Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

I was in Pier 1 over the weekend and the cashier asked for my email address which has "MSW" in it.

She started asking me about my field, because she has considered going into it.

Before I could stop myself, I realized I went into how bad it is for ppl to find jobs, you really need to know someone, the market is flooded, that I've been in the field for (yikes!) 14 years and don't get responses back on resumes, etc.

I also had this conversation a few weeks ago with the cashier at the Panera I go to who just graduated with her BA in psych and is torn on what to major in next because of the economy.

I always feel kind of bad, like I'm raining on someone's parade.

And then my own paranoia gets in the way, like maybe I'M doing something wrong which is why employers don't respond to me. I don't know........

In any event, I don't think the realities of how hard it is should be sugar-coated either.

What are your thoughts?

Are you negative, realistic or do you see the economy through rose-colored glasses?


P.S. I did end my convo with the girl at Pier 1 by saying, how it's tough for EVERYONE out there these days, and wished her luck with whatever she decided she wanted to do ;).

Message edited 7/23/2012 7:41:42 AM.

Are you

i graduated 3 years ago with my master's, and i'm pretty negative to people sometimes, which i hate to be

but education is WAY too saturated right now

Re: Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

Re: Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

I tink I'd rather have someone negative toward me telling me the truth so I can focus somewhere else. How sucky would it be to put all that hard work in yet there are no jobs. I think you did her a favr honestly.

Re: Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

Having one child that is 25 and unemployed again and another entering college in 30 days its very worrisome to me.
I don't see things getting much better. Not only because of the economy but because of the mentality of this young generation

ETA: I didn't really answer the question
when I speak with young people entering the dental field I try to tell them the pros & cons. For example there are too many young dentists all trying to buy practices in metropolitan areas while 39% of older dentists are putting off retirement and 8% of all rural counties in the US have no dentist at all. Adding to the problem is the increase in new graduates in the next several years because of new dental schools opening. Unfortunately none of them have dreams of practicing in rural areas, they all want the multimillion dollar park ave practice.

Message edited 7/23/2012 8:31:52 AM.

Are you

I am in education, a guidance counselor, which in todays economy is next to impossible to find a GC position in a school. However I feel that people should not make permanent decisions based on temporary circumstances.

In education for example there will always be kids and school and the need for educators. Today it might be tough to get a job but if you REALLY want to be a teacher then I think you should go to school get your degree and work your ass off to get a job. Sure it might take a while and you might have to do something else in the meanwhile but people HAVE to retire, jobs HAVE to open up, if it is what you want, know it might not be an easy road but not an impossible one.

Re: Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

Re: Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

Re: Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

Depending upon the career path people tell me determines my response.

When I hear someone is pursuing something in the medical field or engineering, I tell them how that is a smart choice due to demand.

When I hear someone is entering my field (education), I can't help but to be somewhat negative. Yes, I know things at some point are going to turn around, but all those excessed teachers are eligible to go back to their job for 7 years! The graduate programs by me are no longer accepting applicants because the forecast is so bad.

Re: Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

I love my field, but job prospects are getting so bad that I find myself saying that. But, then again.. there are not many fields that have good prospects. So what are these young people going to do? They have to pick a major and hope to God that things change fast. My cousin is taking his bar tomorrow. Most of his fellow grads have no jobs. LAWYERS! I can't believe that. It's pretty bad everywhere. DH's company is a looking for experience for ENTRY level jobs in marketing..... why? Because they can! So my cousin who just graduated and is looking for marketing is getting beat out for entry level jobs by people with experience. He has no chance!

Are you

your either over experienced and want to much money or if your just out of college you are being asked to take the job to basically earn min wage.

Re: Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

i think one message to tell college/hs students is to do well in school.....because while it will be hard to find a job, they need to differentiate themselves from everyone else applying. that means....good GPA and wellrounded (join clubs, volunteer, etc, etc). Having a resume that stands out, while not guaranteed a job, sure cant hurt your prospects...and i think its something that the students at least have control over at the moment (unlike the economy)

Re: Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

No because in my field we are CONSTANTLY looking for people and actually have a hard time recruiting good candidates.
Some of our engineers can pretty much name their own salary and get it and are in HIGH demand in the industry.
So for me, I am always asking- hey, want to get into my field?

Message edited 7/23/2012 10:49:48 AM.

Are you

Yes. I give grads a reality check. I tell them the "secrets" to nailing a job interview too. Its not just about the grades and school anymore. Skills, Personality, appearance and contacts are top four that are needed in this economy.

Re: Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

I look at it this way - is it something I'd want to know if I were in their position? I try not to be overly negative in the delivery because I'm not out to crush their dreams or anything, but I am honest. If I know something about their desired field that might be useful information for them, I will warn them.

