By Don LeeDecember 14, 2009
Reporting from Washington - The unemployment rate dropped last month for men and women, blacks and whites, lifting hopes that the long dry spell in the jobs market may be coming to an end. But for recent college graduates and other young adults, the labor situation didn't just remain dire -- it got worse.For 20- to 24-year-olds, the jobless rate rose four-tenths of a percent to 16% in November, even as unemployment nationally slipped to 10% from 10.2%.
And data from the Labor Department show that the unemployment figure for college graduates in that age group was 10.6% in the third quarter -- the highest since early 1983 and more than double the rate for older college-educated workers.
Kyle Daley, 22, of Walnut Creek, Calif., provides a grim case study. In June, Daley graduated from UCLA, one of the country's best universities. He received a degree in political science. His grade-point average: a solid 3.5.Since January, he has applied for about 600 jobs, mostly entry-level positions such as office assistant, junior analyst and marketing associate. He has reached out to small firms and Fortune 500 companies in aerospace, entertainment, finance and government, from Alabama to Washington state.
The results: two interviews, one in person and another over the telephone, neither of which panned out. Compounding his financial bind, Daley doesn't have enough work history to qualify for jobless benefits. So he lives with his parents and gets around with mass-transit tickets from his mom.
8 comments:
YESSSSS!!!!
It's definitely a declining market!! DUH! People will "need" 3 Master degress at the rate we're spitting out graduates and selling education. Dont get me wrong I think education is important but
I hate how education is SOLD!! (and yes, Mahogany has credentials)
Here are the lies:
Being educated requires credentials from an accredited institution.
If you dont go to school you'll end up poor, with nothing.
If you go to school you should try to get into a university, as a junior college is really just an intermediary to a more formal education (then why go?).
If you attend a university make sure it's a good one (expensive).. an Ivy would be perfect.
Only idiots waste (save) money and time on online degrees, which really limit ones prospective job opportunities in half.
Everything you do requires some college education.
It's okay to have educational debt because the government and employers alike pardon these financial setbacks. (because they too are up shit creek paying on those loans)
On another note...if I thought my post was full of crap and I was in charge of hiring in any company I would only hire those who had attended schools like mine or those who went to "highly regarded institutions". Even if I took all things into consideration including experience and job training and the sort I would inevitably be restricted by laws or policies that enforce educational minimums for positions as minor (in comparison to you name it) as the "office secretary".
And also isn't it well..wise in a capitalist nation to look at things from SOME business perspective. Isn't everything a business anyway even if you are the "middle man" or the "little guy"?
Universities sell:
Education: textbooks, labs, supplies/materials,
Health: Health insurance, dental insurance, meals, snacks, immunizations
Social Aspects: Fraternities, Socials, Clubs, class settings (student:teacher ratios),
School Spirit: FOOTBALL!!!, basketball games, t-shirts, sweatshirts, banners, bumper stickers, placards, plates, hour glasses, coins!!
And if you do ANYTHING and I mean ANYTHING of any worth to the world they WILL SELL YOU. Even if you didn't graduate. Isn't that right Diddy? Check your local university alumni listing.
Strippers sell sex and strip club owners sell strippers and drinks.
People in the know follow the money trail because we all sell something.
I love O. Mahogany :).
"School Spirit: FOOTBALL!!!, basketball games, t-shirts, sweatshirts, banners, bumper stickers, placards, plates, hour glasses, coins!!
And if you do ANYTHING and I mean ANYTHING of any worth to the world they WILL SELL YOU. Even if you didn't graduate. Isn't that right Diddy? Check your local university alumni listing."
That is the truth. Tiger/Stanford. Bush/USC....etc., etc.
A brotha with a degree in political science?
Oh hell no, the big corporate firms ain't likely to hire him. Unless he plans to follow up with a law degree, he's screwed. It's a damn shame.
The thing I've been wondering about re: law degrees anyway, is what will happen to them if/when the US merges into the North American Union in response to the US dollar utterly collapsing?
Theoretically we could have a new President, new Constitution, and enough gouging out of old laws substituted with new laws to make the average attorney and accountant nuts.
I really am a fan of higher learning for those who love learning, as you've figured out by now, DV, but if ever there was a time for people to choose very carefully, it's now. It's not just hitting black folks. I know a white blogger who has enough degrees to work for NASA, but spent over 20 years working for a corporation that paid more. I'm not sure if he got laid off or what, but he's studying to be an EMT now, which is something a high school grad can do.
ALL JOBS ARE ENDANGERED SPECIES.
If you have a job there is someone sitting in a conference room right now trying to figure out how to get rid of your ass.
Employing people full time is a dying business model.
Higher education is going to have to prepare people to sell their skills, their ingenuity, their ideas... their .. uh uhm ... MEMES ... on the open marketplace.
Damn, you gonna give me nightmares.
A degree in Political Science! No shit.....Why the f**k will you spend 4yrs and that money getting a degree in political science.
"A degree in Political Science! No shit.....Why the f**k will you spend 4yrs and that money getting a degree in political science."
For which degree would you spend 4yrs and all that money?
Post a Comment