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I feel for any new college grads. It is hard enough not having any experience but throw on top a poor economy and you have got it bad.
But, all is not lost if you really don't want to move. It all depends on how much your are willing to put into your job search and how much you are willing to sacrifice.
IMHO, The best way to find a job is word of mouth or having friends/family working in your particular industry. Short of that you have to start thinking long term. You have 40 years ahead of you. Don't worry about taking that ^&%^ job if it gets your foot in the door and gets you a little experience for a year or two.
Don't try to make the big bucks right out of school either. Just because someone says the going rate is X amount for a college grad means you are going to get it here in Michigan. Forget about money and hours, and the idiots you will have to work for. You only goal is to get in the door and get that 1-2 years in. Then take your time job searching and go for the bucks or better job. Heck, even if its a part time/intern job go for it and supplement with additional part time work.
I have been in your shoes and ended up having to move because I was after money and might of short changed myself in the long run.
My sister graduated from MSU when she was 24 with a degree in Construction Management. She took a job as an estimator and was treated like dirt for a couple of years. She called herself a secretary and hated every minute of it. But she bit her toungue and changed jobs whent the time was right. Now she is 32 and makes over 6 figures as a construction project manager.
I know this sounds strange but you have to give up something to get a job sometimes. If you don't want to move out of state then other things may need to be given up.
Some job search ideas (short of moving or family/friends network):
Foot work. I have worked with people that would actually walk into a company with their resumes and hand them over.
Internet. Google companies in your area that are associated with your area of study. Look for contact/email info and cold contact them with a nice cover letter and resume. I have had success with this in the past. I have even driven around and looked for companies to reseach when i got home.
Local papers. Don't just look in the detroit free press etc. Check out the observer or local city papers online.
Job boards. Lots of industries have forums/blogs where other industry proffesionals gather to share information. Sometimes there are forums just for job postings.
Monster/careerbuilder etc. I have had some success. It is good to leave your resume posted because some employers do not post their jobs but will search resumes for potential people to interview. (There are lots of sight so you might be better off using road runner or some other service that posts your resume to all of them for a fee. Hard to manage though if you want to update/change anything.)
School. Lots of school have their own job search sights. My school actually works with Monster.com but some others have their own where jobs are posted.
These are just a few and are great ways to find a job regardless of the economy. Maybe others have some better suggestions for job searching.
reading this thread worries me. i have known for a long time that michigan's economy is in the dumps. but now i am really feeling it. i have been looking for a job for months, with no luck.
i just graduated from MSU and i can't even get a job as a waitress. so, what would you all tell a 23-year-old college grad to do? should i pack up and leave?
what was that saying from the 80s, "would the last one out of michigan please turn out the lights?"
Your waiting behind 10's of thousands of displaced factory/manufacturing workers, come back in 2020 when the state is up for sale. But thats just it...you cant expect your resume to mean anything when the state is focused on rebuilding something that will never be again. Take your degree and new ideas south....and start your life. Peace and good luck
Sociologist, I think you're right. All the displaced are flooding other industries, especially service jobs, it seems. I'm at the bottom of the pile. I think I could find somewhere else where I'd have more a fighting chance, and where my degrees and resume will get me farther. Especially now, when I don't have a house, kids, husband, etc. It's pretty much just me, though leaving family and friends behind will be extremely hard.
When you say south, is it really that vague or are there more specific areas? Do you think Michigan will ever come back? I bet it won't be for at least 10 years, because of all the damage. And who knows who'll be crazy enough run for governor next time.
I'm with "CKSH". Anything is possible if you are willing to go to the trouble. There are several expansions going on right now within the west MI area. The ones with the initiative will be the ones to get hired. I'm amazed with as much unemployment there is out there, how hard it still is to find good employees. Or...maybe it's just that no one really wants the entry level positions. Hang it there....it's really NOT all gloom and doom!
I appreciate that there are some jobs out there, but I have been searching and I haven't had any luck. I, like many recent grads, did go to the trouble. I have tried all over the state, but the jobs really are nothing I want to do, and have nothing to do with my degrees. I graduated with Spanish and sociology, as well as a great deal of professional journalism experience. Now some may ask me why I went so liberally, didn't I know that going into technology or science would ensure me better employment? Yeah, I know there are little to no opportunities for what I went to school for here in MI, but being young, I never felt tied to Michigan, so I decided to go for what I wanted to do, and hopefully find something somewhere. Now, I am having trouble finding a job to afford my moving expenses and having a difficult time deciding whether to leave my friends, family and long-term boyfriend behind. If I found a great job here, I'd stay. But searching here is proving more difficult than searching elsewhere.
So, am I supposed to forget all my training from the past five years and take a job filing papers and taking messages and dictation? Should I be a customer service rep at Art Van, sitting in a cubicle all day taking complaints and forwarding calls? I've been an administrative assistant - earned $9 an hour doing that in high school. Data entry? Telemarketing? Please. I have done that in college to pay bills, it's horrible. I spent money to learn, to be trained in something I care about. I want to use my brain. Should I give up on what I studied and take an office job in Michigan just so I can stay here? When it's put that way, I could have skipped college, and I'd be the head of administration at the job I had in high school. Why would I take a job like that when I could move somewhere else and put my degrees to use, doing what I've been trained to do, building up my resume and my career path?
I guess I just answered my own question. No point in taking a job that requires little to no training when I'm highly qualified for something else that I would enjoy more, even if it is 1,000 miles away.
Last edited by electric_lady; 03-19-2007 at 01:27 PM..
