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More excuses....the dog ate my homework, it was HER fault...I had NO idea....excuses, excuses, excuses. MY degree...PLEASE every friggin buddy in the last 25 years has a degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice (let me guess...yours is one if not both!)
Our daughter, who graduated U of Hawaii in 2000 has both above (OH VEY!) and after working for MCI managed to get onto the Toyota plant in S Texas and has worked her way up 6 promotions now....makes GREAT money with a GREAT employeer and GREAT benefits.
again, there are those that watch what happens, those that MAKE it happen, and then those that stand around scratching their butts wondering "WHAT just happened"!!?!?!?!? YOU and ONLY you decide which line you are content to stand in!
People aren't born equal. Not everyone has the same opportunities. Making things happen can yield varying types of success for reasons not always fully/completely controllable. Hard work is almost uniformly necessary for success, but many "without success" work just as hard or harder.
the "managed to get into insert" is vague. Not that you have to elaborate. I'm just saying... my cousin started (and now quit) his first grad job not because of all the hard work he HAD put in school, internships, or networking, but because his friend from elementary started a company. He WILL be getting his next job because my cousin is a semi-big wig in his technology industry.
OR...Example of some poor kid part of the program I was working on before I got laid off 2 weeks ago. She was born in a third world country, suffered child abuse (all kinds), ended up here illegally (sex trade), lost her mother and father, was later raped, and suffers from bi-polar disorder. She also isn't particular smart. She is lacking education and doesn't seem sharp at. She was dealt **** her whole life. If she wants "success" she have to work a thousand time harder than me, or probably anyone you or I know.
MAKE IT HAPPEN DOESN'T MEAN IT HAPPENS.
...responded because my Criminal justice pride compelled me to...
I don't even see how this is relevant to my response to someone else. Obviously, your daughter didn't land a 6-figure job at an energy company shortly after graduation. Your daughter also didn't graduate during the Great Recession.
No, and she does not have a 6 figure job now...but she does do quite nicely thank you! The point is she had to THINK OUTSIDE HER BOX in order to do this! She took a job that had NOTHING to do with her degrees because a great job with great benefits was more important than her degree fields.
Her brother what a HS diploma makes more money than she does, but he works VERY hard in difficult weather conditions, outside, 24 hours per day. It works for him, like he said, he will do this as long as he can, while still a young, unattached buck and squirrel away the money, and when he decided to go to college, he will have SOME direction in what he wants to do with his live in the way of formal education and studies to better position himself. We are proud of both of them, because the look at what is out there, and decide, hey, I can have it my way or I can have what I want...which is more important.
I've applied to jobs that had nothing to do with my degree fields and mostly only got called in for interviews for jobs that were related.
I've applied to jobs that had nothing to do with my degree fields and mostly only got called in for interviews for jobs that were related.
What is your degree in? Sorry if you mentioned it before, but I did not read through the entire thread. My bachelor's degree is in political science with an emphasis in economics and I'm currently working in supply chain management. My first job was as a Warehouse/Operations Manager with a F500 company. I'm currently working in procurement/logistics for an IT solutions provider.
I know someone that started from the ground up at McD...proved himself as worthy, was sent to "Hamburger U" (no SERIOUSLY IT DOES EXIST!) and is now making GREAT money as a district manager....there is the "key"....he started there and PROVED himself worthy...something many are not willing to do!
Hamburger U is near my house...I always wanted to visit and apply.
People aren't born equal. Not everyone has the same opportunities. Making things happen can yield varying types of success for reasons not always fully/completely controllable. Hard work is almost uniformly necessary for success, but many "without success" work just as hard or harder.
the "managed to get into insert" is vague. Not that you have to elaborate. I'm just saying... my cousin started (and now quit) his first grad job not because of all the hard work he HAD put in school, internships, or networking, but because his friend from elementary started a company. He WILL be getting his next job because my cousin is a semi-big wig in his technology industry.
