Questioning My Education
Porchsitter
Loganville, GA Posts: 1,078
OK.....so I understand that the economy is down. I understand that the job market is struggling. I even understand someone's trepidation of hiring someone straight out of college with little to no experience; however I have to say that after almost two years since graduation and two years of tweaking resumes, writing an endless amount of cover letters, and changing my career objectives a billion times I'm beginning to think college was an extraordinary waste of my time and resources.
All throughout my life, I had always been told to go to college. That it would supply me with the future I would need in order to succeed and not spend every waking day busting my ass at some lowly retail job. Well, here I am two years removed from college, and I'm busting my ass at some lowly retail job.....with $20,000 of debt I can't afford to pay back any time soon. In the last two years, I have sent out hundreds of resumes to not even rate a phone call or an interview. My career objective keeps getting more and more broad by the day to the point where it just says, "I Need A Job. It doesn't matter what kind of job it is." I have spoken with numerous people for help, have gone to a professional resume writer to fix my resume, and have inquired with HR directors all over trying to get an idea of what I'm doing wrong only to be told the economy sucks and there are plenty of people who have more experience than me getting into the same jobs that I'm looking at. Everyone I have spoken with have given me the same sentiments. "Bad Economy. Recession. Lost jobs. Plenty of people unemployed." It doesn't help me though. It's just maddening.
So, what am I left with other than to think that, perhaps, college was a wasted endeavor. Oh, I'm sure having a college degree will eventually work out for me, but I hate to say this. I'm bitter. I can't help but be bitter. Who after accruing $20,000 of debt and still only making $8/hour?! I spend almost everyday of my life trying to figure out how to make this all work, but I'm lost. I'm not sure what else to do. This whole job search has become my great white whale. It has become, inadvertently, a search for self-worth, and I'm coming up with nothing and in the process I feel like I'm falling into insanity and despair. Anyway, I just needed a venue to vent and get this off my chest. I'm sure my wife has grown tired of this conversation.
All throughout my life, I had always been told to go to college. That it would supply me with the future I would need in order to succeed and not spend every waking day busting my ass at some lowly retail job. Well, here I am two years removed from college, and I'm busting my ass at some lowly retail job.....with $20,000 of debt I can't afford to pay back any time soon. In the last two years, I have sent out hundreds of resumes to not even rate a phone call or an interview. My career objective keeps getting more and more broad by the day to the point where it just says, "I Need A Job. It doesn't matter what kind of job it is." I have spoken with numerous people for help, have gone to a professional resume writer to fix my resume, and have inquired with HR directors all over trying to get an idea of what I'm doing wrong only to be told the economy sucks and there are plenty of people who have more experience than me getting into the same jobs that I'm looking at. Everyone I have spoken with have given me the same sentiments. "Bad Economy. Recession. Lost jobs. Plenty of people unemployed." It doesn't help me though. It's just maddening.
So, what am I left with other than to think that, perhaps, college was a wasted endeavor. Oh, I'm sure having a college degree will eventually work out for me, but I hate to say this. I'm bitter. I can't help but be bitter. Who after accruing $20,000 of debt and still only making $8/hour?! I spend almost everyday of my life trying to figure out how to make this all work, but I'm lost. I'm not sure what else to do. This whole job search has become my great white whale. It has become, inadvertently, a search for self-worth, and I'm coming up with nothing and in the process I feel like I'm falling into insanity and despair. Anyway, I just needed a venue to vent and get this off my chest. I'm sure my wife has grown tired of this conversation.
We are the facilitators of our own creative evolution.--Bill Hicks
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Comments
2. A bachelor degree is like a high school diploma nowadays...think about attaining a master's degree...especially in the teaching profession.
I, too, fell for the illusion that if I achieved a college degree and paid my dues, I would be rewarded handsomely. It just doesn't work that way.
Do what you can to get by and keep your head up.
