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I have a Bachelor's degree in journalism and graduated in 2007. Since then I have been doing many different kinds of jobs, mostly temp. I have been a paralegal (the job ad said they would provide training, however I got no training and it's a very precise job), a bag checker at a college, a telemarketer, a tutor, a caretaker at a home for the mentally disabled, a substitute teacher (I'm trying to renew my sub license but principals don't want to give nominations anymore), a canvasser (handed out election literature to voters during election time), a holiday retail worker, and most recently, a tutor/teacher at an after-school program for 15 hours a week, where I was a temporary floater. None of these jobs provided benefits or decent income.
I would like to find a job that pays well for entry-level (over $24k/year) and has benefits like vacation time, sick time, etc. I see company websites that say they offer all that stuff, but they're very competitive to get into. Maybe having a liberal arts degree hurt me in regards to getting competitive jobs, i don't know.
Right now I'm getting my masters in elementary education, I really enjoy teaching kids and working with them. I want to teach grades k-8.
Has anyone here had stable work with a good salary since leaving college? How did you obtain it? What field is it in?
Unless you land some type of banking or consulting job straight out of undergrad, chances are you're going to be making less than a $50K entry level salary. There are countless grads with newly minted degrees making $30K - $40K and just trying to survive in the city. The key is staying in that first job for at least a couple of years and proving yourself. If you can demonstrate that you can bring in money or manage a process, chances are you will get promoted after a couple of years, and if you don't, you can often demand a 20% increase on your second job out of school.
Having a liberal arts degree shouldn't hurt you if you're good. There are plenty of people with liberal arts degrees making six figure salaries in NYC. Here are some examples of six figure professions where people sometimes just have a liberal arts degree:
Advertising Account Director
Management Consultant
IT Consultant
HR Director
Marketing Director
PR Director
Pharmaceutical or Tech Sales Rep
Head Hunter
Project Manager
and many more fields. Jobs are either analytical/technical based or functional/communication based. Liberal arts people tend to be better at the latter. The key is sticking to one thing and gaining progressive experience. Jack of all trades and master of none is never effective in building your income. You have to have a specialized body of knowledge.
Quote:
Originally Posted by butterfly95
I have a Bachelor's degree in journalism and graduated in 2007. Since then I have been doing many different kinds of jobs, mostly temp. I have been a paralegal (the job ad said they would provide training, however I got no training and it's a very precise job), a bag checker at a college, a telemarketer, a tutor, a caretaker at a home for the mentally disabled, a substitute teacher (I'm trying to renew my sub license but principals don't want to give nominations anymore), a canvasser (handed out election literature to voters during election time), a holiday retail worker, and most recently, a tutor/teacher at an after-school program for 15 hours a week, where I was a temporary floater. None of these jobs provided benefits or decent income.
I would like to find a job that pays well for entry-level (over $24k/year) and has benefits like vacation time, sick time, etc. I see company websites that say they offer all that stuff, but they're very competitive to get into. Maybe having a liberal arts degree hurt me in regards to getting competitive jobs, i don't know.
Right now I'm getting my masters in elementary education, I really enjoy teaching kids and working with them. I want to teach grades k-8.
Has anyone here had stable work with a good salary since leaving college? How did you obtain it? What field is it in?
I'm a bit confused by your post. You are unhappy with not making much money, yet there's no implication that you ever sought work related to your major, and are now getting another degree in a field which I believe isn't very well paid. I'm guessing that you're not job-hunting in the best way.
I'm a bit confused by your post. You are unhappy with not making much money, yet there's no implication that you ever sought work related to your major, and are now getting another degree in a field which I believe isn't very well paid. I'm guessing that you're not job-hunting in the best way.
I'm not the OP but I heard it's difficult to find jobs in the journalism field because nowadays so much info is on the web.
As far as becoming a teacher, teacher's in NYC start out at around 60K which isn't rich but it's decent if you're single w/no kids, little debt, and don't live in the city.
OP I got a low paying job out of college (30's) working at a non profit but I didn't go into the career field I intended to due to some setbacks.
As far as becoming a teacher, teacher's in NYC start out at around 60K which isn't rich but it's decent if you're single w/no kids, little debt, and don't live in the city....