OR...Example of some poor kid part of the program I was working on before I got laid off 2 weeks ago. She was born in a third world country, suffered child abuse (all kinds), ended up here illegally (sex trade), lost her mother and father, was later raped, and suffers from bi-polar disorder. She also isn't particular smart. She is lacking education and doesn't seem sharp at. She was dealt **** her whole life. If she wants "success" she have to work a thousand time harder than me, or probably anyone you or I know.
MAKE IT HAPPEN DOESN'T MEAN IT HAPPENS.
...responded because my Criminal justice pride compelled me to...
You bring up some valid points. It is true that we all start out at different starting points in life. The whole "buck up, put your head down, and get to work" advice is often given with good intentions, but is also misguided.
I did not, by any means, grow up under the circumstances as the girl you described. However, I did grow up in a low income family in Metro Detroit amid the great economic struggle of the past three decades or so. I did not have many competitive advantages in my early life. No one in my family attended college. My parents were raising a family of six on less than $45k/yr. I ended up being the first in my family to attend and graduate from college (a good one at that; top-25 nationally). Through a combination of hard work, intellect, external help, and luck, I was able to achieve a lot of things that my wealthier, much better off peers were able to achieve. In comparison to some, I ended up better off.
The point here is that it is true that we don't all start out with the same advantages. Some do have to work harder. So will have more luck than others in life. Some are smarter. That said, it doesn't mean we should all just give up on our goals and dreams because we feel that the wall is too high to climb. Even when someone tries to tell you that you aren't good enough or that you aren't smart enough, forget them. Tom Brady, the Super Bowl winning QB for the New England Patriots, is now laughing at all those who thought he wasn't worth any more than a 6th round draft pick. He told Patriots' owner Robert Kraft soon after that, "I am the best decision the Patriots have ever made". Through his hard work and determination not to be what he was projected to be by the so-called "experts", I think he proved himself right.
What is your degree in? Sorry if you mentioned it before, but I did not read through the entire thread. My bachelor's degree is in political science with an emphasis in economics and I'm currently working in supply chain management. My first job was as a Warehouse/Operations Manager with a F500 company. I'm currently working in procurement/logistics for an IT solutions provider.
Social Science with an emphasis on psychology and criminal justice. Almost all of my interviews have been for security, social services, substance abuse counseling, and various criminal justice jobs. I work in a criminal justice job now. If I do get a response from the non-related jobs I've applied to, it's usually in an email that says something like, "Thank you for your interest in this position. Unfortunately, we have decided to move forward with other candidates whose qualifications more closely match our needs." Usually, these are jobs that require a bachelor's in anything (or equivalent experience) and generic customer contact.
I've heard an idea floated around that we should LOWER the social security age to 55 yrs old, which could get many older people out of the job market and make room for younger people who need jobs. With all the talk of increasing the social security retirement age, to me this is good, "out of the box" type of thinking that we might need to explore.
It's an employers' market out there and many employees are willing to work for peanuts. So if you have many desperate older workers with a lifetime's worth of experience who will accept almost any salary or wage, why would you hire a younger person when you could hire an older person for the same price? If we experimented with lowering the social security age (and also stop the silly practice of only taking social security from the 1st $100,000 of wages) I think we could go a long way to start solving our employment and economic problems in this country.
But it's a new type of thinking and we are so averse to any sort of new way of thinking that I doubt this would ever happen. As a society, we'd rather smash our heads against the same wall for decades and hope this time will be different. Surprise surprise, it never is.
I've heard an idea floated around that we should LOWER the social security age to 55 yrs old, which could get many older people out of the job market and make room for younger people who need jobs. With all the talk of increasing the social security retirement age, to me this is good, "out of the box" type of thinking that we might need to explore.
It's an employers' market out there and many employees are willing to work for peanuts. So if you have many desperate older workers with a lifetime's worth of experience who will accept almost any salary or wage, why would you hire a younger person when you could hire an older person for the same price? If we experimented with lowering the social security age (and also stop the silly practice of only taking social security from the 1st $100,000 of wages) I think we could go a long way to start solving our employment and economic problems in this country.
But it's a new type of thinking and we are so averse to any sort of new way of thinking that I doubt this would ever happen. As a society, we'd rather smash our heads against the same wall for decades and hope this time will be different. Surprise surprise, it never is.
