advice needed!

[crewe]

Hey, I am in my last year of my BA in political science and was wondering if anyone had tips for getting a job out of university. I plan on going to grad school eventually but I need to work for a year or two to save up money for it, & I really do not want to do a minimum wage retail job! Do placement agencies work?? Things I should do and things I should avoid doing??
Thanks for any help you can give!
Cheers

[Restless&Lost]

Hey, I am in my last year of my BA in political science and was wondering if anyone had tips for getting a job out of university. I plan on going to grad school eventually but I need to work for a year or two to save up money for it, & I really do not want to do a minimum wage retail job! Do placement agencies work?? Things I should do and things I should avoid doing??
Thanks for any help you can give!
Cheers

I'm writing this in the assumption that you're in the U.S.

1. If you're serious about going to grad school in a traditional subject (not a mid-career type thing), it would be advantageous to go right into it after undergrad. You're still used to being a student and living that lifestyle, making the transition much easier. If you're smart and play your cards right, you'll be given adequate funding rendering the "year off" thing unnecessary. That's just my opinion, though -- you do what works for you. You might need this time to actually decide if grad school will put you in a place you want to be in "X" amount of years.

2. DO NOT go to a school which is not supporting you financially in some way. Grad school is generally a bad investment on multiple levels, so the additional burden of paying for it out of pocket along with tons of loans is simply not worth it if you're shooting for a faculty position in the future.

3. I don't know what you've done in the past, but I would definitely consider doing some type of internship (paid if possible) during that in-between year off related to whatever you want to study. I know I say this like it's so simple to get into that position, but definitely take your last year in undergrad to find those types of possibilities, since you still have time before you graduate. It would be a great way to find out if grad school is a good option for you, or if you would even like the field enough to pursue an Master's/PhD. I almost wish I would have done something like this when I was in your position, honestly (though I'm blatantly contradicting what I said in the first point ;): ).

4. What kind of work do you want to do in the meantime? If you want a salary instead of an hourly position, you're basically limited to what kind of internships/work experience you've had in the past, the people you know and sheer blind luck.

Other than that, there are plenty of non-retail jobs that would start you out at $9+ per hour -- in my experience it's been food service, but that's just because I've worked in the same place since I was 16. Even then I was making more than $7. I guess my point is, retail is probably the last place you'd want to look if you want more than minimum wage (but you know that).

I guess temp agencies work okay if you'd rather work in an office answering phones and faxing things, but I wouldn't expect much more mental stimulation than if you were to get a retail job -- if your driving force is money, then it might just be for you. Careful though -- I don't think I could even get onto a temp agency because I've never actually been a secretary and apparently you need years worth of experience to work MS Office and file things (I have an MA and am fluent in Adobe products, video-editing suites, and multiple facets of Web production. My writing has been published multiple times in multiple places. This apparently means that the cloistered world of Administrative Assistants is far beyond my heathen grasp and I've been told as much).