[mag-nolia]

Anyone else who can't seem to make a life for themselves in CT?

I was born and raised in Litchfield County. Went to school at Quinnipiac, graduated in 2010 with a degree in Communications, and an internship under my belt from MTV.


I moved to Pennsylvania from 06/10-04/11 and since then, have not been able to find a full time, decent paying job. I'm lucky that my mother is paying bills for me, but I hate this feeling of "failure".

I have two part time jobs, but they only total about 15 hrs a week. Still sending out resumes left and right, had a few interviews here and there, but no bites.


This state is so expensive, there seems to be barely any jobs to even apply for to pay for a life here.

I'm really considering getting the heck out of here in July when my lease is up on my apartment

[Lintu]

I think it might be more linked to when you graduated than the state itself. I'm really sorry you're having such a hard time finding good opportunities

My husband graduated with a degree in Communication in Dec '04, and he was able to get his foot in the door at a marketing firm after taking a temp agency job in marketing for a little while. Have you tried something like that? What field are you looking to get into?

[Stylo]

If you have a communications degree, shouldn't you be looking for a job in marketing? There's a bunch of brands and agencies in lower Fairfield County. Get in contact with a recruiter.

The only places better for that industry in the entire US are NYC, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, etc. I'm not sure you'll find it much different in those places, and it's even harder to scrape by.

[mlassoff]

Communications degrees just aren't in demand-- and a college degree is no longer a guarantee of success. When I consider a new employee I look at it completely selfishly (I am the owner of a small company)... What can this person do to improve my bottom line.

I'd suggest you start framing your resume and interview answers in those terms. Communication majors from Quinnipiac are a dime a dozen. But if you are as communication major who can take over my email marketing and improve it-- That interests me.

This is a tough place to start out-- but not impossible. I have two employees (out of a total head count of 7) who are just out of UCONN & Fairfield. One was a Chemistry major and the other in MIS. Hope is not lost. Keep at it.

[anon860]

The problems that you face here, in terms of cost of living etc., are no worse than they will be anyplace else.

In fact, you're probably better off in CT than you are anywhere else in the country:

Study Puts Hartford-New Haven as Best Destination for College Grads - Naugatuck, CT Patch

Cut your expenses down to the bone. Live with roommates or family, or learn to live in a smaller apartment. Ditch the car - the bus system has bike racks, or you might be able to carpool. Salaries are much lower in Europe, but people do these things to save money, they don't buy houses until they are 40, they treasure their walkable cities, and after all is said and done, study after study shows that they are far happier than Americans.

Sure, it is a big adjustment, but it is kind of inevitable given increased competition for natural resources from places like Africa and Asia, whose economies are booming.

[DawnMTL]

Originally Posted by mlassoff

Communications degrees just aren't in demand-- and a college degree is no longer a guarantee of success. When I consider a new employee I look at it completely selfishly (I am the owner of a small company)... What can this person do to improve my bottom line.

I'd suggest you start framing your resume and interview answers in those terms. Communication majors from Quinnipiac are a dime a dozen. But if you are as communication major who can take over my email marketing and improve it-- That interests me.

This is a tough place to start out-- but not impossible. I have two employees (out of a total head count of 7) who are just out of UCONN & Fairfield. One was a Chemistry major and the other in MIS. Hope is not lost. Keep at it.

THIS is really good advice!

[HowGoesIt]

Originally Posted by meg31816

Anyone else who can't seem to make a life for themselves in CT?

I was born and raised in Litchfield County. Went to school at Quinnipiac, graduated in 2010 with a degree in Communications, and an internship under my belt from MTV.


I moved to Pennsylvania from 06/10-04/11 and since then, have not been able to find a full time, decent paying job. I'm lucky that my mother is paying bills for me, but I hate this feeling of "failure".

I have two part time jobs, but they only total about 15 hrs a week. Still sending out resumes left and right, had a few interviews here and there, but no bites.


This state is so expensive, there seems to be barely any jobs to even apply for to pay for a life here.

I'm really considering getting the heck out of here in July when my lease is up on my apartment

You're very lucky you have a mother that is paying your bills for you. Most kids, especially outside the northeast, don't have this luxury.

Determine what you want to do with your life. The problem is that most kids have this "I'm trying to find myself" attitude and decide to Occupy something. Typical northeast Gen Y'ers raised by spoiled Baby Boomers.

Find a job in your desired field and go from there. Be prepared to start at the bottom and work your way up.

[Uconn97]

Sorry you are having such a hard time. I agree with what Masloff said, but I will add that you may also have to make some "sacrifices" to get in the door. You aren't going to find your ideal job right out of college or even your ideal salary, but you need to start building your experience and resume as fast as you can to get to the next level.

Apply for things that you might not have considered. Even and admin job in a marketing firm can be a good start. Once you have the job you can offer up your skill set and participate on projects or volunteer for project work that might not be one of your actual responsibilities. I also graduated with a communications/marketing degree from Uconn back in 1997. My first job - which I was lucky to get - was $17,000 per year. But I was with that firm for 5 years. In the 5 years I was promoted 3 times and when I left my salary was just over $40,000. Some weeks I would work 80 hours and that’s just the way it was! It didn't matter to me much anyway because I was still single, no kids, no house so I had all this spare time anyway! Good luck!

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by Uconn97

Sorry you are having such a hard time. I agree with what Masloff said, but I will add that you may also have to make some "sacrifices" to get in the door. You aren't going to find your ideal job right out of college or even your ideal salary, but you need to start building your experience and resume as fast as you can to get to the next level.

Apply for things that you might not have considered. Even and admin job in a marketing firm can be a good start. Once you have the job you can offer up your skill set and participate on projects or volunteer for project work that might not be one of your actual responsibilities. I also graduated with a communications/marketing degree from Uconn back in 1997. My first job - which I was lucky to get - was $17,000 per year. But I was with that firm for 5 years. In the 5 years I was promoted 3 times and when I left my salary was just over $40,000. Some weeks I would work 80 hours and that’s just the way it was! It didn't matter to me much anyway because I was still single, no kids, no house so I had all this spare time anyway! Good luck!

Yep, a lot of marketing account executives start as admins, or traffic coordinators.

[mag-nolia]

I've mostly been applying for admin jobs. Even being able to pay my bills would be a plus, I'm not all that picky about what job I can get at this point.

I live in a 450 sq ft studio apartment with my two dogs. Moving in with family was not an option, hence the apartment. I tried.

I live up in the Torrington/Litchfield area, so Fairfield County is pretty tough for a commute...