today's college kids are way over confidence....

[Dancing Fire]

they think that right after graduation there will be many job offers with starting salaries b/t $70K-$80K.. .. IMO,with today's economy they will be in for an "rude awakening"

 

[Autumnovember]

They do?

I definitely didn't think that and neither did any of my friends. We all knew how difficult it was going to be to find a job, period. A good friend of mine is finishing his last year of pharmacy school and although he was EXTRA confident a few years ago that he would be landing a job right out of college, he is now well aware that its very likely not going to happen that way.


No rude awakening on my end, DF!

I just go to sinfully pink when I think about the reality of it all

 

[Trekkie]

they think that right after graduation there will be many job offers with starting salaries b/t $70K-$80K.. .. IMO,with today's economy they will be in for an "rude awakening"

Indeed! I recently returned to university after a number of years working locally and abroad and I honestly don't know what has crept into kids today!

Too many of them have a sense of entitlement, expecting a great job with great benefits straight after graduation. From my experience in the working world, I know that while these fresh graduates may think they know everything, they actually know very little. Book knowledge is important, yes, but actual experience is far more valuable.

I know that in my field (IT) I'd far rather hire someone who has 4 years of relevant working experience than a 4 year degree.

 

[diva rose]

they think that right after graduation there will be many job offers with starting salaries b/t $70K-$80K.. .. IMO,with today's economy they will be in for an "rude awakening"

If you are in the health profession - it's easy to find jobs.
Nurses, doctors, speech pathologists, physiotherapists etc.
These jobs are high in demand around the world.

 

[perry]

I agree that many are expecting high wages, good benefits,.... and a light no stress work day. They expect it will be easy.

Truth be told we start engineers/technitians with no work experience at $50,000+ per year; and they will also get partial OT in addition to their salary (they can make $60-$70 per year). In the last 10 years I don't know of a single one who has stayed around past a couple of years. The common complaint is that we work too hard.

As a industry we've pretty much stopped hiring new grad's (except for nuclear engineers - a few of them stick- and there are no other options for that position). We do much better hiring people who have real world experience elsewhere who understand that its called "work" for a reason.

Perry

 

[elrohwen]

My industry (technical/engineering) hires new grads in that salary range or at least in the $50ks. Hiring has been down a lot the past few years but has started to pick up and companies are beginning to look for new grads again. Unlike Perry, I don't know of any who quit after a few years claiming that the workload is too hard. In fact, I know plenty of new grads who work their butts off and do great work after they get going. New grads may not have the experience in the field, but they make far less than experienced employees and the company can train them any way they want - I personally feel that investing in new grads can often be a better investment than hiring very experienced people who will demand high salaries, especially since I see the younger people (35 and younger) working harder than the older, more established employees.

I do think there may be an over-confidence in how easy/hard it is to find a job, but this is because they lack experience in job hunting and are naive about what the job market is really like. Just a few years ago it wasn't hard for college grads to find jobs, and I think some college kids still haven't realized how tough it is out there.

 

[dragonfly411]

I too notice this. They expect an easy ride, with great pay, and not many challenges. I wouldn't say that this lasts through college so much as it is the younger college students that think this.

 

[Fly Girl]

My kids never thought there would be lots of job offers of $70,000 jobs. But, they would like at least one job offer for a decent job. Even that has not been forthcoming in this economy, and I don't think this is their fault.

 

[Kaleigh]

I haven't seen this. DD graduated and had a heck of a time finding a job. She had a jump start in the job hunt as she graduated early.
She did get a great job. She works 10 hour days , makes a nice salary with a bonus. She's so happy to have a job. Many of her friends don't have jobs. And some graduated a year ago, are still are looking.

So I think most of this kids know they aren't going to jump into jobs making $$$$.

 

[princesss]

You know, I didn't see that in any of my friends. A little overconfidence that they could wait until after graduation to find a job so they could just enjoy themselves their last few months, but other than that, nobody I know expected to be making mega bucks right away. A few of my friends are, but they're also the ones working 70-80 hour weeks, so I can't say they expect to be paid a ton of money to do nothing. I was thrilled to have a job lined up after graduation that came with health insurance - I was easy to please, I guess.

 

[Shoopy]

I'm going to have to agree with DF. Perhaps it's something you see in different industries?

My brother is a Finance major. ALL of his friends are expecting $60k starting salaries. They refuse to work for less than $50k starting off.

They are in for a shock.

 

[bebe]

Our DS graduated in Dec 2009 and we convinced him to stay in school and get his grad degree. There was no point in getting out
and searching for a job. Even with a grad degree in Health Admin and an undergrad in Business Mgmt and marketing, I'm sure he
too will find it difficult to secure a good job.

