Hopeless

[lostnotyetfound]

I realize that a college degree doesn't guarantee anything. But don't the general statistics confirm that if you go to college you will make x more dollars in life than someone with just a high school diploma?

Well after getting laid off and being unemployed for 8 months I have started a part-time, retail job for 10 cents over minimum wage. While it is good to have a purpose again, I don't feel this job will be providing me with any valuable skills to help me land a full-time/better paying/more professional position.

When you are unemployed employers want to know what you do with your time. When working retail they want to know why you don't have a more professional position. It's like a no-win situation. The longer I am out of the real world, the less attractive I become to potential employers.

I feel so hopeless about the whole situation and feel that going to college was a waste of my time and money.

[Moon Gazing]

What did you major in college? The economy is bad in my county right now since construction has decreased dramatically in that field so there are a lot of unemployed people taking whatever position they can get at any company hiring. If I were you and a potential employer asked why you worked retail at that particular time I would explain to them how the economy affected your line of work and you took a position that would keep your money flow coming in every month until a better opportunity came along. I graduate in January and sometimes I wonder if college will be a waste of money for me as well but I am going to try everything in my power to make it all worth it. I have also decided to take the rest of that school year off and go back to school for my bachelors degree but I am still afraid of going more into debt with student loans and not finding a position that pays well enough for me to eliminate my debt while making a decent living. Just another risk in life that must be taken I suppose.

[arrow]

My advice would be to go to a temp agency rather than work retail. At least you'd be in a white-collar environment.

[lostnotyetfound]

My advice would be to go to a temp agency rather than work retail. At least you'd be in a white-collar environment.


I've been to and registered with temp agencies. They only seem to want to place you in things you have experience doing. So since I don't have any experience as a receptionist, admin. assistant, data entry person etc... apparently these things are just too hard for my little brain to learn. So every time I call they say they have nothing for me.

[lostnotyetfound]

What did you major in college? The economy is bad in my county right now since construction has decreased dramatically in that field so there are a lot of unemployed people taking whatever position they can get at any company hiring. If I were you and a potential employer asked why you worked retail at that particular time I would explain to them how the economy affected your line of work and you took a position that would keep your money flow coming in every month until a better opportunity came along. I graduate in January and sometimes I wonder if college will be a waste of money for me as well but I am going to try everything in my power to make it all worth it. I have also decided to take the rest of that school year off and go back to school for my bachelors degree but I am still afraid of going more into debt with student loans and not finding a position that pays well enough for me to eliminate my debt while making a decent living. Just another risk in life that must be taken I suppose.


I went to a liberal arts college and was required to take a lot of general courses. My overall major was in graphic design which is a very competitive field. I also took a lot of business classes but was a few classes short of a marketing major which I probably should've made sure I had. I'm open to taking any kind of job at this point but don't seem to be qualified to do anything. I can't even get interviews as a receptionist. I also have no desire to go back to school to take on more loans when my initial degree has done nothing for me.

The economy as a whole doesn't seem to be doing very well in the US. According to the newspaper my state's is really lagging. Since I live near the insurance capitol (Hartford, CT), degrees in business or finance are what companies are looking for. But I don't want to blame my situation on the economy, even in an economic downturn some people are still able to find jobs.

I just don't know what my next step should be in order to make myself more marketable. I have no idea what employers are looking for. It seems to be all about who you know.

[wordsmith]

I realize that a college degree doesn't guarantee anything. But don't the general statistics confirm that if you go to college you will make x more dollars in life than someone with just a high school diploma?

Not necessarily. It really depends on your field. There are fields that don't require a degree that pay far more than some that do.

Having a degree makes it easier for you to be considered for jobs than if you didn't have one, though. That's the value to me, moreso than degree = commanding a certain salary (because I work in one of those fields that earns less than some that don't require degrees).

I don't feel this job will be providing me with any valuable skills to help me land a full-time/better paying/more professional position.

If it's retail, if nothing else, it will keep your people skills honed, and all jobs, if done well and with consideration, speak to responsibility. If you give a ho-hum job your all, that's more attractive to employers than if you just went through the motions.

