The Post Grad Blues

[samifan24]

So you graduate from college without a firm plan for a full-time job. You work in sports so you have to wait for the hiring season in the coming off-season. You move back home and get a part-time job to help pay some bills. You find yourself bored and alone because nearly all of your friends have moved away. Some of them have full-time jobs. Some of them can't believe you're at home and living with your parents again. Is this something many experience after graduating without a set job in their sights?

[Pumpy Tudors]

When I graduated, I stayed at the same job that I'd gotten when I was in junior year. I bumped up to full-time and stayed there until last month when I moved from New Orleans. Now I'm in Pennsylvania, and I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do. I know what I'd like to do, but I don't have any experience except for an internship that I did five years ago. I have other experience from the job I left in New Orleans, but that industry doesn't even exist here.

On the bright side for you, samifan24, at least you're going through this right out of college. I'm going through it for the first time three years out of college. Good luck, and I hope things get better for you.

[Lathum]

That's why you shouldn't go to college. It just adds up to dissapointment.

[Craptacular]

I have 82 intersections that I need 12-hr traffic counts done for in the next two months. Interested?

[Psmith]

Let's see...

I graduated last year. I just now got a part-time job at the mail center where I went to school. Of my friends who graduated last year, one is working full-time at the job he had in college, but he doesn't like it, still living at home; another is looking for a job, still living at home; one is working in telemarketing, trying to get into grad school, living at home; one is not working, trying to get into grad school, living at home; one is in grad school. Of my friends who graduated two years ago, one is working full-time at a job she hates, two are in grad school. My friends who graduated this year are going into grad school. Note that the two who are trying to get into grad school didn't originally plan to, but are so discouraged by job prospects that they feel they have no other choice.

I don't know if this is standard for people right out of college, or if it's the current job market (maybe a little of both), but it seems pretty common right now, so try not to let it get you down too much. Good luck!

[Philliesfan980]

No offense, but you guys should major in something that is practical. Me, I majored in accounting. Is it the most fun thing in the world? Of course not. But I have stablity and can see myself being very well off one day.

I think one of the worst things that people recommend is trying to "Do something that you really love". Not to sound like a negative guy, but its really impractical to go for that. You should instead ask "What do I love" and then "Can I realistically make a living at this". I remember when I was in college I just laughed at the music and english majors, hell even business admin and marketing majors and I now know why.

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by Philliesfan980

No offense, but you guys should major in something that is practical. Me, I majored in accounting. Is it the most fun thing in the world? Of course not. But I have stablity and can see myself being very well off one day.

I agree.

Originally Posted by Philliesfan980

I think one of the worst things that people recommend is trying to "Do something that you really love". Not to sound like a negative guy, but its really impractical to go for that. You should instead ask "What do I love" and then "Can I realistically make a living at this". I remember when I was in college I just laughed at the music and english majors, hell even business admin and marketing majors and I now know why.

However, I think you can have a happy medium here. I believe you should pick a profession based on something you're really good at that you can making a living.

I think people should pick a job that they like and will earn them a comfortable life. Obviously everyone's definition of comfort is different since we all have different needs. My level of comfort is about 70k a year. Maybe someone else's is 45k a year since they aren't married and don't have kids. Maybe someone else's is 200k a year because they love a lavish lifestyle.

My two cents.

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by Philliesfan980

No offense, but you guys should major in something that is practical. Me, I majored in accounting. Is it the most fun thing in the world? Of course not. But I have stablity and can see myself being very well off one day.

I think one of the worst things that people recommend is trying to "Do something that you really love". Not to sound like a negative guy, but its really impractical to go for that. You should instead ask "What do I love" and then "Can I realistically make a living at this". I remember when I was in college I just laughed at the music and english majors, hell even business admin and marketing majors and I now know why.

Well that says a lot about you now doesn't it. You took the more stable route out of college and that's fine but don't just throw me into a category because I graduated with a degree in writing.

You say you laughed at English majors in college. Why? What makes your accounting job any more worthwhile than my broadcasting job? There *is* something to be said for doing what you love and taking risks. Apparently you lump all those people into one category. I'm sorry you're so closeminded.

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by samifan24

Well that says a lot about you now doesn't it. You took the more stable route out of college and that's fine but don't just throw me into a category because I graduated with a degree in writing.