DD graduated early from college and with honors. She is caught up in the "at least you have a job" but dislikes her job very much.
But her salary is good and the benefits decent. It's hard to graduate and be ready to take on the world and find you can't just yet
make your mark the way you thought you would.

 

[dragonfly411]

fiery - I think this hits the nail on the head. I also think that different maturity levels gravitate towards different things. But that might just be me.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I admit that I'm way out of the "recent college grad" world. The vast majority of my friends are in their 30's, so it's been a long time since we had to worry about finding a job out of college.

I only see the other side of it (the recent grads at work). Our agency recruits from ivy-league schools and the fact that so many ivy leaguers are willing to work for an ad agency makes me think that the job market must be really bad, haha. Most of the time they're trying to get into the consulting firms, which admittedly pay better. Still, these kids are wicked smart and willing to put in the 70+ hours per week for less pay than the seasoned employees. I sort of envy their energy!

 

[kama_s]

It is only called over confidence if it doesn't happen

I absolutely lucked out, as many of my peers are suffering through this drought. Several with solid PhDs.

 

[Dancing Fire]

I'm going to have to agree with DF. Perhaps it's something you see in different industries?

My brother is a Finance major. ALL of his friends are expecting $60k starting salaries. They refuse to work for less than $50k starting off.
They are in for a shock.

that's what i heard from some of my friend's kids. a few of them are sitting at home doing nothing but play video games.

 

[meresal]

DF, the reason college kids think this... is because the educators LEAD us to believe this.

I was one if these students that was under the impression that employers would be beating down my recently graduated door, just because I had a degree. It's not because of my own confidence, it's what I was told.

However, if the colleges told students the truth, they wouldnt have anymore students. Everyone would go straight to working after high school... which incidently, isn't the worst idea, because all employers want these days is experience, for entry level positions.

One of the best options these days, if you are not worried about missing the college experience... is to find an entry level job at some company that will pay for your school, and then move onto a better job with 4 yrs of experience AND a degree under your belt. This is what 50% of the employess at my last job, and in my position, were doing. Yes, I did start out making more than them... but they were 2-4 years younger than me. Hell, my last 2 senior managers (apprx. $100k/yr) didn't even have college degrees.) Times are changing.

The saying is true... "It's not WHAT you know, it's WHO you know". And the longer you are in the work force, the more connections you can make.

ETA: Fiery, I was an economics and finance double major as well. I graduated in 2006. Hopefully schools aren't preaching this anymore.

 

[lyra]

I don't know. My daughters are just hoping to get hired in the fields they are being educated in. They know from research and friends/family what starting wages might be, and how tough it is to find a job these days. In our own defense, we kind of drilled it into their heads that there was no point going to college for a particular course of study if there were no jobs in that field coming out. Also, we're seeing the reality here (Canada) that the undergrad degree is the new minimum requirement (any undergrad, not necessarily a specific one), and that further vocational training is also required for most fields that used to require just a college certificate.

 

[princesss]

Maybe I was in a better position in terms of knowing realistically what my options were because I was a liberal arts major? With an English/Anthro degree, I didn't have any illusions that people were going to be begging for me (okay, except the CIA - they begged HARD). I mean, what's more fun than one useless degree? Two, obviously.

Not sure what my friends that were econ/finance majors were told, but they're all making bank right now, so apparently it worked. A friend of mine (who has been out of school for ONE year) was just offered a job with a salary in the mid $100k range by a company trying to take her from her current employer. So I guess what people are being told will happen DOES happen, just not for the majority of people. Nobody I am friends with *counted* on any of this happening, but they all worked hard to make sure it *could* happen for them. (But then, I've got dang impressive friends. I'm kind of amazed they still let me hang out with them.)

 

[meresal]

Princess, if you dont mind sharing... where are your friends located? Are they in large markets?

 

[CourtLynB]

I am 3 years out of a very well resepected college with a BS in Business Admin. Luckily for me, I was able to get a job in marketing after 2 months of looking. I was however very taken aback when I was told the starting salary, $28k with overtime potential. And the room to be promoted after a year or so. Very good benefits, the employee does pay a percentage of them (we have dental too). I will admit I was hoping for something close to $40k, but I took the job anyways.

Yes, I did get my promotion after a year, and I will be up for another one at the end of this calendar year. But I also believe my company takes advantage of the kids right out of college with no experience and pays crappy. Even my current salary is under the industry average, but it's the "be happy you have a job' situation.

A college I looked at pretty much guarenteed you a job after graduation. They failed to mention that the job could be an unpaid internship. And for what college costs these days and the amount of student debt, you would hope for a higher paying job. I don't know if it is over-confidence or the fact they many feel they need their jobs to be higher paying to survive on their own.

