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I’ll be pretty frank here: it couldn’t be a worse time to be a college graduate. Student debt, unemployment, and the misunderstood monstrosity of underemployment are taking millennials down in significant numbers that has led to our being referred to as “The Lost Generation.” When I look around at my good friends and brothers I graduated with, very few had “real” jobs out of college. I mean, sure, a couple had the practical engineering and accounting degrees that led to meaningful employment, but dozens struggled to find their place in this incredibly competitive job market for college graduates while others piled on more debt to head off to graduate school in hopes of delaying the real world.
While graduating college is an accomplishment, it also leads to incredible amounts of anxiety. How am I going to pay off the student loans? How will I look to my friends and family? These are the questions many find themselves asking as they begin their journey into adulthood.
I graduated college a year ago December with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. I had an absolutely incredible college experience where I was involved in Greek Life and College Republicans, while working as a campus tour guide on the side. I absolutely loved everything about my college experience and wouldn’t trade it for the world. I was also incredibly fortunate to finish college debt free due to a combination of scholarships, my parent’s generosity (for which I’m eternally grateful), and affordable in-state tuition, something that my home state of Florida is noted for.
On the flip side, I had just reluctantly accepted my first “job” at a call center for a measly wage and had recently endured a breakup in a long term relationship, shattering much of my confidence at the time. It was a tough time for me, I constantly compared myself to friends and siblings who were doing better than myself and honestly, I got really down on myself. Working in a call center was a particularly miserable experience, I still have nightmares about my first week on the job when I had 75 calls in “queue” while I was harassed by some self-righteous baby boomer. I was able to pay rent and put away pennies, but overall, life was rough.
During this time period, I found some sort of second wind to make things better. One thing I realized during this dark time period, was that unfortunately, my college degree made me average. Nothing more, nothing less. I learned that what was more important than my degree was my ability to market myself to employers and set myself apart. I applied for hundreds of jobs, attended networking events, and even emailed resumes to aunts and uncles who I had developed a good relationship with over the years. I was a man on a damn mission.
After approximately three months of pure misery, I had a job interview in the Washington DC area through a connection of a family member, studied the position hours upon hours before my interview and ultimately landed the job. Since this point in time, I could not have been more fortunate. I now work in college admissions in the DC area, a position that has taught me a surprising amount of professional skills (universities are businesses). In my current position, I get to travel, meet with some of our Nation’s brightest students, and perhaps best of all, I’m able to pursue my masters degree on my employer’s dime (If you’re considering graduate school, please consider working for a university). The reality of the matter is, I don’t truly deserve any of the luck I’ve had even though I’m very thankful for where life has taken me. What I am trying to get at though, is that I understand how terrible it is for much of our generation.
Many of us are graduating tens of thousands of dollars in debt, constantly comparing ourselves to our more successful peers, and trying our best to put that hard earned degree to work. While many of our elders see us as “entitled” or “privileged,” they are simply ignorant to the challenges people our age are facing. Many of our parents graduated thirty years ago, when a college education could be paid for through a part time summer job bartending and that diploma was essentially instant employment. Unfortunately, the times have changed, that’s the ugly reality.
While our generation may not have the economy for young people that our parents did, we do have the resources. Get out there and network your ass off, learn how to market yourself, and most importantly, remember what you’re truly capable of. The struggles many millennials face, while daunting, are temporary and can be changed with hard work, confidence, and frankly, luck. So get out there and prove the boomers wrong. While this generation has been wounded by factors outside of our control, we still have the potential to be the greatest generation this country has ever seen.
Keep your head up. .
Respond
As someone who just came out of these postgrad dark times, I agree wholeheartedly with this article. I would add the importance of balancing not selling yourself short with being realistic and adjusting your employment/salary expectations. As someone who contemplated suicide almost daily while living in my mom’s garage and working graveyard at the 7-11 for a year, I can assure you that taking a low paying professional job with upward potential beats the hell out of waiting for a golden opportunity. So consider applying for something’s you might not normally. Keep your chin up through the dark times. And when a little opportunity comes along, jump on it and worry about how you’ll turn it into your dream career later.