Well, I think he can throw you in that category because of your original post.

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

Well, I think he can throw you in that category because of your original post.

My original post was about being back at home after graduating from college. It was about how your friends have mostly gone away. It was not on my particular major nor my choice in a career. My being home like this is the risk I'm taking so I can work in baseball again next year. It was just meant to see if others went through the same thing after they graduated and not meant to reflect on how others view my choice of a major.

[KevinNU7]

This thread is heating up!

[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by samifan24

Well that says a lot about you now doesn't it. You took the more stable route out of college and that's fine but don't just throw me into a category because I graduated with a degree in writing.

You say you laughed at English majors in college. Why? What makes your accounting job any more worthwhile than my broadcasting job? There *is* something to be said for doing what you love and taking risks. Apparently you lump all those people into one category. I'm sorry you're so closeminded.

Just re-read my original post, didn't mean to offend you or anyone else here in general. I'm not really looking at this whole topic as a "worthwhile to the public" job discussion. In the grand scheme of things, writers and musicians and historians are just as important as accountants.

What I'm referring to is the risk for success in life. Sure, you can go to college to be a writer, or a historian or whatever, but you're really lowering your overall % to be sucessful (financially) in life.

Really don't want to get into a "my job is more important than yours", etc.

[terpkristin]

Unemployed for 7.5 months after finishing my Masters degree in December.
Still unemployed with nothing on the horizon.

And my friggin degree is in aerospace engineering, you'd THINK I could find something with that degree. Seems (at least to me) that n00bs can't get jobs right now...all the jobs I've seen advertised want 15+ years.

/tk

[Lathum]

I'm going back to bartending because I took a huge paycut to get a "real" job. Do what makes you happy. If you want to be a writer then be a writer, money isn't everything. Who cares what other people think

[ice4277]

Originally Posted by Philliesfan980

What I'm referring to is the risk for success in life. Sure, you can go to college to be a writer, or a historian or whatever, but you're really lowering your overall % to be sucessful (financially) in life.

Well, part of the problem is, what is "success"? Do you measure it by monetary value? Do you measure it by stability? A wife, two kids, a nice home in the burbs and a minivan? Different things make different people happy. You seem to focus more on the financial side of things; thats cool, no problem with that, but not everybody looks at it that way. Personally, if I was stuck in some cubicle farm 45 hours a week, doing the exact same thing day in, day out, till basically the day I retire, I would probably want to put a gun in my mouth.

[buttprank]

You see, the thing is. It's not that I'm lazy, it's just that I don't care.

[Senator]

It's not that I can't help these people. It's just I don't want to.

[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

Unemployed for 7.5 months after finishing my Masters degree in December.
Still unemployed with nothing on the horizon.

And my friggin degree is in aerospace engineering, you'd THINK I could find something with that degree. Seems (at least to me) that n00bs can't get jobs right now...all the jobs I've seen advertised want 15+ years.

/tk

Have you tried going to a recruiting firm? They really do wonders for new grads.

[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by ice4277

Well, part of the problem is, what is "success"? Do you measure it by monetary value? Do you measure it by stability? A wife, two kids, a nice home in the burbs and a minivan? Different things make different people happy. You seem to focus more on the financial side of things; thats cool, no problem with that, but not everybody looks at it that way. Personally, if I was stuck in some cubicle farm 45 hours a week, doing the exact same thing day in, day out, till basically the day I retire, I would probably want to put a gun in my mouth.

Exactly, which is why I put (financially) next to where I wrote "successful". People are really reading way too much into this. Of course you won't be successfully (emotionally) if you're doing something your miserable at. And you know what? No , I don't feel sorry for them. You made your bed, now go lie in it. Some of my friends in college were history majors/english majors and they were always like "Wow, you really work way too hard" (in college). You know what? I deserve to be successful. I worked my ass off in college, you took the easy road, enjoy your life.

[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by Senator

It's not that I can't help these people. It's just I don't want to.

You're right I don't. I mean, I really don't.

[Philliesfan980]

Just to follow it up, I'm really not that uncaring about people in general. I have alot more compassion for people who couldn't go to college because of various reasons (financial, children early, various other legitimate reasons). But for anyone who had the opportunity to go to college and didn't take advantage of it? Well guess what, you blew it.

