College Grads: How long did it take to get your job?

[Vette73]

Well I grad in may of 2003 but I was in a motorcycle accident, not my fault, right before I garduated and have been actively looking for about 5 months now with NO leads.

In fact because of my Med. bills and lack of job if I don;t do someting this month I will not be able to pay my bills. So I am going to stop paying my CC's and juts TRY to pay rent, power, food, etc...
I am now even thinking of becoming a cop since I can start off with 33-35k. Really anything that pays 30K or more will get my attention right now.


So trust me, you are probable in a better place then I am.
Goodluck




Forgot to add?

I have a Bachelors of Science degree in Business administration with a double concentration in Information Systems and then Business Management.

And have been trying to find a Job in the Raleigh NC area

 

[CountZero]

Good thread!

Graduated in June 2001 with a job already lined up. Laid off in September 2001 and did some heavy job searching for about 1.5 years. Still looking for something 'in my field' (BSEE for those curious) but with so long out of school I figure its as good as impossible now.

 

[electricJ]

Originally posted by: CountZero
Good thread!

Graduated in June 2001 with a job already lined up. Laid off in September 2001 and did some heavy job searching for about 1.5 years. Still looking for something 'in my field' (BSEE for those curious) but with so long out of school I figure its as good as impossible now.

What areas did you specialize in with your electives? Myself, I specialized in analog design and power electronics, even used that as the basis for my senior project design/research. Of course, my work experience in internships dealt nothing with that.

 

[GoodToGo]

Evening bump

 

[Dedpuhl]

Finished School in July 2002. Had a job 3 months before. Starting working September 3, 2004.

 

[cjgallen]

I got my current job with the Big Blue Ball this January. Graduated with a 2-year degree in May, and they're paying for my 4 year

 

[Passions]

I graduated in Dec 2002, got a job in Aug 2003. 8 months.

But it helps to get a temp job inbetween to keep your sanity.

BTW: Boeing has 11,000 openings!!!

http://www.kansas.com/mld/eagle/9305577.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

 

[EagleKeeper]

Uncle did not allow me to finish my senior year.

Shoved me into OCS early.

 

[Vette73]

Not to throw a wet towel on the party but it does not look good for myself and others looking for a REAL job...

"Hiring by U.S. employers slowed significantly in July, according to a government report today, as the number of new jobs added to payrolls came in far below Wall Street expectations. The Labor Department says only 32,000 new jobs were added. Economists had expected 243,000 new jobs. The July unemployment rate was 5.5 percent, down from 5.6 in June."





Hiring slows dramatically

 

[JoeKing]

It sucks ass, I graduated last December and I'm still looking for my career job. Though technically I'm working right now, freelance and substitute teaching is hardly the things I want to do for the rest of my life

 

[vood0g]

i graduated last december (2003), but i had a job offer in november from the company i was doing an internship. i really recommend people to start at least a year before graduating to find internships. and finding internships is more than just giving your resume to career services, but to actually go out and find it on your own. attend all the career days that schools have to offer. always have resume's readily available just in case you run into a contact.

 

[CountZero]

Originally posted by: electricJ

Originally posted by: CountZero
Good thread!

Graduated in June 2001 with a job already lined up. Laid off in September 2001 and did some heavy job searching for about 1.5 years. Still looking for something 'in my field' (BSEE for those curious) but with so long out of school I figure its as good as impossible now.

What areas did you specialize in with your electives? Myself, I specialized in analog design and power electronics, even used that as the basis for my senior project design/research. Of course, my work experience in internships dealt nothing with that.

Specialized in embedded systems and digital design. Got a job working with embedded systems right away. Did my senior project in basically embedded systems but with no RTOS.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Not to throw a wet towel on the party but it does not look good for myself and others looking for a REAL job...

"Hiring by U.S. employers slowed significantly in July, according to a government report today, as the number of new jobs added to payrolls came in far below Wall Street expectations. The Labor Department says only 32,000 new jobs were added. Economists had expected 243,000 new jobs. The July unemployment rate was 5.5 percent, down from 5.6 in June."





Hiring slows dramatically

Yahoos story

 

[electricJ]

Originally posted by: vood0g
i graduated last december (2003), but i had a job offer in november from the company i was doing an internship. i really recommend people to start at least a year before graduating to find internships. and finding internships is more than just giving your resume to career services, but to actually go out and find it on your own. attend all the career days that schools have to offer. always have resume's readily available just in case you run into a contact.

Its funny, because I did the internship thing. With two different companies in fact. My first, I co-oped (went to school an extra year just to do so) with a consulting engineering firm, and interned part-time last fall with another local industry. And both places talked very eagerly of hiring me back full-time upon graduation. However, neither place can afford to right now.

