Is it normal to still be dependent on your parents after graduating from college?

[doetwin]

I'm 22 and I'll be graduating from college in a few months. There aren't any jobs in my field that I can get straight out of undergrad that pay enough for me to be self-supporting. I will probably still be living with my parents for about a year or so after I graduate and they will still be supporting me. Is this normal?

You already posted this here under another username. Stop.
admin allisolm

 

[zerocool84]

This again?

 

[MongGrel]

If you went to college you should be able to answer this yourself I suppose...

 

[Red Squirrel]

As long as you have plans to be on your own I really don't see the issue. I lived with my parents throughout college and when I graduated and started working full time I lived there for a few more years. Was 23 by the time I moved out and got my house. Trust me I could not wait to be independent, but I also wanted to make a smart fiscal decision. Saving up for proper downpayment etc.

That said if there arn't any jobs in your field that may be tough, you don't want to be at home doing nothing hoping you get a call from places you applied. You may want to think of an alternate plan, like starting your own business or maybe trying to get into another field that has more jobs.

 

[Ruptga]

If you went to college you should be able to answer this yourself I suppose...

You'd think so, but that's really the problem. Colleges do everything possible to avoid teaching anything applicable to real work and real life, but from daycare to graduation we're all told that higher education is the golden ticket to individual and national success.

OP, you're fucked and it's completely normal.

 

[IronWing]

What works for you and your family is really no one else's concern.

 

[DrDoug]

You'd think so, but that's really the problem. Colleges do everything possible to avoid teaching anything applicable to real work and real life, but from daycare to graduation we're all told that higher education is the golden ticket to individual and national success.

OP, you're fucked and it's completely normal.

You ought to be an inspirational speaker.

 

[Mxylplyx]

Depending on them for housing is perfectly fine. Depending on them to put gas in your car is not ok. Don't be too proud to get a temp job to hold you over while you search for something befitting of your education. I was building decks and fences for several months after graduating with a MIS degree.

 

[Linux23]

This again?

LOL. That's exactly what I thought when I clicked.

 

[Rumpltzer]

While I do agree that what works for the OP and his family is their business, the OP has come here to ask ATOT's opinion.

If one chooses a major that leads to no job offers after graduation, I don't understand why one went to college... or, more often, why one chose the major that they chose... or worse, why parents paid for child to major in a topic that does not lead to a job.

This comes from a guy whose parents did not complete high school and made clear that they would not being paying for my college education. Knowing this ahead of time, I prepared while in high school, rocked the grades and extracurriculars, got myself into a top-rank engineering school, got the scholarships to pay for the first year, played the financial aid game as needed, worked my ass off in undrgrad, got engineering internships every summer, finished my BSEE in the normal four years, went on to grad school, finished my PhD, and walked into a six-figure salary straight out of school.

I'm not unique, and I'm not special, and I while I did have help from others, I did it without assistance from my parents.

So, based on my life experiences, "no, it's not normal to live with parents after college." And, "I can't find a job," isn't good enough. Man up.

 

[HeXen]

You have to go for a degree that has a job market for the area you plan to live in. Whats normal isn't the question, rather is this common? I would say it is, I certainly know a lot of people in their 20's living in the same bedroom they grew up in.

 

[Sonikku]

It's becoming more and more the norm as Tuition is up something like 700% since the 80's and putting students under the boot of crippling debt. The supply of labor has doubled with women entering the job market in full force (not really a bad thing per se but with more supply there is lower demand) At the same time students are forced to make do in a globalized economy that can outsource most work to other countries overseas. And if all that weren't enough then the rate at which technology and industries are changing in this day and age can mean by the time your 4 year course is completed, a field with high demand at the start of enrollment could just as easily be saturated by the time of graduation. Or obsolete altogether.

Baby boomers don't seem to have a clue of any of these challenges for young people. Just easier to chalk it up to millennials simply being lazy.

 

[Ruptga]

You ought to be an inspirational speaker.

Nah, I can't bullshit well enough.

 

[HeXen]

Actually for many, it is about laziness and making bad decisions. You can't keep blaming the economy as if it was 2009. It's 2016, I can't even walk outside my house without seeing "Now Hiring" signs everywhere. Even my boss has trouble finding help because millennials cannot pass a drug test. We have 3 guys quit within 4 weeks, 2 guys that quit after working 1 day. 2 guys that never even showed up for their first day and that was just since spring of this year for the ones that could pass a drug test. Obviously, they didn't really want to work though did they?

 

[gorcorps]

This again?

Wouldn't surprise me if it's the exact same guy. The last go around the guy posted several threads all about things like this just to get AT riled up.

 

[LevelSea]

Start hooking.

 

[Sonikku]

Actually for many, it is about laziness and making bad decisions. You can't keep blaming the economy as if it was 2009. It's 2016, I can't even walk outside my house without seeing "Now Hiring" signs everywhere. Even my boss has trouble finding help because millennials cannot pass a drug test. We have 3 guys quit within 4 weeks, 2 guys that quit after working 1 day. 2 guys that never even showed up for their first day and that was just since spring of this year for the ones that could pass a drug test. Obviously, they didn't really want to work though did they?

Where do you work, McDonalds? In northern NY middle class job openings by all accounts have an outrageous number of applicants to openings ratio and the competition is cutthroat and fierce. Sounds to me like you have screwballs doing the hiring.

 

[zerocool84]

Where do you work, McDonalds? In northern NY middle class job openings by all accounts have an outrageous number of applicants to openings ratio and the competition is cutthroat and fierce. Sounds to me like you have screwballs doing the hiring.

Yea, decent jobs have lots of applicants nowadays. I hear about one job opening for the city or county and how there's hundreds of applicants for one position.

 

[lupi]

Maybe he thought the forum change deleted the previous(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s) thread about this.

 

[FeuerFrei]

Very normal. Unless you're hired while still in school. I lived at my parents' for 4 months after graduating.

 

[pcgeek11]

It is becoming the norm due to new college grads not willing to take a job outside of "their field".

 

[Red Squirrel]

It is becoming the norm due to new college grads not willing to take a job outside of "their field".

And the fact that those jobs only pay minimum wage, which is not enough to actually live off of.

 

[Azuma Hazuki]

Or, perhaps, because there aren't any [censored] jobs and college grads tend to be overlooked in favor of illegals because they're cheaper? This is coming, mind you, from a woman with TWO jobs, but I've seen this happen all over the place, and wish I could get a refund for my diploma. Which is a STEM degree, in case you're wondering.

 

[Fenixgoon]

i'd say it's fairly normal these days. i lived at home for a year before renting a house with friends. socially it sucks, but you save so much goddamn money. holy shit. if you have a high demand skillset and haven't found a job yet but there are opportunities in your area, i'd say wait it out at home for a little. but if the market is tough in your area, 1) considering getting *any* job, or 2) consider moving to a location and/or applying to jobs where there is a market for your skillset (i think a lot of people ignore this one).

 

[MongGrel]

It is becoming the norm due to new college grads not willing to take a job outside of "their field".

It has always been the norm, if you are trying to graduate with something like a philosophy major.