PBM
Wishlist Foundation: http://wishlistfoundation.org
put on a slow, dumb show for you
and crack you up
so you can put a blue ribbon on my brain
god I'm very, very frightening
and I'll overdo it'
alright this is mindboggling
my rommate graduated from UConn and is a pizza delivery driver
his main competition in hours is a graduate from Michigan St
my buddy graduated UCF and is a couple classes away from his masters.
we had basically the same job but he got let go because im boys with the boss.
i barely attended classes in highschool and college..never finished college
i know call him grimes as i am homer
I feel you. I've been out of college for a little over a year now. And I've been doing the same thing as you and in the year or so since I've graduated I've only managed a whooping 2 interviews, which I completely blew. But I'm still trying to find a job and everyday I don't get a callback for any of the resumes I've sent out I lose a bit of motivation. I've only been at this for about a year I can't imagine how shitty you must feel doing it for 2. The rumors are the economy is going to pick up by September. I'm sure the both of us will find something in time. For the time being we just gotta keep hope alive. Good luck man!
i agree, overall, with your post.....but i guess i find it a wee bit odd? to encourage 'especially' the teaching profession. obviously every state is different, but right now....there are tough times ALL the way around. i am seriously considering returning to teaching (taught for 10 years).....and it is NOT looking good, overall...whether re-entering schools or just starting out. i just wanted to point that out. ABSOLUTELY persue a masters in education if you truly WANT to teach, but yea...i just don't suggest going for it simply as a more viable wotrk option, b/c that really isn't it. it's TOUGH......everything is TOUGH nowadays. just sayin'.
anyhoo....as to the OP.....i hear ya. funny, i was *just* telling a friend today that out of my sisters, i am the ONLY college graduate, masters no less...and yet i have consistently always made less $$$....less job security. haha. really, it's only just how it all worked out, and both my sister's were quite *lucky* too (also probably why they either didn't complete or persue college)...and i always knew my chosen profession would never garner 'big bucks'...so really, it's ok...but rather funny is all. damned art degrees.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
I stressed a masters "especially in the teaching profession" because I'm seeing many friends and family prosper in administrative positions. Many are just a few years out of college and are already principals / assistant principals or in some other supervising role. It may be a regional thing, but they are doing quite well financially. And, more importantly, many of the school systems help pay teachers to continue their education.
PBM
Wishlist Foundation: http://wishlistfoundation.org
You can earn around $3,000 a month, most places pay for your housing, and your plane ticket is paid.
If you do it right, you can easily pay off your loans and save, while gaining valuable experience. All while having a great time.
Look into the Jet Program for Japan or http://www.eslcafe.com/ for info.
ha...wow!
it MUST be a regional thing.
i mean, there is the 'teach for america program' that does pay teacher's education - masters that is - with the promise of working in high needs schools for 2 years. however, i guess becasue NYS has some of THE highest paying teachers salaries in the nation, what you describe is WELL outside the norm, and in regards to admin positions....more is required beyond a teaching MA. interesting, interesting. those who do teach, overall, DO well financially (tho still no where near the salary one would make in another field with the same/similar education requirements), if they manage to find a public school job, absolutely......was simply pointing out the competive nature that does exist, especially now. again, a lot of it too may well be regional. so lucky for your friends! becoming a principal just a few years out of school is quite honestly remarkabe, tho again, it must be the regional differences. too bad i am so tied to NY, especially my husband's career.
amazing how different it all can be. in fact, a friend *just* sent me this article today...which paints a far more dire view of education in NY than i imagined...but again, NYC/suburbs has always been a ttradionally 'tough' education market, outide of the high needs schools/subjects....
For Many Teachers, a Famously Fertile Market Dries Up Overnight
By JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ
Published: May 10, 2009
Larissa Patel dreamed of teaching English at a Brooklyn public school this fall, motivated by a desire to help low-income children. But instead, on Friday, Ms. Patel spent the day filling out applications for 30 jobs at private schools.
“Suddenly, overnight, I am rethinking my entire career,” said Ms. Patel, 30, a student at St. John’s University who left a job in the digital imaging industry to work as a substitute teacher and pursue an education degree. “It’s a very bleak point in time. It’s forced me to sort of look in a new direction.”