 

[elrohwen]

Meresal, it might be true in your industry that a college degree is no longer required, but in my industry (and engineering as a whole) employers are often looking for graduate degrees on top of undergrad degrees. I don't know of any jobs in my industry that hire right out of high school and allow you to work for your degree and about 40% of the positions actually require a PhD.

 

[kama_s]

DF, the reason college kids think this... is because the educators LEAD us to believe this.

I was one if these students that was under the impression that employers would be beating down my recently graduated door, just because I had a degree. It's not because of my own confidence, it's what I was told.

However, if the colleges told students the truth, they wouldnt have anymore students. Everyone would go straight to working after high school... which incidently, isn't the worst idea, because all employers want these days is experience, for entry level positions.

One of the best options these days, if you are not worried about missing the college experience... is to find an entry level job at some company that will pay for your school, and then move onto a better job with 4 yrs of experience AND a degree under your belt. This is what 50% of the employess at my last job, and in my position, were doing. Yes, I did start out making more than them... but they were 2-4 years younger than me. Hell, my last 2 senior managers (apprx. $100k/yr) didn't even have college degrees.) Times are changing.

The saying is true... "It's not WHAT you know, it's WHO you know". And the longer you are in the work force, the more connections you can make.

ETA: Fiery, I was an economics and finance double major as well. I graduated in 2006. Hopefully schools aren't preaching this anymore.

It's interesting to see the differences between fields. In my line of work, I have been noticing a steady upward trend in the amount of education one requires to get basic jobs. When I began undergrad, a master's would have been more than sufficient to land an excellent job. Now, what used to be entry level jobs for someone with a bachelor's degree requires a minimum of a PhD. A PhD! Only to be someone's lab bitch.

I would definitely agree that gaining experience DURING school is extremely helpful. I had friends who had blank resumes coming out of university. The only reason I am not another statistic is because I had over 5 years of strong, relevant experience under my thumb when I graduated. Although I am not sure many companies would be willing to pay for someone's education past highschool when there are so many willing to work for a similar pay AND a degree.

 

[meresal]

El- I agree, engineers are in definite need of at least some type of advanced education before being hired in their field.

 

[kama_s]

Meresal, it might be true in your industry that a college degree is no longer required, but in my industry (and engineering as a whole) employers are often looking for graduate degrees on top of undergrad degrees. I don't know of any jobs in my industry that hire right out of high school and allow you to work for your degree and about 40% of the positions actually require a PhD.

El, if we weren't posting at the same time I would've ditto-ed you

How's the new job going btw???

 

[princesss]

Princess, if you dont mind sharing... where are your friends located? Are they in large markets?

Most of them are now in New York or London. They went to school everywhere from New York to Brisbane to Salt Lake City. I think of everybody, only 3 stayed in the same city they went to college in. I think that helps - being willing to go where the jobs are. The people I know that restricted themselves to one city (now ex-BF included) didn't do as well as those of us that were willing to move anywhere.

 

[JulieN]

I'm going to have to agree with DF. Perhaps it's something you see in different industries?

My brother is a Finance major. ALL of his friends are expecting $60k starting salaries. They refuse to work for less than $50k starting off.
They are in for a shock.

that's what i heard from some of my friend's kids. a few of them are sitting at home doing nothing but play video games.

If they are in a field where 70K-100+ is the norm, and they accept 50K, they are just setting themselves up for low wages in the future.

 

[atroop711]

and many also expect to work to be easy, to come and go as they please and to do their work at THEIR pace. I have many friends who have hired young 20 somethings in recent yrs and they are having these issues with them. I think many of these kids have been too babied and entitled. Time for some TOUGH LOVE!

 

[Dancing Fire]

I'm going to have to agree with DF. Perhaps it's something you see in different industries?

My brother is a Finance major. ALL of his friends are expecting $60k starting salaries. They refuse to work for less than $50k starting off.
They are in for a shock.

that's what i heard from some of my friend's kids. a few of them are sitting at home doing nothing but play video games.

If they are in a field where 70K-100+ is the norm, and they accept 50K, they are just setting themselves up for low wages in the future.

and if they don't they'll be sitting at home with no job. nowadays if you aren't willing to accept a $50K job then there are thousands of people willing to take it from ya.

 

[elrohwen]

Hey Kama! I consider myself lucky that I managed to snag a good job without the PhD (though I would potentially make more money in the long run with a PhD). The job is going well! I still have no idea what's going on half the time ... Since I changed industries, I feel very much like a new college hire much of the time. It's tough! I miss knowing what to do.