(Soon to be) recent grads: what's the job situation like?

"E. Julius" (soonerfrommi) 02/17/2015 at 16:17 • Filed to: None

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Have you been able to find it a job? How long did it take? What was your major? Did your major matter? Previous work experience? I'm not looking for advice for myself or anything, I'm just curious about what it's been like for everybody.

Biggus Dickus (RevsBro) > E. Julius 02/17/2015 at 16:21

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Accounting and Finance major. Had a job lined up going into senior year of school.

Jonathan Harper > E. Julius 02/17/2015 at 16:21

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Be prepared to work for free, at first at least.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Jonathan Harper 02/17/2015 at 16:22

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If you have to work for free, you missed something along the way.

Jonathan Harper > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 02/17/2015 at 16:25

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I'm only speaking from personal experience. I was an intern at CCC Manhattan unpaid for a whole summer before they hired me. I was lucky enough to have supportive parents who fed me and gave me a Brooklyn Lager once in a while that summer.

So yeah, unless you're going into the service industry then you should be open to taking an unpaid internship.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > E. Julius 02/17/2015 at 16:25

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I graduated with a degree in chemistry summer of 2012. I took a crappy job to move to the city I wanted and two years in, quit that and moved on to a MUCH better job.

It was semi-difficult, but I worked as a co-op student all through college so I had a lot of basic skills in my field and started to accumulate specialized knowledge for more technical fields. This limited my options but made me a better candidate for what was there. My experience has been that it is difficult to get an interview, but I usually get the job if I can get an interview.

E. Julius > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 02/17/2015 at 16:25

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Eh, depends on what you're going into. I've already got a job lined up, but that's because I do boring business type stuff that you can get experience with fairly easily with internships. If you do creative work it's a whole different story.

1.21 JIGGA WATTS!!! > E. Julius 02/17/2015 at 16:26

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Mechanical Engineering major. Graduated May 2014. Started searching in September 2013, three interviews, sent out 40+ resumes, locked in a job in mid March 2014. Had two previous paid internships with Caterpillar. I do everything an old school engineer (no distinction for "Mechanical") would.

E. Julius > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 02/17/2015 at 16:26

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When you moved to a better job did you get to stay in the location you wanted?

Sweet Trav > E. Julius 02/17/2015 at 16:28

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FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T STUDY LAW!

If it weren't for my auto knowledge and skills, id be on the corner begging or even worse, living with my parents.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Jonathan Harper 02/17/2015 at 16:28

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If you are in the artistic fields, maybe. But in other fields, unpaid internships are often not as favorable. I know plenty of other people with science backgrounds who took entry level "technician" jobs. You operate basic equipment and help clean the lab. It pays some okay money BUT you now know the higher-ups in the company. When an opening for a more skilled position opens up it is a LOT easier to take it.

The one exception is college internships, but then again you can always be a co-op student or figure out some way to get credits for your degree or something. It isn't cash, but each credit is worth hundreds of dollars in some schools.

E. Julius > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 02/17/2015 at 16:28

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"Hundreds" lol

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > E. Julius 02/17/2015 at 16:29

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Yep. Didn't move at all. Now I'm saving for a house but I live in a small yet nice apartment just outside of downtown Grand Rapids.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > E. Julius 02/17/2015 at 16:29

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I went to an engineering school, each credit was something like 1500$. If you told me I could work for 12 weeks and get 4 credits? I'd consider it lol.

E. Julius > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 02/17/2015 at 16:29

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Ah cool, neat area. My GF has an interview there in a week or something.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Jonathan Harper 02/17/2015 at 16:31

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You chased your dream, worked your ass off and are now getting rewarded for your efforts. Well done, kid.

E. Julius > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 02/17/2015 at 16:31

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Yeah $1500 sounds much closer than hundreds. Although I supple that's still too low to say thousands…

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > E. Julius 02/17/2015 at 16:32

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Well also at cheaper schools it might only be like 500$. I went to a private college and that isn't cheap unless you get scholarships and even then it only covers two semesters a year, not summer semesters.

Jonathan Harper > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 02/17/2015 at 16:34

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You're not wrong. Getting paid is definitely better than not getting paid.

I've had more awesome opportunities present themselves either directly because of, or through someone I met working on something that I didn't get paid for. Donating your time and doing a good job makes a really good impression, no matter the field. People notice that shit, and then they hire you.

Jonathan Harper > E. Julius 02/17/2015 at 16:41

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Very true. But I graduated with a degree in "International Relations", basically just politics. CCC didn't take me for creative work at all, but I made that a part of my gig there right quick.

Devilishprune > Sweet Trav 02/17/2015 at 16:41

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Professional school is a motherfucker. I'm graduating in May, and I've only had 1 interview for a real job. The other one was for a residency that I got, so I'm not bitchin', but it's not as easy as I anticipated.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Jonathan Harper 02/17/2015 at 16:42

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Picking the right place to do that is everything though. I detest the expectation that college grads should work for free right away. Most of those positions are either underutilizing or overworking those people. At least if you're getting paid then there is some expectation that they expect you to grow into a better employee down the line, or at least do a job worth being paid for. For every success story at an unpaid internship, there's at least one or two horror stories and quite a few "meh, it was an internship" stories.

I guess my point is this - If you are graduating soon, while some unpaid work can be good, don't count on it to land you your future. Do even more homework if you want to accept an unpaid internship and go in with your eyes open. Putting in your dues somewhere you don't like is a lot easier when there's a paycheck involved. I can't imagine how some of my friends managed to come back from being "fired" from an unpaid job.

E. Julius > Jonathan Harper 02/17/2015 at 16:44

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That's what you've gotta do—create the situation you want.

WhiskeyGolf > E. Julius 02/17/2015 at 16:58

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I graduated from mechanical engineering in May 2010, with a job lined up with a classmate's startup for September. The caveat to this is that the company is primarily a mobile software company, so I get asked what that has to do with mecheng fairly often. The good news is that my employer also has a division starting up for proper mechanical engineering, again with my classmate, so I'll be involved with that too.

Leadbull > Jonathan Harper 02/17/2015 at 17:14

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Just curious, what did they originally take you for?

Jonathan Harper > Leadbull 02/17/2015 at 17:27

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Just general intern. I showed that I was enthusiastic about cars, that's pretty much it.

twochevrons > E. Julius 02/17/2015 at 22:15

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Computer science major in my final semester here. Suffice to say that it won't be a matter of finding a job, as choosing the right one. I've had a significant amount of interest without really even beginning looking. The sensible side of my brain says to just go with what's fallen on my lap, but the other side thinks that, if I've got this far without really trying, should I give them both a pass, start really getting my name out there and see what happens?