In an effort to cut costs and avoid teacher layoffs, the Department of Education on Wednesday ordered principals to fill vacancies with internal candidates only. As a result, aspiring teachers at education schools and members of programs like Teach for America — a corps of recent college graduates — and the city’s Teaching Fellows — which trains career professionals to become teachers — are scrambling for jobs.
Many are forwarding their résumés to charter schools and private schools; others are looking to the suburbs and across state lines. Some are reconsidering the teaching profession altogether.
“This was a pretty big bomb that dropped,” said Pam Ritchie, 43, a substitute teacher in Park Slope, Brooklyn, who had hoped the connections she developed would land her a permanent job in the fall. “I’m devastated.”
Ms. Ritchie was looking to leave behind the on-call lifestyle of a substitute teacher and finally have her own classroom with regular students and regular pay. “I have to stick with this until I get a job,” she said. “This is what I want to do.”
The Department of Education typically hires thousands of teachers for the start of school each September. In 2008, it hired 5,725 educators — 1,792 from the Teach for America and the Teaching Fellows programs, and 3,933 who, by and large, came from schools of education.
But this year, the department anticipates fewer openings and will not hire externally except in certain high-needs areas like speech therapy and bilingual special education. Instead, principals can fill spots only with internal candidates, including teachers from a reserve pool made up of those whose jobs have been eliminated and many who have earned unsatisfactory ratings.
Schools that opened in the past two years and are still expanding their ranks are also exempt from the hiring restrictions, as are charter schools.
Vicki Bernstein, executive director of teacher recruitment and quality for the Department of Education, said the news came as a surprise to many prospective teachers who had considered New York City an attractive option because of its historically high demand for teachers.
Ms. Bernstein’s office informed job seekers on Thursday that some hiring restrictions could be lifted by the end of the summer if there was a dearth of internal candidates in certain neighborhoods or subjects.
“They should remain committed and flexible,” Ms. Bernstein said, “so when and if there are opportunities, they are poised to be considered.”
It remains unclear how long the ban on outside hires will last.
Teachers from traditional pathways like education schools are likely to suffer the most under the new hiring restrictions. The city still plans to hire about half the usual number of educators from Teach for America and the Teaching Fellows program, but it has not made similar guarantees for other teachers. (Breaking with past practice, however, the city will not pay the salaries of Teach for America and Teaching Fellows educators if they do not find jobs by the fall.)
Some teachers had already received informal offers from principals but now find themselves dusting off their résumés and backing out of housing arrangements.
As news of the hiring restrictions trickled out, many education school students left frantic messages for principals asking for work. Others fired off anxious messages to e-mail lists and online discussion boards.
Aida Sanchez, a student at Teachers College at Columbia University who hopes to work with children in Harlem, Washington Heights or the Bronx, said that it was unfair to give an advantage to educators from nontraditional backgrounds like Teach for America. Ms. Sanchez is waiting to see how the city’s school budgets look when they are released this month, but said she was considering getting certified to teach in New Jersey. In the meantime, she is pursuing certification in special education in the hope of being hired under the exception.
“I am really eager to go in the teaching direction,” she said. “Now it’s kind of like you really don’t know where you’re going to be.”
Joshua P. Stager, 24, a high school teacher in Oregon who is looking for work in New York City because his wife is starting piano studies at Manhattan School of Music in the fall, said the hiring restrictions did not surprise him, given the state of the economy. For the past several months, he has made a morning ritual out of typing “New York schools” and “budget” into Google and waiting for the headlines. On Thursday, he said, “I had a little freak-out moment.”
“I’m opening up to the possibility of not getting an education job,” said Mr. Stager, adding that he and his wife had started limiting expenses as a precaution.
On Thursday, Ms. Patel, the St. John’s student who hopes to teach English, made a final pitch to principals at her four dream schools in Brooklyn. They said they did not have openings. Until she finds a permanent job, Ms. Patel plans to continue as a substitute.