Teachers in NYC do not start anywhere near 60K. Don't know where you heard that but it simply is not true.The starting salary is about 45,000 which is quite a bit less than 60,000.Only with a masters degree and 7 years teaching does one hit the 60,000 salary level. http://www.uft.org/our-rights/salary-schedules/teachers
Additionally,there have been almost no hirings in the NYC system in the last 2 years and the city is about to lay off approximately 6,000 teachers ,so there is not likely to be any hiring at all in the next few years.Any positions that become vacant in the next few years will likely go those who will be laid off at the end of this year.
I wouldn't encourage anyone to expect or hang around waiting for a NYC teaching job.
Elite jobs in New York are mainly found through internships. Some companies hire entry level people straight out of college, but they usually recruit directly at top campuses. They don't advertise on Monster or Craigslist.
If you really want a top job in New York, you have to do your research, make a plan, and then really work it. People rarely stumble into cool jobs anymore, like you can elsewhere. It used to be like that, back in the 70s and 80s, but the city is too competitive for that anymore.
By the way, journalism is one of the most difficult fields in the city. It's much easier to get a job on Wall Street than to become a paid journalist. Why? Because most finance jobs are stupendously boring. No one would do them if they weren't paid very, very well. On the other hand, in journalism you're paid to be somewhat creative, intellectual, and have an impact (and maybe even be a celebrity). It's a dream job for almost any liberal arts major. That's why it's so competitive and many people are willing to do it for free.
Teachers in NYC do not start anywhere near 60K. Don't know where you heard that but it simply is not true.The starting salary is about 45,000 which is quite a bit less than 60,000.Only with a masters degree and 7 years teaching does one hit the 60,000 salary level. NYC Teachers Salary Schedule | United Federation of Teachers
Additionally,there have been almost no hirings in the NYC system in the last 2 years and the city is about to lay off approximately 6,000 teachers ,so there is not likely to be any hiring at all in the next few years.Any positions that become vacant in the next few years will likely go those who will be laid off at the end of this year.
I wouldn't encourage anyone to expect or hang around waiting for a NYC teaching job.
I read that on the nyc teaching fellows website.
This is what I found at the NYC teaching fellow's website. For someone with just a bachelors they start at $43K then with a masters you start at around 55K.
NYCTF - What is the Fellowship - Salary & Benefits (http://www.nyctf.org/the_fellowship/salary.html - broken link)
I spoke with someone this week who told me that NYC just hired 5,000 more teachers.
As far as education, there is still demand for special education, ESL, occupational therapy, and speech therapy -- you could still work with kids as an OT or a ST but could also work with adults/ elderly. Physical therapy too might work, where you could also work with SE students. If I were to go back to school it would be either for speech therapy or OT.
If you're going to the money/ effort of getting a teaching degree make sure it is in a specialized field (i.e. special ed, literacy specialist) or just switch to OT or ST.
Re hershey's comment about not living in the city, I though NYC teachers had to live within city limits? I could be wrong. With seniority and in special ed salaries approach 100k but I think starting salary is closer to 30k?
It's much easier to get a job on Wall Street than to become a paid journalist. Why? Because most finance jobs are stupendously boring.
Nearly all financial administrative jobs are beyond boring. However there are some junior level jobs in finance (not alot) that are fun and high-stress because they're only 10% or less admin. Yes, I said fun and high-stress in the same sentence. These kind of jobs aren't easy to find. (Some folks actually like the challenge of the possibly o thriving in the middle of high-stress. I know I did when I was 24)
As far as education, there is still demand for special education, ESL, occupational therapy, and speech therapy -- you could still work with kids as an OT or a ST but could also work with adults/ elderly. Physical therapy too might work, where you could also work with SE students. If I were to go back to school it would be either for speech therapy or OT.
If you're going to the money/ effort of getting a teaching degree make sure it is in a specialized field (i.e. special ed, literacy specialist) or just switch to OT or ST.
Re hershey's comment about not living in the city, I though NYC teachers had to live within city limits? I could be wrong. With seniority and in special ed salaries approach 100k but I think starting salary is closer to 30k?
Sorry I meant that if you want to live on that salary living in the other boroughs would be better than living in manhattan.
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Teachers in NYC do not start anywhere near 60K. Don't know where you heard that but it simply is not true.The starting salary is about 45,000 which is quite a bit less than 60,000.Only with a masters degree and 7 years teaching does one hit the 60,000 salary level.