[jeff061]

Hmm. I dropped out of High School, skipped college, got into IT at 20 and am making good money at 23.

Sometimes I just don't know what the hell happened. Do I get lumped in with someone??

[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by jeff061

Hmm. I dropped out of High School, skipped college, got into IT at 20 and am making good money at 23.

Sometimes I just don't know what the hell happened. Do I get lumped in with someone??

Yes you're "smart"

[jeff061]

Heh, my high school colleagues would beg to differ .

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by Philliesfan980

Exactly, which is why I put (financially) next to where I wrote "successful". People are really reading way too much into this. Of course you won't be successfully (emotionally) if you're doing something your miserable at. And you know what? No , I don't feel sorry for them. You made your bed, now go lie in it. Some of my friends in college were history majors/english majors and they were always like "Wow, you really work way too hard" (in college). You know what? I deserve to be successful. I worked my ass off in college, you took the easy road, enjoy your life.

I'm not sure where all this came from...
I dunno. I worked my ass off in college, got a BS in physics with a great GPA, graduated with honors and had grad school begging me to come, so I did that. Worked my ass off there getting my MS in aerospace engineering and now I'm rewarded for all my hard work by being a highly overqualified bum?

Don't get me wrong, I'm damn proud of the work I did, but I'd be a lot prouder if I could get a job for it (and yes, per your earlier suggestion, I've FINALLY found a couple of recruiting companies, HOPEFULLY something will come of them...).

But all my friends who were history majors or such...maybe I'm just really good friends with people who work hard and actually have goals in life, but I never considered the work they did to be slacking compared to mine. True to form, most of them are now in grad school, working towards PhD's, which is what I guess a lot of history majors (etc) do. And that's cool for them, I surely don't think they've taken the "easy way" out. But then, as I said, maybe it's just a hallmark of the people I tend to befriend--I rarely befriend the slackers...

/tk

[pennywisesb]

Originally Posted by ice4277

Well, part of the problem is, what is "success"? Do you measure it by monetary value? Do you measure it by stability? A wife, two kids, a nice home in the burbs and a minivan? Different things make different people happy. You seem to focus more on the financial side of things; thats cool, no problem with that, but not everybody looks at it that way. Personally, if I was stuck in some cubicle farm 45 hours a week, doing the exact same thing day in, day out, till basically the day I retire, I would probably want to put a gun in my mouth.

Exactly. I majored in accounting in college but once I spent some time as an intern I realized the last thing I wanted to do all day was wear a suit and tie and put in my 40+ hours a week number crunching. I had already put in 3 years in college so I decided to finish and get my degree, but I knew that wasn't what I wanted to do. Now, I'm a firefighter and probably will never make what I would have in accounting, but the fact that I don't even consider my job work because I love it so much, thats all the reward I need.

[Logan]

Back to the original topic:

I also graduated in May and started my job the last week of June. The six week break was just enough for me to have some time off having fun, without going too long before making some money. Of my friends who also have jobs, I was one of the first to start work. Most were starting somewhere between mid-July and September. So from my experience, I was having more of the "post grad blues" because all of my friends were pretty much still together and hanging out while I was tired from being out of the house from 6:30 AM to 7 PM (with commuting into the city).

Now though, more of my buddies are working (most also in NYC) which is cool because a lot of times I'll meet up with a friend for lunch, or a drink after work. So it's interesting to think of what my friends, who have the same perspective as you, are feeling now that they are in the minority of all of us, being non-workers.

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by pennywisesb

Exactly. I majored in accounting in college but once I spent some time as an intern I realized the last thing I wanted to do all day was wear a suit and tie and put in my 40+ hours a week number crunching. I had already put in 3 years in college so I decided to finish and get my degree, but I knew that wasn't what I wanted to do. Now, I'm a firefighter and probably will never make what I would have in accounting, but the fact that I don't even consider my job work because I love it so much, thats all the reward I need.

That's great. At least you have a backup degree in case you need it.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

I rarely befriend the slackers...