Spanish and sociology with some journalism? What do you like to do, or what was your dream job? If you are fluent in Spanish that is a start. Lots of requirements for bilinguals these days. As an engineer I deal with our counterparts in Mexico weekly and would love to be able to speak to them easier. We have lots of Spanish speaking employees here and not just in engineering. But that might be more paper pushing then you seem to be able to live with.
You are correct. You may have answered your own questions. But! If you had experience in whatever job it is you saw yourself doing, would you be able to get a job in Michigan doing it? If no then its time to decide what is important to you. Being close to family/friends or having a career you love where you can use your degree? But to tell you the truth many people do not use their degrees to their full potential or are even working in their chosen fields of study.
What if you could get a job in Michigan doing what you love f you had some experience actually doing it? Move to a place and then move back in 5 to 10 years when you are better established.
Family is important but if you move within a couple of states then its not so bad. But if you are starting a family soon or plan too then thats a whole other set of issues to think about. IMHO its nice to be around family when you start your own. I am only a 5 hour drive away but thats a little more then a weekend trip to me.
I spent 7 years in school to get my degree at a private school and could have gotten a medical degree with the amount of money I spent on tuition. I am called an engineer but I do not feel challenged enough and do not use much of my education. You will learn more on the job and stuff they don't teach you in school. But, when I first started out I was in the trenches doing stuff I hated.
I hate to see anyone leave their family and friends but I also understand what its like to do something you hate to get by. Just remember that you are just starting out and this is the time to try different things (not neccesarily leaving the state) but maybe a career that would be interesting and more challenging than what you went to school for. For example, I have a degree in mechanical engineering, but have interviewed for a technical writing position for a software company. It was actually related since they wrote engineering software but you get the idea.
Good luck in whatever you decide. sorry for the book and mispells!
I appreciate that there are some jobs out there, but I have been searching and I haven't had any luck. I, like many recent grads, did go to the trouble. I have tried all over the state, but the jobs really are nothing I want to do, and have nothing to do with my degrees. I graduated with Spanish and sociology, as well as a great deal of professional journalism experience. Now some may ask me why I went so liberally, didn't I know that going into technology or science would ensure me better employment? Yeah, I know there are little to no opportunities for what I went to school for here in MI, but being young, I never felt tied to Michigan, so I decided to go for what I wanted to do, and hopefully find something somewhere. Now, I am having trouble finding a job to afford my moving expenses and having a difficult time deciding whether to leave my friends, family and long-term boyfriend behind. If I found a great job here, I'd stay. But searching here is proving more difficult than searching elsewhere.
So, am I supposed to forget all my training from the past five years and take a job filing papers and taking messages and dictation? Should I be a customer service rep at Art Van, sitting in a cubicle all day taking complaints and forwarding calls? I've been an administrative assistant - earned $9 an hour doing that in high school. Data entry? Telemarketing? Please. I have done that in college to pay bills, it's horrible. I spent money to learn, to be trained in something I care about. I want to use my brain. Should I give up on what I studied and take an office job in Michigan just so I can stay here? When it's put that way, I could have skipped college, and I'd be the head of administration at the job I had in high school. Why would I take a job like that when I could move somewhere else and put my degrees to use, doing what I've been trained to do, building up my resume and my career path?
I guess I just answered my own question. No point in taking a job that requires little to no training when I'm highly qualified for something else that I would enjoy more, even if it is 1,000 miles away.
It seems like with your Spanish and Sociology degree, you could work for any number of hispanic organizations. With the hispanic populations growing quite a bit in Grand Rapids and Holland, I've gotta believe there is a need either through a non-profit or for-profit employer for your skills. You just can't wait until they advertise for open positions, you have to get on the horn and call them. In addition, Grand Rapids has a hispanic newspaper called El Vocero that might use your skills. You might start out in advertising sales or something entry level, but you've got to start somewhere.
I haven't met anyone who got a job they wanted right out of college, unless they were in a very specialized degree like accounting, finance or engineering. It won't matter where you go, you'll probably find the same response with a liberal arts degree.
well, i've never been one to sit around and wait for things to happen to me. i have been looking. i will check into some of those places you talked about in GR, but i have already looked around. i wouldn't be at this board so confused if i hadn't. plus, if i am going to up and relocate (even 2.5 hours away in GR), i'd still be away from the people i care about. why not just pack up to somewhere more exciting instead?
and as far as journalism or liberal arts, i do have plenty of friends with similar backgrounds to mine, who have found employment in those fields directly after college. just not in michigan. they have gone to Texas, Wash. St., CA, CO, WI, NC, GA, FL, LA, KY ... the list goes on, so i know there's hope. Those people just took the chance that i am somewhat afraid to take.
thanks to all for your responses, but i can assure you that i have looked around.
Electric Lady,
I actually like Magellans suggestion, but since I know (better than most)
how that restless bug can dig in, I have a feeling you'll never be satisfied until you get out there and see things for yourself.
I'm going to tell you straight up though, don't go to California unless you have money. No matter what you've seen on T.V, unless your independantly wealthy, you're going to see the flip side of that once you start pricing apartments. One of my good friends moved out to Huntington Beach four months ago. She even got a decent job in her field (Hotel management). Now she's in Chicago, happy as a clam. HATES California. I tried to warn her.
California is everything you'd want it to be if you've got at least $3M.
If you're going to move to Texas, I really recommend Austin. What a great city. That said, it too is expensive, but at least there you can be three miles out and not be in gangland. Someone on this board also mentioned San Antonio, which is a real up-and-comer (beyond just the touristy riverwalk). Good Luck!
Last edited by Wabbit; 03-19-2007 at 05:27 PM..
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Go south.....for real
