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Did i waste 4 years going to college?

T

TheSpy007

Member
So in May of this year i graduated with a BS in computer science. I would say i am above average in my programming skills. My gpa is not that great due to having real bad grades my first and second year. Anyway i applied to many entry level jobs and even other jobs where i might not be qualified for due to lack of experience. Ive had numerous interviews but nothing panned out to a job.

After 5 months i dont have a job in the field of study. Is the job market for college grads that bad right now, or did i waste my time going to college.
 
The job market is awesome right now. I don't know what you are talking about.


Keep your head up and keep looking. Something will come along.
 
From what I've seen, experience outweighs degrees in the IT world until you get to the management level.
 
the first job is always the hardest to find, but now you are applying for jobs that require bachelor degrees and pay a lot more. I would hardly call that 'wasting' 4 years. One thing science majors/engineers never look into is consulting. Major consulting firms like McKinsey, Baine, Accenture, KPMG, etc... LOVE tech majors and often take them above business majors. They just don't pay as well as programmers at Google/Microsoft, but it is always an option.
 
what did you do with your summers? my gpa isn't the greatest, but i had internships the last 3 summers of college doing things applicable to my field (CE/CS)

I've had about 12 interviews so far this fall, only 1 of which has as yet gotten me an offer. but i'm still looking. i totally wasn't expecting this one to come through.

keep at it! how may interviews have you had?
 
Originally posted by: lokiju
From what I've seen, experience outweighs degrees in the IT world until you get to the management level.
Click to expand...

Computer Science to IT is like Electrical Engineer to Electrician. Not the same field at all.

As for the OP, keep working on it. Make sure you have something tangible to show what you have done in college. If you had a cool senior project of some sort, bring in the manual or a laptop running the program. Showing some real work helps alot. I graduated in December, and the first job interview I brought my senior project manual into I was offered.
 
Yea i did not do any interns, i didnt really care about it at the time. I do work part time in retail, not something i want to do for the rest of my life.

Ive had about 6 interviews but some where on the phone. I live in south carolina, i know not the best area for it jobs but i want to stay at home so i can save up some money. But it looks like i will have to look in other areas, like Atlanta or Charlotte.
 
It might be worth your while to head back to college to make use of your career services center/ on campus recruiting efforts. Face time with recruiters is invaluable from my experience.
 
You probably should brush up on your interview skills. When I graduated, I had 4 or 5 interviews that lead to nothing. Then I spent some time working on interview questions, thank you letters, and enthusiasm. The next interview landed me my first job out of college. After 2 years there, I started looking around, applied to 2 companies, had 2 interviews, 2 offers and took the one that I liked best.

Your programming skills won't matter if the interviewer doesn't think you "fit" the company or doesn't think you're excited about the opportunity.

Good luck!
 
Originally posted by: TheSpy007
Yea i did not do any interns, i didnt really care about it at the time. I do work part time in retail, not something i want to do for the rest of my life.

Ive had about 6 interviews but some where on the phone. I live in south carolina , i know not the best area for it jobs but i want to stay at home so i can save up some money. But it looks like i will have to look in other areas, like Atlanta or Charlotte.
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There is your problem. For CS, you need to be in Seattle, the Bay Area (CA) or Southern California.
 
You can't say you wasted your time in college. That's not fair to yourself. The economy is just in a real bad state right now so all companies are cutting back their hiring. The best you can do is keep going at it. The more you interview, the more you'll develop your interviewing skills. Also, with these jobs you aren't getting, have you called your interviewers back and asked them what you could have done better? That might be helpful, just so you know what to work on and develop.
 
Originally posted by: ed21x
Originally posted by: TheSpy007
Yea i did not do any interns, i didnt really care about it at the time. I do work part time in retail, not something i want to do for the rest of my life.

Ive had about 6 interviews but some where on the phone. I live in south carolina , i know not the best area for it jobs but i want to stay at home so i can save up some money. But it looks like i will have to look in other areas, like Atlanta or Charlotte.
Click to expand...

There is your problem. For CS, you need to be in Seattle, the Bay Area (CA) or Southern California.
Click to expand...

That's where the big companies are - but you don't have to be there. Big engineer companies like Lockheed and Boeing are ALWAYS in need of CS people, and those types of companies are everywhere. Same with big financial companies. Really, almost every mid-to-big sized company has a software department in house. There's also thousands of small software companies too. CS is really a field you can do nationwide....
 
Originally posted by: misle
You probably should brush up on your interview skills. When I graduated, I had 4 or 5 interviews that lead to nothing. Then I spent some time working on interview questions, thank you letters, and enthusiasm. The next interview landed me my first job out of college. After 2 years there, I started looking around, applied to 2 companies, had 2 interviews, 2 offers and took the one that I liked best.

Your programming skills won't matter if the interviewer doesn't think you "fit" the company or doesn't think you're excited about the opportunity.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

I agree with this. I remember the days of just handing out a ton of resumees and gettign a ton of interviews and nothing. Took some interview courses and have been told on a few occasions (promotion wise ect) that I was the weak candidate comming in, but I interveiwed so strongly I would be the one offered the position. I would definatly look around for help with your interviewing skills.
 
Originally posted by: misle
You probably should brush up on your interview skills. When I graduated, I had 4 or 5 interviews that lead to nothing. Then I spent some time working on interview questions, thank you letters, and enthusiasm. The next interview landed me my first job out of college. After 2 years there, I started looking around, applied to 2 companies, had 2 interviews, 2 offers and took the one that I liked best.

Your programming skills won't matter if the interviewer doesn't think you "fit" the company or doesn't think you're excited about the opportunity.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thank you letters? Hmmm...
 
Also, if you are trying to get into a software development field then you can get some 'work experience' by finding a open source project that is along the lines and working on it.

It helps the community and it gives you a visible product and resume fodder.
 
I hear going to law school and working as a patent agent till you pass the bar (then you become a patent attorney) is a pretty good route.
 
No, the market is pretty good as others have mentioned and you definitely have not wasted your time. If you want to do programming, it would help if you could show some practical experience and joining FOSS projects would be a good option, though it will take some time and effort.

If you want to get a decent job, then you can look into consulting as others have mentioned.
 
I have an IT degree and did an internship this summer where I clearly proved I can handle any entry level IT job. They offered me a part time position but I couldn't afford to live close enough to the job on part time.

Been looking for about a month now and haven't even gotten an interview. I don't think the job market is bad though, there are a lot of openings it seems (although I have no experience to know what a good or bad market would look like).

I'm surprised its hard to find something with a CS degree though. I don't know if most employers would know this but IT is a complete fing joke compared to CS.

 
I wouldn't say it was a waste... you just need more time to find a job. It can be difficult nowadays to find a job in any setting, degree or no degree. But having gone to college will definitely help you out.
 
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