 

[electricJ]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Not to throw a wet towel on the party but it does not look good for myself and others looking for a REAL job...

"Hiring by U.S. employers slowed significantly in July, according to a government report today, as the number of new jobs added to payrolls came in far below Wall Street expectations. The Labor Department says only 32,000 new jobs were added. Economists had expected 243,000 new jobs. The July unemployment rate was 5.5 percent, down from 5.6 in June."





Hiring slows dramatically

YIKES... that is quite discouraging. By the way, I saw your earlier post and wish you good luck in your search. I'm certain that things will get much better for you, man. Are you looking at relocating to find a job?

 

[DougK62]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Well I grad in may of 2003 but I was in a motorcycle accident, not my fault, right before I garduated and have been actively looking for about 5 months now with NO leads.

In fact because of my Med. bills and lack of job if I don;t do someting this month I will not be able to pay my bills. So I am going to stop paying my CC's and juts TRY to pay rent, power, food, etc...
I am now even thinking of becoming a cop since I can start off with 33-35k. Really anything that pays 30K or more will get my attention right now.


So trust me, you are probable in a better place then I am.
Goodluck




Forgot to add?

I have a Bachelors of Science degree in Business administration with a double concentration in Information Systems and then Business Management.

And have been trying to find a Job in the Raleigh NC area

You have that degree and can't find a job? You must be either lazy or really picky. You can walk into most every large chain store and get a management job with that.

 

[Turkish]

Originally posted by: DougK62

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Well I grad in may of 2003 but I was in a motorcycle accident, not my fault, right before I garduated and have been actively looking for about 5 months now with NO leads.

In fact because of my Med. bills and lack of job if I don;t do someting this month I will not be able to pay my bills. So I am going to stop paying my CC's and juts TRY to pay rent, power, food, etc...
I am now even thinking of becoming a cop since I can start off with 33-35k. Really anything that pays 30K or more will get my attention right now.


So trust me, you are probable in a better place then I am.
Goodluck




Forgot to add?

I have a Bachelors of Science degree in Business administration with a double concentration in Information Systems and then Business Management.

And have been trying to find a Job in the Raleigh NC area

You have that degree and can't find a job? You must be either lazy or really picky. You can walk into most every large chain store and get a management job with that.

Sure if you want to work 70+ hours a week. Retail sucks dude. I'd never work retail. Retail = hell.

 

[DougK62]

Originally posted by: XietyCOM

Originally posted by: DougK62

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Well I grad in may of 2003 but I was in a motorcycle accident, not my fault, right before I garduated and have been actively looking for about 5 months now with NO leads.

In fact because of my Med. bills and lack of job if I don;t do someting this month I will not be able to pay my bills. So I am going to stop paying my CC's and juts TRY to pay rent, power, food, etc...
I am now even thinking of becoming a cop since I can start off with 33-35k. Really anything that pays 30K or more will get my attention right now.


So trust me, you are probable in a better place then I am.
Goodluck




Forgot to add?

I have a Bachelors of Science degree in Business administration with a double concentration in Information Systems and then Business Management.

And have been trying to find a Job in the Raleigh NC area

You have that degree and can't find a job? You must be either lazy or really picky. You can walk into most every large chain store and get a management job with that.

Sure if you want to work 70+ hours a week. Retail sucks dude. I'd never work retail. Retail = hell.

This guy is talking about not being able to pay his basic bills. He needs a job. Yeah retail sucks, but sometimes it's necessary.

A lot of you new grads need to have that silver spoon yanked out of your mouth. The world doesn't owe you a big fancy job because of your degree.

You can always switch jobs later...

 

[psydancerqt]

i have one week of school left. i've been putting out a few applications. i havent been finding much that i want to apply for.

 

[electricJ]

Originally posted by: DougK62

A lot of you new grads need to have that silver spoon yanked out of your mouth. The world doesn't owe you a big fancy job because of your degree.

Perhaps not, but to work so hard for 4+ years and then come out in a not-so-good economy that doesn't seem to offer you anything, is quite disheartening. I'm quite aware that a lot of grads face the same problem as me, so I'm not pretending to have a special case here. What is the most frustrating is the number of sacrifices I made in the last 5 years: lived with parent (in order to afford a private university), drove crap car, worked part-time, worked 2 internships, spent most weekend nights studying instead of partying (graduated summa cum laude in EE), etc. And now, its frustrating that the sacrifices have led me nowhere yet...

 

[DougK62]

Originally posted by: electricJ

Originally posted by: DougK62

A lot of you new grads need to have that silver spoon yanked out of your mouth. The world doesn't owe you a big fancy job because of your degree.

