Job market, any positives? (Chicago, Ava: construction, bill, design)

[MannheimMadman]

Originally Posted by MassVt

However, in today's market, it is both unfortunate and foolish to major in English, have little in the way of job prospects, and owe $100K in loans and other debts. Have some sort of post-college plan in place, or simply attend a state university, and avoid the high-tuition bracket. No one should be saddled with six-figure debts just out of school, debts that could take decades to pay off.

Welcome to my life.

Although, at one time, I had a grandiose vision of being a teacher. That's how I ended up with this worthless piece of paper known as an Illinois Type-09 Teaching Certificate.

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by MannheimMadman

Welcome to my life.

Although, at one time, I had a grandiose vision of being a teacher. That's how I ended up with this worthless piece of paper known as an Illinois Type-09 Teaching Certificate.

I'd say that you had a plan in mind..

I would also keep that Illinois Teaching Certificate, and keep it updated; that could really come in handy some day..

If someone really had a passion for History or English, and wanted to pursue a degree in it, then he should really consider a less-expensive school, and prepare himself for what will be a more difficult employment search; the days of majoring in the Liberal Arts and entering some sort of "management-training" program at a prestigious company are long-gone (unless you're an Ivy graduate); I guess I would think about some sort of internship between semesters in order to make some real-world contacts..

[jamaicabound60565]

Originally Posted by eureka1

Have to disagree about the "uselessness" of a liberal arts degree. Assuming the program was fairly rigorous,the graduate will have a solid grounding in the basics of Western civilization and history,be literate, and have developed analytical and critical thinking skills. Good prep for law school,PhD programs, teaching MA's,whatever. If you DON'T want a liberal education and just want to earn a living, (or if you HAVE a BA/S and aren't finding work) go to ITT or some technical school. Or culinary school. Or get into a Union apprentice program. The skills you developed in college will come in handy the rest of your life.

I think too much emphasis is put on 4 year college degrees, unless you go for something specific or plan on using your liberal arts ba to go on to other programs your actually probably better off learning a skill. A heating/ac guy is going to make more entry level than a person with a lib arts degree getting an office/bus job.

Liberal arts degrees arent useless, alot of companies wont even interview you without a degree so that piece of paper opens a door for you but if you didnt go for finance, teaching etc you have no specific skill set.

Looking back I wish I had gone into teaching. I always heard teachers dont make any money so decided to go into business instead but friends and family who just started teaching are making 10k more than me as a base and then make like 7k for every sport they coach plus have summers off when they can sit around doing nothing or tutor or get a pt job.

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by nikitakolata

While I totally understand your point, I think that your case is more of an exception than the rule. I don't have an English degree but regardless, I am one of the best writers I know. I'm not saying my writing is perfect, so let's not pick it apart... I don't remember anything about grammar rules anymore. I'm just saying that being literate and well-spoken could just be some of your natural skills, most of the people I know did not significantly improve their speaking or writing abilities based on our college courses.

I do think Bardot has some reason to feel misled. I know that when I was applying to college, we heard constantly about there being a need for teachers. I had a lot of friends go into education as a result. What they didn't tell us, is that the need for teachers is in Mississippi, the south side of Chicago, and even then it's only if you want to teach math or science. I know several people who feel like they wasted their time majoring in liberal arts and getting teaching certificates.

That said, I don't think getting a bachelor's degree is useless at all, particularly not if you get one in the right subject. I think the problem is that what degrees will be useful/useless are not well communicated to students when they're selecting a major in high school. Sure, there ARE jobs for people with degrees in linguistics, but they are few and far between. There are tons more jobs for those who majored in accounting, finance, computer science, and engineering. The curriculum is harder (maybe), but it applies to the work world in a much more direct way that employers tend to appreciate.

At the end of the day, all I know is that I have a bachelors degree and I have zero intention of ever going back to school. Been there, done that. However, I am lucky that I went into a field that has a lot of employer demand (finance) and if I were to get another degree now, it would only be so I could put some cool letters after my name and not at all a necessity for promotion.

What would be great is if someone was more clearly communicating with young people about to enter college about what fields truly have demand and which ones really just don't; at least that's been my observation.

This post captures the sentiment of the problem very well

You do have a flair for writing clear, concise paragraphs, and making distinct points...

[MannheimMadman]

Originally Posted by jamaicabound60565

I think too much emphasis is put on 4 year college degrees, unless you go for something specific or plan on using your liberal arts ba to go on to other programs your actually probably better off learning a skill. A heating/ac guy is going to make more entry level than a person with a lib arts degree getting an office/bus job.

