Life After College: Is It Your Fault?

No One Wants to Live in Limbo

If you're like the average college graduate, you didn't have a smooth run after graduation - even if you moved back in with Mom and Dad. Don't be ashamed of living with your parents. This TIME article states around 85% of college graduates move back in with their parents.

As for that short smooth period, I'm talking about the beginning of the transitioning period - You know, leaving the Utopian dream of academia and entering the battlefield of the real world.  The same TIME article (although admittedly a bit outdated) states that in most areas, up to 54% of college graduates remain unemployed.

These are the sort of facts you start to find when you're sick of staring at Career Builder and other job search engines. Despite the fact over half of college students are in your very same position, there's nothing reassuring about the numbers. It plain sucks. And if you're like most college students, you can't really complain about it. You'll be told you chose an "easy" major or you are too subjective in your job hunt. 

And when you make the claim that a lot of college graduates are in your position, most people won't care. They'll shove contradicting statistics in your face. This Pittsburgh Tribune article states  1.5 million students earned bachelor degrees and applied for jobs before leaving college in 2012. Of those 1.5 million, 26% found jobs, which is up from last year's 24%. This article admits most students do not keep their full-time jobs after college due to various reasons, but it insists that job employment for graduates is on the rise. This is great news!

But how does this sort of information help you when you're down and out? I mean, out of 1.5 million students, less than a 1/4 million students found jobs upon graduation. What happened with the other 74%? It's great to see job placement increasing, but according to the positive sources of information, the unemployment rate for graduates is generally higher than their more cynical counterparts. So hooray, graduates are finding more jobs . . . except for the unlucky 54 - 74%.

In the Pittsburgh article, there are claims many remain unemployed or found jobs later on. It also states, however, that there are very few entry level jobs. I think the latter hits home more than anything else in the news. The jobs within your field of study probably require a ridiculous amount of experience along with the degree. So where do you begin?

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EASY MAJORS

Could you imagine if someone dropped dead every time they blamed your choice in major for your shortcomings? In this Budget 360 article, the ratio of debt versus pay-off is discussed, which is a similar topic to my last blog. What's interesting is that this article also hints at certain major being a complete waste of loans.

While I was still attending college, I heard the same thing a lot. Being a film major and creative writing minor was the "easy way out". Let me tell you, I've taken some grad-level  critical analysis courses that will make you feel like less than human. Don't even rip on someone's major. Such commentary is akin saying you married for money, because love is a naïve notion.

When someone says your major left you with a weak portfolio, you need to turn around and ask why an accredited university would establish fields of study that were not challenging or competitive enough to turn you into an elite professional. 

Most people cannot answer the question because it revolves around the idea of a pass-rate - That is, how many students can actually handle the courses and leave with their degree. 

Sure, if you pay a ton to attend college and it's too hard to succeed, that really sucks. But that's exactly what universities need to offer. Use freshmen courses for students to adjust to academia and then make sure they are the absolute best at what they do by the time they leave and have a strong course of action. This should be Phase II of "No Student Left Behind".

At no point should a university say a student didn't push themselves hard enough and then award the same student with a degree. All this argues is that universities are solely operating as businesses in which they pass as many students as possible through their system in an effort to increase profits.

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You May Also Enjoy:

Does College Pay Off?
How to Stop Jobs From Passing You By
No-Injury Policy Excerpt
Peter Thiel Will Pay You to Drop Out of College
Getting Over College

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Coming Up Soon in The Forbidden Blog:

Subjective Job Hunting

So the university was paid off, you owe a ridiculous amount of money to loan entities, and you may or may not have a job. Numerous reports claim there aren't enough entry level jobs. Some articles, like this one, claim people don't fully comprehend the meaning of entry level. 

If entry level requires experience as well as a degree, then shouldn't we change the title to "Advance Entry Level"? When do we have a foot in door is not nearly as essential as finding the door in the first place.