/tk

I guess we can't be friends anymore

[MalcPow]

This is something that happens. Even if you weren't living at home/part-timing you would be going through these same emotions. If you really think about it your life changes in an incredibly drastic way after graduation, friends leaving, moving to a new place yourself, and you're no longer affiliated with groups you were leading or heavily involved with just a few weeks before. There's a weird identity transition that has to take place no matter what you're doing. I know a lot of people end up blaming themselves for all the things they've "lost," and go into personal funks. You'll get through that, but like a bad hangover it takes time more than anything else. What you can do right now is put some bets down for yourself. Whether that means sending out resumes, calling old professors or friends, or whatever basically you need to make these low risk but possibly high reward efforts to give yourself a chance at having something payoff. Hopefully you're working your way into the "I've got nothing really to lose" phase, and things like not hearing back from an interview or resume don't emotionally affect you too much.

I don't know. It's a sad time and you'll lose some friends, and it ain't all cause they "weren't really friends." It's just tougher, and you have to let some things go. And then you do what a lot of my friends did, take your english/history/whatever degree and go to law school, and become much more evil than any accountant could possibly imagine.

[MrBug708]

She is on the wrong board I think...

[Pumpy Tudors]

Sorry, I think I'm the one who derailed this thread. Any one of you is welcome to come up to Greensburg and beat my ass now.

[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

Sorry, I think I'm the one who derailed this thread. Any one of you is welcome to come up to Greensburg and beat my ass now.

Nah, it was me! Sorry about that. I just feel kinda passionate about this topic (Hey, I don't get involved in the politics or religion threads on here - so I'm due!!)

I'll leave my 2 cents out of this thread!

[timmae]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

When I graduated, I stayed at the same job that I'd gotten when I was in junior year. I bumped up to full-time and stayed there until last month when I moved from New Orleans. Now I'm in Pennsylvania, and I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do. I know what I'd like to do, but I don't have any experience except for an internship that I did five years ago. I have other experience from the job I left in New Orleans, but that industry doesn't even exist here.

On the bright side for you, samifan24, at least you're going through this right out of college. I'm going through it for the first time three years out of college. Good luck, and I hope things get better for you.

Degree, past job, hopeful future job, internship, industry plz. tks.

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by Philliesfan980

Nah, it was me! Sorry about that. I just feel kinda passionate about this topic (Hey, I don't get involved in the politics or religion threads on here - so I'm due!!)

I'll leave my 2 cents out of this thread!

You didn't derail the thread. I think you missed my point initially but follow me now. It's good to see that others have felt the same thing at roughly the same point in their lives. I will be very happy when I do get my job in baseball but until then I have several months where I just feel like everything's stagnant.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by timmae

Degree, past job, hopeful future job, internship, industry plz. tks.

Great stuff!

Anyway, here's the information just for the curious:

Degree: Mass Communications
Past Job: Data entry, sales material creation (price lists for customers, etc.), collecting price quotes from vendors, and promotional design
Industry: International cargo ship supply (there's no port here in Greensburg, so this industry is out)
Hopeful Future Job: Video editing in a television newsroom (particularly the sports department) or work in a radio station
Internship: Video editing in the sports department of a television newsroom

If I were in a smaller TV market, I should be able to get some entry-level work, but this is the Pittsburgh area. I'm not going to be anybody's first choice for any position except production assistant, and nobody even has any openings for that right now.

The McDonald's down the road from me is hiring for full-time positions right now, though.

[judicial clerk]

Holy crap, history ws such an easy major. That is one of the reasons I went into it. I also like history. I did have a good time in college, though.

I too moved away from my college town after graduation and missed my friends. I still don't talk to them much although I love them all dearley. my wife jokes that I have an unwritten agreement with my friends; You don't call me and I won't call you.

Terpkristen could always fo to law school if she doesn't find a job she likes. Patent lawyers make a lot of money and all those history/english/speech grads can't do it.

Anyhoo, I think there is more than one way to skin this cat, you can see your job as a means to an end and just make as much money as you can so you can afford to do the stuff you like, you can find life satisfaction from a job you actually love and not worry about the money and material gain, or ...

you can be a fucking hosedragger like pennywiseb and do a job where you sit around in a lazyboy all day long, work one day for every two days off, have a hot wife and a cool new truck, have everybody love you, and have time for a second job if you so choose and make more money than bitter accountant philliesfan980 and still work less hours.

Umm, I'm not really sure where I was going with that, are we still in the truth tree?