ideas!

[gildedage]

Here's a really interesting article on the job market
This sounds like it really sucks for those interns. As I was reading it, I reflected on my own situation as a 25 year old who just graduated. I only got this job because I said I was willing to work for free, it turned out that it pays really well (because I passed the bar and can be paid way

Comments

[teaberryblue]

For me, moving was terrible because I just can't cope with living anywhere that has a car culture. It's not something I understand, not something I feel ethically comfortable with, and not a way of living I feel capable of conforming to. That's probably weird, but it makes such a huge impact on my quality of life

[gildedage]

Oh yeah! Car culture is pretty tough. I'm not crazy about it either- I think it really sucks the life out of midsize city centers unless they have a rocking bus system.

But yeah- I think all these young people waiting for DC jobs don't get that you know, there are millions of people who want to be in that job! I don't think I would be willing to intern/my parents wouldn't support me interning that long. So while that sucks for them, it's also like you say: people need to re-evaluate what their doing.

[rainy_day]

I enjoyed that article!! I agree with their point that college students should be more educated about job markets and labor needs... it's not always possible to anticipate, but it's not something I thought about when I picked my major. I have so many friends who went into teaching due to a shortage of teachers (I mean, Texas used to provide "emergency teaching licenses" to anyone with a BA, teachers were in such short supply), only to find that when they got out of their programs there were NO jobs because so many other people had the same thing in mind

[rainy_day]

wow, tl;dr SORRY I GOT EXCITED.

[gildedage]

No I love it

[cacophonesque]

When I was working at Columbia, there were a lot of resources available to improve your skills set, and opportunities for training. And what I observed was that pretty much no one in my office utilized them, unless they were expressly instructed to do so during working hours.

I started to do a little bit of learning how to use the Office Suite products on my own, because it was there and I figured it would be good to know more in case I wanted to apply for a promotion or look elsewhere for work. When things were slow, my direct supervisor in my last work area even let me work the modules while I was on the clock, because it could be justified as a responsible use of my time.

I recognize that people see me as silly for having an English major. But, I am smart enough to know how to market the skills that I do have--as you mentioned, writing, research, effective communication. I'd love to get into technical writing... but by the time it's feasible for me to return to work, I don't know that I'll still want to do that.