Are you

unfortunately i also think negatively about the economy/job market to new grads or students or even just people looking for a career change. It has been my experience (with friends and family) that this day in age with so many people competing for so few jobs, a huge factor is who you know. i've told many people the cons of certain industries bc i want them to have a realistic expectation when they are looking. I dont want someone to think they will graduate with their masters and bam, a job will be waiting for them since sadly that doesnt seem to be the case nowadays.
I have my BIL who just graduated and is unemployed but of course he thought he would find something in his field immediately...well that was 1.5 years ago and he is still looking. unfortunately he refuses to look in another field or do anything else so he has been living at home making zero income. at least it may put things into perspective and someone may think ok well if plan a doesnt work let me have a plan b.

Re: Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

No- I believe that if you are prayerful you will be led in the right direction. You know that little voice inside? Some call it intuition, some believe it is the spirit of God guiding us. Listen closely to it. I am very positive. I knew that I was supposed to be a special ed teacher. Yes, the field is saturated but I got an awesome job despite the flood and many negative people telling me I would never find a job.

You never work a day when you love what you do!

Best of luck!!!

Message edited 7/23/2012 1:51:40 PM.

Re: Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

I think that there is something to be said about realism, for sure. However, I am a new teacher and when I was looking for my job last year, I interviewed at five schools and was offered jobs at three of them. I never listened to people talk about how I would never get a job. I think that maybe people don't get the exact job they want to retire doing and consider it a failure. I teach in a low-income school in the south Bronx now and would I rather be in a nice district on LI making 60K+? Sure. But I know that there are stepping stones and paying your dues in this field. I know so many girls who are teachers who aren't working, but then you mention the city or any place where the area might be a little sketch and they are like "Umm....I was more looking for something on the Island, you know...in a nice district." The reality of the economy is that East Meadow and Smithtown only need so many teachers and most people aren't going to leave those jobs. I think maybe a lot of young people can't find their dream job and then chalk it up to not being able to find a job period.

I think the most solid career advice people gave me was not to switch fields all together, but what employers are looking for and how to stand out. My DH pushed me toward special ed. and it was so much easier to get a job and ultimately more rewarding. That kind of advice was so much more useful than doom and gloom forecasts about how hard it would be to get a job at all.

I guess what I am saying is maybe young people need a push to get out there, get experience and get their hands dirty a little at a job that might not be awesome. We have enough people telling us that it can't be done. What is more useful is someone telling recent grads how to (smartly) build their career in the field of their choice.

Re: Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

Re: Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

I'm honest. I tell them that writing is a tough field to get into, whether the economy is good or bad. I tell them that they need to take any job opportunities that pop up and be willing to put in tons of effort. I tell them that it's possible to make a decent amount of money, but not everyone is going to.

Re: Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

Maybe not before but now, yes

I think people are crazy to go into teaching English for example especially if they do it to bank on having a good schedule and summers off.

So many fields are hit now. Advertising. Law. Media. Education.

Even nursing which we always need nurses, people caught on and now there's waiting lists to enter nursing schools. Hell look at Suffolk county cops. Waiting lists, tests only given x amount of years.

I advise young people to think outside the box. Become well rounded and innovative. The only way to get ahead these days is by NOT following the pack.

Re: Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

Re: Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

Yes, I am generally negative when talking to new grads but I have not encountered anyone who did not already know. Usually they mention it to me first and what I say may even be a bit more optimistic than what they were thinking.

My son's daycare pre-K teachers this year were certified teachers who were excessed, both from the same district. Teaching certification is not required in a daycare setting. They were great teachers for my son but the situation is not fair to them. When my sister's kids were in daycare years ago, they were full to capacity and required all kids to be enrolled full time. Now they take part timers plus they have been flexible with us about changing the schedule if the need arises.

Re: Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

I dont know a lot of new grads but I do the hiring, and people are looking for big $$$
and its not realistic in this economy.

I just offered someone a position for 28k to start with a raise to 31,200 in 3 months and she told me thanks but no thanks, she wanted at least 35k even though she is making 26k now and has horrible hours and this was a 9-5 job.

People are greedy, she pretty much turned down making an extra 9k in 3 months time.
she was young maybe 22 or 23

Re: Are you "negative" about the economy to new grads?

I went to school for journalism and would discourage my kids from doing the same- unless they are fully prepared to work crazy hours for sh!t pay, because that's the reality of it. I started my job at a newspaper a few months out of college making $28,000 a year. My parents paid almost that a year in tuition. I left after 4 years and was only up to $34,000. The majority, and of course there were exceptions, of the people who worked there were miserable people. It wasn't nearly as glamorous as I thought it would be.