Today's economy is horrible. I know we all already knew that, but I felt the need to say it again. It's like there is no hope for young recent college graduates to find jobs that will provide for them in the future. I know for me personally, if I knew now what I didn't as a high school senior I would have done things very different. It does not matter if you went to college and got a degree of any kind unless it's something you can use. I got a BA in History with the intention of someday teaching. Not going to happen since they're firing teachers, not hiring them.
What got me even more is this. I thought long and hard about what I could do to remedy the situation that I had no career. I was working at the same job I was in high school and for the same wages. Then I got a new job (which I still love) but am earning even less per week there than I did at the one I did in high school. So I thought, hey, I'll go back and get an AA in business admin or an accounting certificate or something useful. Nope.
Thwarted at every turn. Come to find out there is no financial aid available to students seeking such a degree as I wanted to if you have already earned the illusive BA in (insert useless subject here) that provides you with no career/job prospects. Isn't that cheerful? I could possibly take out loans, but that doesn't help my current situation. I'd have to pay out of pocket to take classes to get another piece of paper to possibly have a snowball's chance in hell for a career that might pay the bills. The whole reason I wanted to go back to school was so I could get a job that did pay money since I am lacking that. Come to find out you have to have money to do that, which is a self perpetuating cycle of fail for me.
I'm stuck. I try to do something to better my chances in life and I'm blocked. I'm not allowed to because I'm a broke college graduate with no career and no real chance of using the BA in History that I worked so hard for and paid so much for. Maybe the FAFSA website should have a disclaimer to new college students: BE VERY SELECTIVE ABOUT WHAT SUBJECT YOU STUDY. You will only get one chance and if you screw up then nobody cares.
Wish somebody had told me that. It seems to me that we're setting some of the brightest young minds in the country up for failure because they chose to educate themselves about a subject they were interested in rather than one that would make them money. So if everyone stops doing that will we forget our history?
Nice to know that education has become so restricted.
I was in the exact same spot you are. A basic degree with no opportunity career wise to be found. I spent two and a half years essentially doing nothing in the endless search to find something.
ReplyDeleteI was fortunate that a very good friend pointed me towards college post graduate certificate programs. (Canada) She suggested public relations as being a great fit for me, and she was right. PR is about helping companies, businesses, organizations etc communicate. Internal, external, blogs, social media.. its a great practical fit for anyone who likes to write and work with people. Check out your post grad programs. Here it means you have to have a University degree to be admitted. I'm just over half way through and already have had a ton of opportunities to think about. Good luck in your search. It is so hard.