When you are unemployed employers want to know what you do with your time. When working retail they want to know why you don't have a more professional position. It's like a no-win situation.

It's not a no-win situation. It looks better to have a job than no job.

I feel so hopeless about the whole situation and feel that going to college was a waste of my time and money.

Had you not gotten a degree, you may have been passed over for your current job by somebody who had...just as somebody with no degree may have gotten passed up so you could have the job.

[Umbra]

I went to a liberal arts college and was required to take a lot of general courses. My overall major was in graphic design which is a very competitive field. I also took a lot of business classes but was a few classes short of a marketing major which I probably should've made sure I had. I'm open to taking any kind of job at this point but don't seem to be qualified to do anything. I can't even get interviews as a receptionist. I also have no desire to go back to school to take on more loans when my initial degree has done nothing for me.

The economy as a whole doesn't seem to be doing very well in the US. According to the newspaper my state's is really lagging. Since I live near the insurance capitol (Hartford, CT), degrees in business or finance are what companies are looking for. But I don't want to blame my situation on the economy, even in an economic downturn some people are still able to find jobs.

I just don't know what my next step should be in order to make myself more marketable. I have no idea what employers are looking for. It seems to be all about who you know.


Well since your major was graphic design you could try selling your illustrations or photographs(if you do any) to microstock agencies like iStockphoto (http://istockphoto.com), Dreamstime (http://dreamstime.com), Bigstockphoto (http://bigstockphoto.com), Stockxpert (http://stockxpert.com), Shutterstock (http://shutterstock.com); etc. Your images can sell over and over again, which will bring in money with time. Of course, the pay is small but if enough of your images sell continuously then you can make quite a bit of money. Like this person (http://www.istockphoto.com/user_view.php?id=262458).

[Rage]

Well since your major was graphic design you could try selling your illustrations or photographs(if you do any) to microstock agencies like iStockphoto (http://istockphoto.com), Dreamstime (http://dreamstime.com), Bigstockphoto (http://bigstockphoto.com), Stockxpert (http://stockxpert.com), Shutterstock (http://shutterstock.com); etc. Your images can sell over and over again, which will bring in money with time. Of course, the pay is small but if enough of your images sell continuously then you can make quite a bit of money. Like this person (http://www.istockphoto.com/user_view.php?id=262458).

Plus, you would be building your portfolio and proving to employers that you are dedicated to your craft working as a "contractor".

[mlle]

I see that the original post was from a while ago but it definitely struck a chord with me, because it seems to describe my situation exactly. I got a lib arts degree for my BA from a school with a solid reputation and it took almost a year to get hired somewhere, for the same reasons that you're having trouble. The job i did get was hourly and paid little. I went for 2 more years trying to get a better job before deciding to go back to grad school. Now in grad school, I haven't been able to get a part time job (or assistantship) to supplement expenses because my skills aren't developed. I can't even get office work jobs either, and when I apply for retail jobs the managers don't want me because they don't understand why a grad student would be applying for a retail job. It's definitely a catch-22.

What makes it more discouraging is friends and family accuse you (accuse me, at least) of having a bad attitude, of being pessimistic, etc. when you lament your situation. And then they scorn you when out of desperation you have to settle for a minimun wage job that someone with a degree (or multiple degrees) is supposed to be too good for.

I don't know if I've just made you feel more depressed and hopeless but I simply wanted to offer my commiseration. If I knew the answer to these indignities I wouldn't be sitting here reading reading these message boards.

[PenforPrez]

I've been to and registered with temp agencies. They only seem to want to place you in things you have experience doing. So since I don't have any experience as a receptionist, admin. assistant, data entry person etc... apparently these things are just too hard for my little brain to learn. So every time I call they say they have nothing for me.

I tried for years to accomplish anything with temp agencies and got nowhere. Either they seriously didn't have anything or they considered me unqualified to be an office jockey or flat out considered me worthless because I have a BA degree. Some people cannot be satisfied. :rolleyes:

Paul