Perhaps not, but to work so hard for 4+ years and then come out in a not-so-good economy that doesn't seem to offer you anything, is quite disheartening. I'm quite aware that a lot of grads face the same problem as me, so I'm not pretending to have a special case here. What is the most frustrating is the number of sacrifices I made in the last 5 years: lived with parent (in order to afford a private university), drove crap car, worked part-time, worked 2 internships, spent most weekend nights studying instead of partying (graduated summa cum laude in EE), etc. And now, its frustrating that the sacrifices have led me nowhere yet...

Sure it's disheartening, but there ARE jobs out there. A person not being able to pay his bills because he refuses to get a job that he thinks is beneath him isn't so smart. Even with a college degree you'll likely have to start at the bottom anywhere you go.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: DougK62

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Well I grad in may of 2003 but I was in a motorcycle accident, not my fault, right before I garduated and have been actively looking for about 5 months now with NO leads.

In fact because of my Med. bills and lack of job if I don;t do someting this month I will not be able to pay my bills. So I am going to stop paying my CC's and juts TRY to pay rent, power, food, etc...
I am now even thinking of becoming a cop since I can start off with 33-35k. Really anything that pays 30K or more will get my attention right now.


So trust me, you are probable in a better place then I am.
Goodluck




Forgot to add?

I have a Bachelors of Science degree in Business administration with a double concentration in Information Systems and then Business Management.

And have been trying to find a Job in the Raleigh NC area

You have that degree and can't find a job? You must be either lazy or really picky. You can walk into most every large chain store and get a management job with that.

HAhaha... I WISH I was that picky. But yes you are correct, some people are too picky. I am just not one of them RIGHT NOW.

I have applied to just about ANY job that moves and I am either qualified for or close to. The only things I kinda turn my nose up at are the ?Make $1000 a week in sales?? type BS. I might be desperate, but I am not an idiot.

I have applied at Target, coke, GM, Raleigh city Gov., Cary city Gov., wine seller, and many many small and/or local companies. I have even applied to be a security guard but nothing. The best one I got turned down for was Security guard at a Nuclear Plant. It only requires a HS diploma, but pays 32-35K a year. Nope no go, too much education. I guess being smart is a negative to guard the US?s nuclear plants.

So either I have too much education or I don?t have enough experience in that specific field. I also ran my own auto repair shop for the last 5 years while going to school so some places look down on that as they want people they can mold and control.


Trust me if you, or anybody, have any leads in the Raleigh NC area I am open. I have 7 months left on my lease so I am kinda stuck here until it ends and I have settled my motorcycle accident. After that I may move, if a job opens somewhere and/or some other factor. I KINDA wanted to stay here in NC as I like to go to Duke for my MBA. But Harvard, Pittsburg, etc? are also on my list.

 

[OS]

It took me about 2 months, but I was kind of underemployed for almost a year. Grad around March 2003, BSEE.

It was bad for me for a while but things are looking ok now, I work in a test lab for the aerospace industry and I had a good performance review last week. I get a couple recruiting calls/emails here and there and had another offer about a month ago which I turned down because I didn't want to relocate.

I worked in business sales for technology products the previous year and I learned a lot. It has given me an appreciation that you can earn a good living outside of pure technical work. If I ever come across another good sales position, I might actually take it up because the potential for sales people is good.

Advice for anyone in a similar spot, keep your head up, keep trying. Suck it up and work even if it is not your preferred path, or go back to grad school, or do both.

Work hard where ever you are and meet/exceed your employers expectations because as new/entry level hires, it is easy for the employer to boot you if you aren't performing.

Get experience where ever you can, I only have half a year experience right now in the lab as a test engineer and I feel that it has helped me immensely when I am entertaining other openings.

The worst thing you can do is sit around actually. I've seen my friends and it's easy for 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, or more to slip by while they pick and choose. And by the time you get an interview, they will ask you, why did you sit around for a year?

Times are still hard so it is even more important now to try your hardest. Good luck to everyone and hope you are all successful.

 

[nightowl]

I just graduated in May and I have a job already and I start in September. I spent most of my senior year looking for jobs and attending school sponsored job fairs. I had interviews throughout my fall and spring semesters and I finally landed 2 offers around the end of April. So, the total time I spent looking for a job was 7 months. The time it took me to get a job after I graduated: 0 months.

 

[borealiss]

Originally posted by: GrouchyLadybug
5 months.

started looking/applying in Feb. '03
graduated BS mathematics May '03
job offer in June '03
began work in July '03
216874776534 more job offers July-August '03 (they always call in droves AFTER you've taken another job! :frown: )

i agree. M$, Sun, IBM, and Northrup Grumman all called AFTER i had accepted my job offer.