“The stability in teaching was something that was I looking for,” she said. “That has been turned on its head.”
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
it absolutely IS an excellent opportunity, especially if you hit up asian countries in particular. i actually got my TESOL certification back in 2005 in prague. however, i am not young and single...i was merely thinking of it as an option at home, here in NYC. :P ultimately didn't persue it...tho who knows now? however, if one IS young and single...nothing tying you down, it is such a worthy persuit, and i think a great addition to your resume...let alone your life experience.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
When I was young.... (here goes the old fart again)... one first chose a profession or 'path' THEN chose to study for a degree that would lead to it. It seems now, it's the other way around.. get a degree, be part of the graduate recruitement 'milk rounds' of large companies. So what if you have a degree in history but they are looking for IT consultants, people with business acumen..... isn't a degree 'a degree'?
It's true now that times are tough. Companies can't afford to 'waste time' with people that cannot be productive almost immediately upon hiring - graduates suffer from that.
Sorry.....I graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism. Journalism seemed like a great idea in '02-03, but these days the jobs are just not there. I have since moved on from the expectations of finding a job in journalism and just trying to find anything at this point.
I've tried the networking angle. I have a friend who works in news now, but he has been little help due to the recession nor has he been able to put me in contact with somebody who can help me. On top of that, I have also met numerous people through different means in the past two years who work in the field, and they haven't been able to do much for me either. I've networked and pressed the flesh about as much as I can in the past two years to no avail. I've used up about everything I could in my area. It definitely isn't from lack of trying, I can tell you that.
I've tried the teaching angle as well (I minored in history and am only four classes away from getting my degree). The county where I live used to be a great place for people who wanted to become teachers (great programs for people without traditional education degrees) so I began taking the tests and getting ready to move in that direction. No sooner did I finish the test when all the teaching jobs dried up and a hiring freeze was implemented county-wide. Now, they only take teachers with certifications (which I lack). I can't afford to go back to school at the moment (that puts the masters on hold).
Believe me, in the last two years I have met disappointment after disappointment and have rebounded from it by the next day. I haven't hung my hat from one particular job (for fear of not getting it) and that has served me well. I just feel like I've been kicked in the teeth so many times, and I haven't got much more left. There is only so much I can take of this before I completely lose it.
Ahh...now we're getting somewhere. The communications field does not pay very well...there are exceptions, but unless you hit it big and land in a large market, you will live paycheck to paycheck. I speak from experience.
The plus side is that the work isn't necessarily difficult and you'll enjoy your job, but your pay will rival that of a manager of a fast food chain.
PBM
Wishlist Foundation: http://wishlistfoundation.org
Agreed. I knew this going into it as well (like I said...I have a friend who's in it as well). It does, however, pay more than slinging coffee as a barista who doesn't work for tips.
Number two is true. The people that tell you to go to college and get a degree mostly grew up in a time when most people didn't go to college so it did give you an edge. Now everyone has a degree and it doesn't mean shit.
When I decided to go into the communications field, I was in college and had not a care in the world. Then, you graduate, get married, buy a house, have a child and then think..."What the hell did I do?"
Seriously, keep plugging away. Be extremely diverse...know how to edit, write good copy, work the camera, know web development, etc. The more knowledge you have, the more value you bring to the company.
PBM
Wishlist Foundation: http://wishlistfoundation.org
I appreciate your advice. I, too, decided on journalism long before my wife and son, and I've questioned whether I made the right decision. Unfortunately, I can't go back and fix that mistake at the moment, but I will eventually get into something whether it be in journalism or not. My long range plan is to finish my history degree and begin teaching but for now I have to deal with what I have. I truly appreciate your advice though.
LOL my degree is in print journalism
Ouch! Newspaper revenue just keeps declining!
PBM
Wishlist Foundation: http://wishlistfoundation.org
I wish you the best of luck. I'm sure once the whole recession passes things will pick back up, but it's a tough market at the moment.