Well, LOWERING the social security retirement age is a novel idea, as well as a welcome change from the old vs young civil war which has sprung up in this thread.
But even if the tea party contingent in congress woke up one day and decided to atone for its sins, I still don't think the social security thing would work. Older workers who take low paying jobs out of desperation probably have dipped into their savings and retirement funds in order to pay their bills. An older person with experience and skills is not going to start out their job hunt by applying at McDonald's. They're much more likely to send out resumes for jobs appropriate to their years of experience. It's only when they've tried every option and run out of personal resources that they'll start applying for some low paying job.
Even with an injection of cash from social security, they still may not be able to afford to retire because social security just doesn't pay enough to live on. You need to have a retirement fund of your own and/or personal savings stashed away somewhere, and if you've you deplete these funds, then you've screwed the pooch.
Same thing as in good economic times - a person who has maintained full employment up to age 55, stashed money away for their "golden years," etc would still most likely need the added years of employment up to age 65 and even beyond to be able to afford to retire.
A more productive response would be to figure out a way to add more jobs, rather than ways to end up with fewer workers.
The epidemic of 60 year-olds taking entry level jobs is imaginary. Agree that employers want the most bang for their buck - who wouldn't? So employers aren't going to hire people who will cost more on the company health insurance plan, may lack in computer skills and the use of the latest technologies, are stuck in their ways and unwilling to leave their comfort zone to learn new things. Whether right or wrong, that's how many people perceive someone who is 55 or 60 years old.
Employers are far more likely to give the 20 something's job to a 30 something or a 40 something than they are to hire grandma.
Social Science with an emphasis on psychology and criminal justice. Almost all of my interviews have been for security, social services, substance abuse counseling, and various criminal justice jobs. I work in a criminal justice job now. If I do get a response from the non-related jobs I've applied to, it's usually in an email that says something like, "Thank you for your interest in this position. Unfortunately, we have decided to move forward with other candidates whose qualifications more closely match our needs." Usually, these are jobs that require a bachelor's in anything (or equivalent experience) and generic customer contact.
Interesting. I wish I could tell you the solution, but unfortunately, as I'm sure you know, there is no absolute formula to follow in job hunting. I'd suggest reaching out to some local headhunters and see if they can help you out. It could be the way your resume or cover letter is written out.
The job market is generally tough. I received a couple notifications two weeks ago that my resume was being forwarded on to the next person for review, so it got me sort of excited. I haven't heard from anyone since.
Keep at it though. It took me about 4 months to land the job I have now and I was employed for three years with my previous company at that point. It's just tough and you have to be persistent at the very least.
They hire a lot of older guys in my occupation. Part of that is due to young folks loosing interest in honest paying careers. I believe young folks are much pickier about which careers they pursue than previous generations, where you worked for whoever was offering a job. In many trades, there is a marked "greying" of the workforce, and no one stepping up to take their place.
Of course, if we did hire someone young, we would have to listen to the complaining about actually having to work for a living, low entry level wages, and other facts of life. That's what happens when the parents make their kid's couch too comfy.
Crap and if you are a senior you should know better.
Younger generation is picky because they know skills are no longer transferable. It's harder nowadays to jump from one industry to another because many recruiters require relevant work experience.
They whine because employers give them menial jobs (like reporting) and UNDERPAY them. The average entry level job for recent grads is 30K-40K. That is downright garbage and robbery. Everyone knows this.
To make matters worse, since many of the baby boomers don't know how to save their money, a lot of them are not retiring. Therefore the younger generation find themselves locked in a dead end jobs low paying jobs.
That is why you hear words like lost generation, earning potential decrease, etc.
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She was born in a third world country, suffered child abuse (all kinds), ended up here illegally (sex trade), lost her mother and father, was later raped, and suffers from bi-polar disorder. She also isn't particular smart. She is lacking education and doesn't seem sharp at. She was dealt **** her whole life. If she wants "success" she have to work a thousand time harder than me, or probably anyone you or I know. 