Liberal arts degrees arent useless, alot of companies wont even interview you without a degree so that piece of paper opens a door for you but if you didnt go for finance, teaching etc you have no specific skill set.

Looking back I wish I had gone into teaching. I always heard teachers dont make any money so decided to go into business instead but friends and family who just started teaching are making 10k more than me as a base and then make like 7k for every sport they coach plus have summers off when they can sit around doing nothing or tutor or get a pt job.

In an ideal, utopian world I saw through my rose colored glasses, the private school who pandered to me was excellent at bending the truth. They told me that I would have no problem finding a job upon graduation; as a matter of fact, I could easily work for CPS with a starting salary of 45K!

I was absolutely smitten. It was my own fault (albeit, as a young adult) that I didn't bother to research these claims. Little did I know that history and English teachers are dime a dozen. And I certainly didn't foresee the massive layoffs in education that are happening right now.

However, in the end, I am satisfied. I am getting experience in supply chain management and production planning as well as getting my APICS certification underway. The important thing is to not wallow; if you constantly learn new things and find ways to reinvent yourself, you may find success.

[hxcobd]

Originally Posted by MannheimMadman

The important thing is to not wallow; if you constantly learn new things and find ways to reinvent yourself, you may find success.

Truest statement in this entire thread.

Once you've gotten the "piece of paper," in my eyes, it's all about keeping up with your field, staying knowledgable and therefore desirable.

There's a reason why I continue to learn and practice coding/programming languages long after I graduated and even while I already have a steady job. Always have to stay ahead of the curve, even if it eats out of your personal time.

Cleverly bending your experiences, achievements, and knowledge to fit together all puzzle-like on your resume is an incredibly important ability. It's remarkable how few people seem to realize this and just throw everything on one with no regard for consistency or in regards to actual ability.

I don't predict the job market or economy getting vastly better in the foreseeable future. Additionally, college grads are going to keep pouring out, even while very few jobs are being created.

You best do what I do and bust your ass to stay desirable!

[charbo]

Originally Posted by Bardot

I posted this in a similar thread but I think the bottom line is... Liberal Arts degrees are completely useless in today's economy. I really wish someone had told me that 5 years ago, it would have saved both my family and I a lot of money and debt.

Hey Bardot, if it makes you feel better I got an elite science degree from the most prestigious tech university in the country...and then in the 2000s was progressively chucked out of that profession as more and more programming jobs got sent to India and as more Indians were imported into America to work for minimal pay. I wondered to myself before this recession why I wasted time and effort getting that knowledge when I could have gotten a liberal arts degree, had way more fun and wound up instead with an MBA or working on Wall Street.

The bottomline is this, our government and big corporations have sold out America and this is the end result we are witnessing right now.

[jamaicabound60565]

Originally Posted by MannheimMadman

In an ideal, utopian world I saw through my rose colored glasses, the private school who pandered to me was excellent at bending the truth. They told me that I would have no problem finding a job upon graduation; as a matter of fact, I could easily work for CPS with a starting salary of 45K!

I was absolutely smitten. It was my own fault (albeit, as a young adult) that I didn't bother to research these claims. Little did I know that history and English teachers are dime a dozen. And I certainly didn't foresee the massive layoffs in education that are happening right now.

However, in the end, I am satisfied. I am getting experience in supply chain management and production planning as well as getting my APICS certification underway. The important thing is to not wallow; if you constantly learn new things and find ways to reinvent yourself, you may find success.

Good point, I have a few friends who wanted to become history teachers because they wanted to get into teaching and had an interest in history. Like English, history teachers are a dime a dozen.

If your going to go into teaching Math, Science and special ed will pretty much gurantee you can find a job.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by jamaicabound60565

Good point, I have a few friends who wanted to become history teachers because they wanted to get into teaching and had an interest in history. Like English, history teachers are a dime a dozen.

If your going to go into teaching Math, Science and special ed will pretty much gurantee you can find a job.

Just not this year.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by jamaicabound60565

Good point, I have a few friends who wanted to become history teachers because they wanted to get into teaching and had an interest in history. Like English, history teachers are a dime a dozen.

If your going to go into teaching Math, Science and special ed will pretty much gurantee you can find a job.

Math, science and special ed are no longer a guarantee, but they certainly help. Getting special ed certification is exactly what my sister did when she graduated with her history degree and teaching certifications to find there were no jobs 3 years ago. She has a steady teaching job now and actually, I think she likes it quite a bit even though it's not what she originally envisioned herself doing.

Most districts in the Chicago area don't seem to be doing much or any hiring right now, but due to state mandates they are required to have a certain number of special ed teachers. So, even though my sister is a new teacher and her district was/is doing cuts, her position is actually secure, which is great for her.