April and May are the most exciting times in a college senior’s life-- graduation. A time of jubilee that he or she has finally escaped the stresses of homework deadlines and all-nighters to study for exams. The real world has finally arrived.
But six months after graduation, Brittany Montgomery has yet to find a job. She didn’t move back with her parents because she wanted to be that adult in the real world, have her own apartment and show that independence she gained from college.
That’s about all she can show for her $120,000 degree from Southeastern University. She has resorted to a waitressing job for the time being to make ends meet until she gets a call back from one of the hundreds of jobs she has applied for.
The number six not only stands for the amount of post-graduation months, but also when the loan companies come on the prowl. Besides her electric bill, phone bill, rent, car insurance and other miscellaneous expenses that may arise, Brittany now adds her loan bills to the heavy burden she has to carry each day. And she’s not alone.
According to the Department of Education, 66 percent of all undergraduates have to take out student loans in order to attain that coveted college degree.
But is it even worth taking out those loans to have that diploma?
Right now, 10 percent of college graduates 24 years and younger (up from 2007-2008 school year according to the U.S Bureau and statistics) can’t find a job and are stressing about the six month mark.
I sure am. In fact, it’s been on my mind for the past several years. I’ve been busting my butt to gain real world experience through internships and getting involved in national organizations to network. I think I’m heading in the right direction, until I go on journalism or media job sites and each job I come across states I need to have “experience.”
Experience?! How do they define experience? To them, they want people who have been in the working field for some time now. So what do college graduates like me do to survive in this real world when we’re just exiting school?
Zach Bove, a current senior at Flagler College, started to question his sport management degree while working as a holiday runner for UPS.
“Why bother going into sport management when I could go to work at UPS and make $35 per hour,” said Bove.
My sentiments exactly. Why get $20,000 in debt when I could also go work at UPS and receive double the pay I’d get starting out in my specialized field of journalism. To put it into perspective, someone at UPS makes about $30 per hour starting out. That’s about $44,000, not including overtime and bonuses they receive during the holidays. They have full benefits and are guaranteed 40 hours per week.
Sounds like a great gig to me.
Going into journalism, I’ll start out with half the salary and have a job as stable as a house built on sand.
Hmmm…which would you choose?
But it all comes back to getting your foot in the door and having that job security to pay off those student loans. With the state of the economy, I pose this question: is our society reverting back to where experience trumps college degrees?
Right now I can’t put my finger on an equation that equals a job when I graduate in April. Anyone out there that can help?
For now, I’m trying to forget the six month mark and focus on these next three months to finish up my degree. Is it fair to say worthless degree? But when I graduate and don’t have a job, I too, could end up like Brittany Montgomery—having to resort back to the restaurant business with all other non grads, teenagers, high school drop outs and criminals.
Maybe homework and all-nighters aren’t so bad after all.
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