be an expectation, or privilege as the article states, for young folks. For others it appears their social status or activities play a far more important role than getting down to work. In some cases the employer sees a benefit.

I recently attended a technical conference hosted by a major telecom service. In speaking with one of the 'higher ups' he made a comment that after reading this article falls right in line. He basically said that they are having great difficulty hiring talent because there are too many grads who can only use technology and not help to expand or enhance it.

brill

there's a constant need for Engineers and prepping for Government Service might be a lot better than basket-weaving or fitness instructor degrees.... the young persons as a rule go to college or university for the social interplay rather than learning the ropes in a field of endeavor


hope they enjoyed the $40K yearly vacation interspersed with some academics... but Pell Grants/Student Loans will follow then to their graves

reply to post by loam


Maybe the colleges should take a long hard look at this as well.

Especially now that they have made text books for ipad impossible. You use to be able to save thousands by having an ipad, then they figured out if they make slight changes to the books it would put a stop the practice..result..making a financially challenging thing even more difficult..

Way to encourage higher learning.Guess it doesn't apply when it takes away their profits...

reply to post by loam


That's 1.5 million (under represented of course) kids that will now be sitting with tens of thousands in debt.. incurring interest.. penalties.. fees and fines all because they cannot find a job.

And the Governments response to this unprecedented crisis...... double interest rates on student loans. "Because 6% is still relatively cheap!"

!@$!@ bastards.

reply to post by brill


Yeah.. something about sitting in a cubicle staring at a grey wall with cheesy motivational posters and 8 bosses telling you the same thing for 8.5 hours a day, 5 days a week in an environment that stifles individualism, creativeness and openness .... just doesn't appeal to people anymore?

OMG THOSE LAZY KIDS!



God forbid people want to enjoy life.

Oh, but hasn't everyone heard? The unemployment rate is falling.

It's fallen low enough in Georgia that starting sometime this month they are going to severely cut everyone's benefits that is on them.

Of course no one mentions that the crisis started here earlier than elsewhere, because housing was SO HOT here, it melted down first, like in October of 2007-8 as I recall. Wow, we are 4-5 years into this thing, and guess what?

That means a lot of people are NOT being counted.

Youth, minorities, people that's professions are in the housing industry- those people aren't any lazier than anyone else...they just aren't in demand.