Same here. Thought about suicide a couple times. Ultimately stuck it out and things started falling into place. Stay positive, keep talking to people, keep applying, adjust your resume and learn new skills, all that good stuff and I promise you things will turn around eventually.
Also sell yourself shamelessly.
And when the going gets tough you always have Randy waiting for you with some wine coolers and a pack of Colts.
Hey man, glad to hear you made it out alright. Agreed 100% on the upward mobility point. I’m a firm believer in seeing how your first job can and will lead to your next. Salary isn’t everything.
Great article. Was gonna write one like it but you killed it. Keep it coming man.
Much appreciated Madoff, always enjoyed your work.
More like keep your head on a swivel. Reality slapping you from every direction.
“I mean, sure, a couple had the practical engineering and accounting degrees that led to meaningful employment”
Not a coincidence. As an accountant who now works in finance (and I skipped the soul-sucking big 4 step) it amazes me people don’t realize how easy a path to “success” (read: upper middle class) this is.
You will get down voted, but you are correct. My BS in psych? Customer service. My MBA? Don’t graduate for another year and have 7 job offers.
I feel like even MBAs have lost a lot of value, unless it’s a top 25 school I feel like it doesn’t do anything that the work experience wouldn’t in terms of both networking and actual learning
The problem with MBA’s is every school has a business school, so no matter your grades, you’ll find a school that will take your money. The easier it becomes to get the degree, the less worth it holds
That’s why law schools are really fucked, besides the fact that the profession is pretty fucked too
An MBA from a non-top 25 school is not a ticket to I-banking megabucks, but my local state school MBA has opened a few doors or nosed me to the top of the resume pile a few times. Basically, I just don’t want to be the only guy without MBA after my name applying for a job. But I got a past employer to pay for mine, I’d feel differently about the ROI had I laid out for it.
As someone currently in that Postgrad Dark Time, this is refreshing and great to hear. I’m currently stuck in a role that I hate with all the fiber of my being and am desperately applying to jobs, and endlessly tweaking my resume. At the same time, I get to watch my friends at the big banks make a killing, and seem to have a set career path of what they want to do. Thanks NardDog, looking to get where you are soon.
Not sure what your background is, but I would advise anyone not sure what they want to at least try sales. I went the Political Science route (thought I was gonna go to law school) and graduated with a ton of student loans, so held off on law school, and I love sales. Generally can find entry level jobs with decent benefits (salary + commission, car, phone, gas etc) and if you can talk to people you can make a good living.
Sales is a great career, but with a lot of ups and downs. Some months you may kill it while other months you wont, generally this is how it plays out no matter what you sell. The best thing you can do if you go into sales is to save as much as you can (if possible) during the good months.
Very true. If you find a job that is salary + commission, highly recommend living off just your salary and save your commission or use it for fun money.
I did Poli Sci too, and I’ve been looking at sales roles. I think it’s a great skill to have (talking/communicating with people) and who knows, maybe I’ll find something I like along the way
Keep fighting the good fight, you’ll get there.
This is just way too real right now, but just uplifting enough to be what I need.
Sucks having one of those practical degrees (finance/accounting) from a decent school and still not finding a job. If I had a dollar for every time I got the email saying that they chose someone that was a better “fit,” I’d have a decent bar tab worth of dollars.
I’m in the same boat, Taleo’s really fucked everybody, I feel like the only way to get an interview these days is through an employee referral.
I want to tell every high schooler to go for the high paying major, not follow your dreams. I’m a graphic designer with a job I love, but I’m at the point of getting a second job just to pay back my student loans. My friends in accounting are making double my salary in their first year. It makes me want to vomit.
Realistically every high schooler who doesn’t know what the fuck they want to do should learn a trade.
Graduated in May and it still blows my mind how drastically everything changed in a few months. I was fortunate enough to get out with an engineering degree and a solid job, but I moved 1500 miles from my home to a new city where I knew nobody. Daunting stuff man.
HELLL YES! I have more friends with side hustle in addition to full time than I promise my parents ever had. Part of is a need to pay off debt, but the other part is just the deep well of ambition that fuels so many in our generation. We see all that’s out there and don’t surrender.
No forty hour work weeks, no watches after 25 years of service, no pensions, no social security. We’re not the weenies here.